Serrations on a survival knife?

B

bearthedog

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May 17, 2006
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Serrations on a survival knife?

Why not? I took a few of my serrated knives out for making some fuzz sticks since in the strange land of California it was 85F yesterday and now it is cold. Cold enough for me to use the fireplace. Usually, I opt for plain blades for fuzz sticks, but there comes a point with some wood where it rounds out and it is hard to find that sharp corner to shave down. The serrations can actually dig in pretty deep and with some control, they can be very effective for fuzz sticks. These are just a few knives I tried out. Not a comparison in any way of their ability, this is just an example of what serrations are capable of. Don’t take my word on this, try it yourself.

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The TOPS Storm Rider made regular size fuzzies and next to them you can see some very fine smaller fuzzies. This blade is ¼-inch-thick too.
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RC-3 and TOPS Steel Eagle absolutely kicked ass! One is 1/8-inch thick and the other, ¼-inch-thick and they still rocked!
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Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race Knife and Leatherman Wave
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Wenger again with the SOG Pup
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I am interested in seeing what anyone else comes up with using serrations for fuzzies.

-RB
 
To be completely honest, I have never tried it nor even considered it. I'll try it and see how it works out for me.
 
Yea, they're generally for wackin' through nylon webbing in a hurry. I suppose they'd work for other stuff too...but not as primary use imho.
 
IMHO Serrations were created to help people who couldnt sharpen their kitchen knives...I have VERY sharp flat ground knives that slice through bread without an issue...tomatoes as well. Honestly..I just dont see the need..
I wouldnt throw a knife with serrations in the trash..but I would buy the plain edge first..every time.
NOt arguing here..just throwing some wind out there.
 
I don't favor them for wood work, but the fact is they make pretty good fuuzies. If you look at serrations you will see they are actually very thin and once the wood gets cought in there it slices with the thinnest part of the cutting edge. I had some good flat grinds that stopped where the serrations were still able to bite into and shave the wood!

All I am saying is, TRY IT!

-RB
 
For buschraft/outdoors use, in my experience, serrations make indeed some pretty good fuzzy sticks, but that's pretty much it..For anything else I have no use for them out there, that's why 99.9% of my blades are streight.
My point: try doing anything else in the bush - except feather sticks - with a serrated blade. Carving? Notching? Controlled cuts? etc...
Now, if you are a climber and you need to cut some rope fast/efficient, that's a different story.
 
Just tried it with my LMFII, and it worked great! The serrations "split" the fuzzies as you carve down, essentially making 2-3 fuzzies per stroke, which is pretty cool.

For bushcraft/woodworking, they obviously suck. But on a dedicated survival/utility knife that won't see any fine carving/whittling, I can certainly see some benefits.

To be honest, I love my LMFII, the ergos are great and the handle material is super comfortable. It's a good size for an all-around knife, but it never comes out with me because of the serrated edge. I contacted Gerber to see if they had plans to come out with a plain edge version, but they said no:(.
 
Cool photos Reuben and cool discussion. I've used serrated knives quite a bit for fire craft. I'll take some pics tomorrow when the big orange ball in the sky comes back up...I hope :)
 
mistwalker said:
I've used serrated knives quite a bit for fire craft.
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I've been inspired by you're RC4S pics, Mist. I've been thinking of getting one of those. My partially serrated 3 does wonders in the bush and is easy to sharpen.
Esee serrations are the only ones I prefer, since they do not have micro-serrations in between the bigger ones. To me, this a big plus over other companies ,and is the reason they can be maintained easily. Strips bark and makes fuzzies very efficiently.

Thanks for this post, bearthedog. I find serrations are not all that bad in a bush knife ( depending on how they are made, and on what kind of knife.)
 
tek77 said:
My point: try doing anything else in the bush - except feather sticks - with a serrated blade. Carving? Notching? Controlled cuts? etc...
Click to expand...

I once used a CRKT Apache serrated to trim down and cut in half a tree that looked like it would make a good club and hiking staff. The serrations actually worked very well to beaver around the tree to get it into two pieces. They also worked wonders for cutting the limbs off of the tree. Not my first choice, and I did use the straight edge for taking off the bark, but it did show me that what I had at the moment was more than adequate for the tasks I required of it. Most serrated blades do have straight edges as well, and may not be as handy as a complete straight edge, but they do work.
 
