Serrations in the kitchen?

D

Dakki

Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
197
I grew up in a "serrated" household, by which I mean all our kitchen knives had teeth in them and got used until they completely stopped working, then got thrown out and replaced. After moving out I discovered plain edges and all the neat stuff you do to maintain and improve them, not to mention "proper" chef's knife technique (the girl who taught me this will forever hold a special place in my heart). Based on what I've learned, serrations have a place on bread, tomato and maybe a second utility knife, but not on a serious chef's knife.

The Cutco vs Henckels (lol) debate on another thread got me thinking.

Is it even possible to use the "rocking cut technique" (sorry, I don't know how else to describe it) with a serrated knife? I want to say no, because the tips of the serrations will reach the cutting board while there's still material between the teeth, thus forcing you to slice at the end, but maybe somebody who's actually tried it can give me a definite answer?

If I'm right about this, would it be unfair to characterize serrated chef's knives as not really being proper chef's knives at all, but more correctly (to borrow a term I saw applied to novelty khukries) "chef's knife-shaped object"?

What about paring knives? It seems to me that for any kind of precision work the serrations would just get in the way.

Please don't dismiss this or assume I'm knocking serrated knives in general. My #3 in the kitchen is serrated, although it's mostly relegated to cutting bread, frozen veggies and carne seca. And for the record, I fully understand not all serrated knives are "never-needs-sharpening" (more like "can-never-be-sharpened") miracle edge, constructed out of trash steel and marketing drones' dreams. I'm honestly interested in finding out whether a serrated chef's knife or paring knife can truly be a contender.
 
I'm under the impression most serrated kitchen knives are sold and used just as you described about your initial household. Use until useless then discard. They are for folks uninterested and/or unknowledgable about sharpening knives. Since it takes longer to dull such blades, the purchasers get perceived value vs. a plain edge that they can't sharpen. A lot of the cheapest knife sets are SE.

Just like anywhere else, both types have their uses, seems like you got the "mystery" worked out pretty well to me.
 
I grew up in a household where serrated knives were used until they were useless then continued to be used. That is one of the few benefits of serrated knives, they can still manage to saw through material even when they are completely dull. I think this is why the low quality knives have serrations.
 
I have two Spyderco serrated kitchen knives 4&1/2 and 6 inches respectively. Both knives are used all the time and I maintain the edges regularly using a sharpmaker.

I find, when these serrations have a keen edge, they are super aggressive and easier to use for most kitchen tasks except peeling.
 
Here where I live, the supermarkets sell a 3" chisel ground serrated $1 paring knife.
I think you will find at least one in every house hold!!

My kids use it all the time.
I won't let them use my carbon steel cooks knives, as they are too sharp for them.

They cut anything and everything, even tomatoes.
You need to pull cut with them.
They dice vegtables very fine.

They never need sharpening.
A great sharp knife that works!!!
 
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