Serrated vs. Straight

I usually slice a free hanging piece of newspaper. That, other than shaving hair from my arm, is how I personally determine if a knife is sharp.

Plumber-
I've never been a fan of half serrated blades. I find they limit cutting ability, more so than increase it.

My 2 c. pete.
 
I guess I would have to go with a plain edge for the reasons mentioned. For a number of years though I carried a police with full serrated edge and it did everything I needed done from opening mail to cutting cardboard, fruits etc. While it was harder to sharpen it didn't require it as often. Now I carry a plain edge - sebenza - as well as the police. The sebenza handles most of my cutting needs but whenever I need an aggressive edge - rope, cable, cardboard etc. I reach for my police.
 
Plain edge for utility or SD.

A plain edge is easier to sharpen and cuts better (and straighter) than a serrated edge. Serrated edges are good for some materials or for people who dislike frequent sharpening. That said, for the majority of uses, a plain edge is better. If you must have a serrated edge, get a fully serrated edge and not a combo edge.
 
Part Serrated is not best of both worlds, you don't have enough of each.
Get 2 knives, 1 SE one PE.
Those knives they cut into hammers with have SAW TEETH, not serrations
 
GarageBoy said:
Part Serrated is not best of both worlds, you don't have enough of each.
Get 2 knives, 1 SE one PE.
Those knives they cut into hammers with have SAW TEETH, not serrations
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Well said. The Plain edge wins out for more useful for an EDC. But if I spent a lot of time near water I would go serrated.
 
Plain edge, no doubt.

I do a lot of detailed cutting and carving with me EDCs, so a plain edge is better. I also use my knives for tough work, and plain edges have always worked great.

Aesthetically, I hate serrations. I just can't stand them.

I hear about serrated edges being better for seatbelts and other stuff like that all the time. The one time I had to cut somebody out of a car (I had to cut his seatbelt and one of his boots) I used a plain edge and had no trouble at all.

I carry a multitool with me everywhere, and both my Wave and Swisstool have serrated blades, but I can't remember the last time I used them.

Plain edges are easier to mantain, but that's not really that much of a problem in an urban environment.
 
I also carry 2 knives, plain edge as primary and serrated edge as backup. Those stainless steel Sypdercos (Dragonfly, Delica) work great as backup knives and they are very sharp.
 
I have several knives in PE, SE and CE. My very EDC is a SE Spyderco Delica. I found it to be the most efective for my needs. However, I'd avoid statements like PE is better than SE, CE is better than PE aso. because each edge type has its utility.
 
If I had to have only ONE, it would be a plain-edge without a doubt.

I can make more precise and clean cuts with a plain-edge, and I can sharpen a plain-edge easier without special sharpening rods.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
Pete1977 said:
I usually slice a free hanging piece of newspaper. That, other than shaving hair from my arm, is how I personally determine if a knife is sharp.
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Can you put more details in your VG-10 testing? My point is that serration makes low steel (however ATS-55 is not low quality steel, probably it is in the middle) to perform better - all this cheap kitchen knives are serrated, but you never see this on expensive kitchen knives. Also was it shaving sharp before you use it against that rope? I always maintain it shaving sharp using Sharpmaker with UltraFine rods.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
If I had to have only ONE, it would be a combo-edge without a doubt and that is my BM 814 Mini-AFCK (with M2-Blade !) . I think the combination makes it, but the serration should be not longer than 25 or 30 % of the blade, otherwise I will have problems with whittling. I use the serration only for soft things like tomatos, ropes, etc. and so it takes a very long time until I have to resharpen the serration.
 
Plain edge. I have never had any real luck sharpening serrations. In fact I'd just assume have a blade of 440a or AUS8 or AUS6 because I am confident in sharpening them and dont sweat using them. But serrations do cut like crazy especially when they are new.
 
If I had only one choice, plain edge. The main drawback for me with serrated or combo edges is in the area of woodworking or whittling while out in the woods. The serrations are usually placed towards the heel of the blade where high-pressure cuts are made and a lot of the work is done. That makes it tough to get a smooth cut and fine-finish a project or tool. Not impossible, but tougher.

But my actual EDC for work is a combo edge (BM 722SBT). That row of serrations can act like a mini-saw on certain tougher materials and will still rip/cut when slightly dull.
 
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