Good point Bear.

Most people either love or hate serrations

and I agree --they make great Fuzz sticks.
 
I threw all my serrated knives away, I hated them so much. After reading all the stuff on here I bought two $100 fixed blades of different manufacture thinking maybe they improved. I'm trying to like them but they sure make it hard to. Out of all the things I've tried to do with them over the years cutting rope was by far much harder with a serrated blade. In fact that was what caused me to throw my first one away. :)

I'm going to take one with me today in the woods while hunting, but I'll have a good blade waiting in the truck if I need it.
 
I prefer straight edges to serrations only because it kind of difficult in sharpening the serrated edges without a rat tail sharpener. Maybe you can find a stone to do it, but I have never tried it yet. My SOG seal pup and OHT does pretty good at doing bushcraft tasks. So would I feel under knifed with serrations? I don't think so. JMO
 
Never was a friend of serrations, until I got a Seal Pup. And I have to admit sometimes they are helpful (and yes, I know how to sharpen a knife). I did carving, building Figure 4 deadfalls, etc. with it, and the serrations didn't bother al all.
 
That's pretty cool. Around Army circles, most of the blades available are half-serrated and I use to carry a fully-serrated Spyderco Military as a second folder. I still have a few and they don't really bother me; not my first preference but nothing to get my panties in a wad if that's all I have. It's nice to see some of the big, thicker blades like TOPS do quite well with them:thumbup:

ROCK6
 
I have never felt a need for serrations on anything other than a kitchen bread knife.
I would NOT have serrations on a 'survival' knife.
 
One thing that I think would improve the "bush value" of serrated blades, is if the serrations were towards the tip of the blade, rather than towards the handle end. It'd make notching and carving easier. Though then you'd have an issue with things like skinning, if it's something you'd need the knife to do. There's positives and negatives for everything I suppose.
 
I think primarily the value of serrations is determined by the situation and the materials being worked with. I prefer serrations on a survival knife when working with synthetic materials in an urban environment but have found them also to be useful in making and cleaning notches in wood as well.

6shooter said:
One thing that I think would improve the "bush value" of serrated blades, is if the serrations were towards the tip of the blade, rather than towards the handle end. It'd make notching and carving easier. Though then you'd have an issue with things like skinning, if it's something you'd need the knife to do. There's positives and negatives for everything I suppose.
Click to expand...

I sort of felt the same way, but you have to ask yourself what exactly are you carving in a survival situation where the aesthetics are an issue, and that can't be cleaned up with the p.e. part of a 50/50 edge. I got a Vic soldier knife because of the serrations location but then realized skinning with it would be a pain.. Now I have the Wenger version too and though I am still putting it through some paces I am thinking I would rather have it in the field...especially when considering the heavier saw.

.
 
If you just have to have them for some reason, put them on top of the blade towards the tip. Buck made one like that and it was much better. You still had a good, full edge to do things a knife should be able to do. It was to only serrated knife I gave away rather then throwing away.
 
mistwalker said:
I think primarily the value of serrations is determined by the situation and the materials being worked with. I prefer serrations on a survival knife when working with synthetic materials in an urban environment but have found them also to be useful in making and cleaning notches in wood as well.



I sort of felt the same way, but you have to ask yourself what exactly are you carving in a survival situation where the aesthetics are an issue, and that can't be cleaned up with the p.e. part of a 50/50 edge. I got a Vic soldier knife because of the serrations location but then realized skinning with it would be a pain.. Now I have the Wenger version too and though I am still putting it through some paces I am thinking I would rather have it in the field...especially when considering the heavier saw.

.
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B-
I know you like that larger than life saw the Wenger knives have. I don't know about you, but I hate the awl on those models. The Mike Horn Knife has the best awl on a Wenger Knife. As for the serrations on the Wenger's, I like them especially when that knife you have was my main knife for a few days in the Alabama woods. I kept wishing I had other blades rather than the serrated Wenger blade, but I was fine.
Once we all stop talking ourselves out of what will or won't work and just use what is there, we will see for ourselves. It wasn't the first time I was surprised to see what a knife I wasn't too sure about could do. I know it won't be the last either.

-RB
 
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