Serrations on front portion of the blade (near the tip)

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effer

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Feb 13, 2009
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Decided to check for myself how well serrations work on the front portion of the blade, instead of the usual back.

Used one inexpensive knife for a little experiment. "Teeth" were done using dremel cutoff wheel and finished up a bit using spyderco sharpmaker triangle rod. About 10 minute job.

sanrenmu-serrated.jpg


I did this just about 30 minutes ago and tried some cutting tests and compared it to the same unmodified blade.
Results are nothing new. Anyone who has fully serrated blade and a plain one can compare the performance. I was just checking if serrations would get in the way or anything like this.

Serrations help a lot when cutting some dense materials. For example, opening a box with several layers of scotch tape is a lot easier with front serrations, because plain blade just slides on the scotch tape without cutting it in. With plain edge, cut needs to be started by poking the hole with a tip and then sliding the blade along the line. Using serrated edge is a bit more natural, less technique involved, because teeth bite in pretty good.
Cutting cardboard, thin plastic and other things works very well with modified blade. Even better than plain belly.
Cutting fabric is not so good, because as expected the cut is not as clean compared to plain edge.
Tasks that require a push cut (like push cutting a paracord) are better done using a plain blade. They can be done using modified blade, but not as natural, because you need to go more towards the handle (plain edge) to cut the material.
The main advantage of such modification of course is that I still have a big portion of plain edge for many tasks that are better done with it. In my very limited testing I didn't notice serrations getting in a way. Many cuts were done with material barely reaching the serrated portion.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done something like this. I've seen posts and pictures before. Wondering what is your experience with such blade.
 
The Puma SeaHunter has had front serrations since who knows when. I'd never seen 'em on any other knife until AG Russell put 'em on his SeaMaster.

It's a neat idea, but no one seems to have picked up on just how good it is...except you and me!
 
I've also wondered how serrations on the tip would work. It makes sense to me, in that you can still use the rear of the blade for whittling/shaving activities, and the tip for slicing things as you mentioned (boxes, rope, etc). I wonder it the very tip could be left plain for strength and also trimming along a straight edge. Hmmmmm?
 
effer said:
The main advantage of such modification of course is that I still have a big portion of plain edge for many tasks that are better done with it. In my very limited testing I didn't notice serrations getting in a way. Many cuts were done with material barely reaching the serrated portion.
Click to expand...

Exactly. For years, I've been a proud member of the school of thought of serrations should be placed up in front of the blade (probably half to an inch of plain edge for intial "pierce" cut, then serrations near or at the "belly" angle, then finishing with a plain edge near the choil area).

As is it with industry standards today, you put the serrations on the area where you apply the greatest amount of force and control, making it feel that they do get in the way. Might as well have a fully-serrated blade then.

A related thread from 5 years ago (mine is post #30)

Think about it...the serrations BELONG on the FRONT part of the blade.
 
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untamed said:
Exactly. For years, I've been a proud member of the school of thought of serrations should be placed up in front of the blade (probably half to an inch of plain edge for intial "pierce" cut, then serrations near or at the "belly" angle, then finishing with a plain edge near the choil area).

As is it with industry standards today, you put the serrations on the area where you apply the greatest amount of force and control, making it feel that they do get in the way. Might as well have a fully-serrated blade then.

A related thread from 5 years ago (mine is post #30)

Think about it...the serrations BELONG on the FRONT part of the blade.
Click to expand...

I think there are times when serrations at the back make a lot more sense than serrations at the front. When blade is dull and I need to cut a rope, I'd rather have back portion serrated. If I need to "saw" through something, back serrations are more useful. Though generally, if blade is maintained properly, serrations at the belly are more useful.

Anyways, even though I see the advantages of serrations, I still prefer (at this moment) plain edge just because of the clean look.
 
I've always thought steak knifes worked better when the serrations were at the front.
 
Bill1170 said:
Victorinox One Hand Trekker come PE or CE. The CE version has front serrations.
Click to expand...

The front serrated one hand trekker is the basis of German soldier and the new Swiss soldier knives issued to every German and Swiss soldier. That's hundreds of thousands of knives. Front serrations make sense to these folks.
 
Seems it would work well against skin/flesh. In my brief LEO career, I have been to a number of cuttings and the most damage has always been box cutters followed by a close second, serrated kitchen knives.

Actual "puncture" wounds are rare and the overwhelming majority are slicing injuries. Again, with the most sever being serrated whether this is do to the plain edge knives being dull or lack of pressure from the attacker, I don't know. But I bet you could REALLY do some damage with that with minimal effort to bare flesh.
 
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