serrations or not to be

S

snorkem

Joined
Aug 12, 2009
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I am on the fence about serations on edc knives. I dont think that they really make a big difference in every day use, but in some cases they are usefull. I am also worried that they reduce cutting space on the blade. When and when dont you buy knives with serrations?
 
I generally only buy knives with serrations when I have no other options to get that design at a reasonable price or the knife simply isn't offered in plain edge.

Serrations do have advantages in certain situations, but I've got enough knives with them that I would be happy to never aquire another knife with them.
 
I used to avoid them, but now most of my rotation are serrated blades. They cut through everything from envelopes to boxes to clam shell packing with ease, and you can peel and apple or slice cheese with one. Not much to dislike, really.

IMG_1223.jpg

Spyderco Military.
 
what i meant was they reduce the plain slicing part of the blade, ive never used an almost all serated knife like powernoodle but i would give it a shot if you say its that usefull
 
Unless you have a specific application like rope cutting that you do all the time then a plain edge knife properly sharpened will perform just fine and the plain edge knife will be easier for most people to sharpen when the time comes. Serrations have their place but I think you will find that most people on BF generally prefer plain edge knives.
 
snorkem said:
what i meant was they reduce the plain slicing part of the blade, ive never used an almost all serated knife like powernoodle but i would give it a shot if you say its that usefull
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They are very useful for certain tasks as noted above, and they'll cut effectively for a very long time without sharpening (or touch up with a steel).

But overall I do prefer plain edges, as long as they're sharp.
 
I don't think there is an objective right or wrong on this one. Its whatever floats your boat. After I ripped through a cardboard box with a SE edge a while back, I found how easy they cut and stuck with it.
 
I recently traded for a SE Manix 2 just to try out the redesigned Manix. Would of preferred PE, but decided to carry it in the place of my PE Military. Haven't come across anything it wouldn't take care of, and nothing has given me so much hassle that I wished I had a PE blade on me. Granted I still haven't found a compelling reason to use the SE over the PE, but from what I've seen so far either works just fine as an EDC blade for me.
 
I just did a side by side with a number of Spydercos, one of which had a fully serrated edge. The fully serrated blade easily beat the PEs in cutting rope, cardboard, and through thin plastic media (plastic jug of windshield washer fluid). I agree that a combination blade may provide a plain edge and a serrated edge that seem too short to be much good, but a fully serrated Spyderco will IMO do many things better than its plain edge counterpart.
 
I'm not sure what "reduce cutting space on the blade" means. The way I look at it, Seems the opposite.

I like some serration patterns. My favorite are Victorinox pattern which are shallow, uniformly sized, thin and acute. Same with Wenger's pattern, except that they are not uniformly sized.

There is another serration pattern I find usable, though uncommon. I encountered this pattern on some utility knife blades, where the scallops are placed in such a manner that there are no points along the edge. This seems to work well, probably maintains some durability considering the very thin blade stock, and like most serrations, seems to preserve some cutting ability as the straight grinds lose their edge. I've seen some TOPS and similarly styled sharpened prybars with this kind of serration, but the utility blade seems actually designed to slice.

I am a bit annoyed with the Cold Steel pattern, which alternates between a wide scallop and several tiny, very narrow serrations. The tiny serrations are very poky. But they are also more prone to bending/braking since they can be so long and narrow, and are considerably more difficult to sharpen without a specialized stone/tool. Very much to their credit, CS at least makes their grinds very acute, great for cutting ability and easing sharpening when it needs to be done.
 
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Serration shapes and patterns I think may be a topic in and of itself.

Seems certain serration shapes work better on some materials than others.
 
When Spyderco introduced the "Mariner" in 1982, with a serrated edge, (a Spyderco 1st?) we "pitched" 4 major advantages;

1. The serrated edge gives you a longer edge.

2. Often one uses the point of a knife to pierce the skin of a tomato to begin the cut. The serrated edge acts like it has points all along the edge.

3. The points of the blade protect the recessed edge which stays sharper longer, especially when cutting on something hard, like a cutting board.

4. The angle of attack of the cutting erdge to the material being cut is contantly changing as the edge passes through what is being cut.

sal
 
thats something i didnt think of beofre, serrated knives are MUCH harder to sharpen then plain edges and im more wiling to ship them back to the manufacturer. you need a set of diamond rods and even then it is possible to mess up the angle
 
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