Serrations or plain edge?

B

buck110boy

Joined
Sep 29, 2015
Messages
28
Greetings everyone, I want to know do you guys like serrations or plain edge better for EDC?
my personal choice is plain edge, but that's just me. Thanks guys! Also feel free to share your sharpening method for your knives.
 
In my experience serrated blades are best at cutting rope or straps. For almost anything else a plain blade is best.
 
I think the only serrated knives I still own are my little Cold Steel Super Edge keychain knife and an older X2 Voyager. I never find myself needing to cut fibrous stuff like rope, which, as SCWilson noted, seems to be the serrated edge's only real strong suit, so it's PE all the way for me. I also like sharpening and like to be able to experiment with different edge angles, finishes, etc. PE is best here, too. :thumbup:

edit: I also have to wonder about the efficacy of a serrated edge vs. a super toothy plain edge on fibrous or other tough-to-cut material. I have never done a side-by-side comparison, myself, but I think a really toothy PE would do just fine here, as well.
 
I like both plain and serrated. Plain is an all around good choice. Serrated can make short work of tough materials while giving up a little in versatility to the plain edge. I carried a serrated Endura for about 10 years and never found anything it wouldn't handle but I've carried a lot of plain edge knives in recent years.

Which brings up combination edges. Some people dislike them but I like them and often carry one of several Benchmade models with a combo edge. They come in handy for the occasional tougher jobs and work as well as plain edges for normal everyday jobs.

Sharpening? A Spyderco Sharpmaker will do fine for both plain and serrated.
 
For Christmas I got a Worksharp,,it did an amazing job on my serrated kitchen knives,, as well as a cheap serrated pocket knife I had in a drawer..it maybe took 2 minutes each knife
 
I like serrated edges and find them very useful. For tough cutting they handle it better than a plain edge. Items like pruning limbs (thumb size), rope cutting, cutting large stem weeds, vines, ect.. One can sharpen a plain edge coarse and this helps to handle these items too. I had rather have a fully serrated blade than a partial. Just more cutting length. I sharpen the serrated with a diamond rod. DM
 
I used to be a NON serrated knife guy. I'm finding myself to like and enjoy serrated now, I'm wanting a serrated spyderco H1 salt. I believe it would suit my need on a day to day basis perfectly.
 
For Spyderco folders I find their serrated edges are generally much sharper than their plain edges (you can see that in the much taller bevel height, even if it is just on one side), so I only own and carry fully serrated Spydercos (and only Civilians, but that is another matter).

I have almost never seen a plain edge folder that was sharp enough as a plain edge from the factory, usually they are out to a useless 15-20 degrees per side, almost always opening gradually the edge angle to even far worse angles towards the tip (25-30 per side near the point is common)...

Re-profiling a 4" blade freehand is dicey, as on a folder the slightest asymmetry in bevels is really obvious, and worse of all the longitudinal stroking motion I use (to get as flat-sided V bevels as possible) means it is almost impossible to really have any heavy re-profiling done into the last 3/4" of the edge, so you have to leave 20-25% of the entire edge near the handle at its original factory dullness...: Keeping a 4" folder edge angle really low all the way the ricasso practically requires a guided sharpener to overcome this obstacle, since many folders do not have a deep "heel" at the rear of the edge to help you re-profile at the rear...: Such guided sharpeners have trouble dealing with fixed blades over 8-10", so they are simply not worth the investment for me.

If there is a fully serrated version for a folder, that is always what I would choose, as they are good to go from the box (a huge relief!). Another huge, huge advantage of most factory serrated edges is that they keep the same one-sided bevel geometry towards the tip, and for that reason alone the knife is often much sharper towards the tip than a plain edge, especially a deep bellied plain edge...

The thing about serrated edges is that, when worn, no matter what anyone says, they will never again be restored to full factory sharpness (unless sent back to a manufacturer who will do this), so they only make sense if you rarely use the knife, but need it to perform superbly in an emergency.

My favourite serrated edge story was from a factory worker who had his jacket caught up in some heavy machinery that was dragging him into its maws: He said that if it had been a plain edge he would have been dead.

Gaston
 
Depends. For my weekly I have no use for serrated so plain edge is best but weekends I carry a leatherman wave because I have a need for both plain and serrated
 
I'm very happy with either, as long as it's not a combo edge. They both have their place, but I typically find the half and half approach to be not enough of either.
 
Thank you all very much for your feedback! I really enjoy seeing what you have to say. I hope you enjoy the threads I post as well.
 
They're not fancy or flashy, but this is my dream team.

22966082729_7586079fd2_z.jpg
 
Gaston444 said:
The thing about serrated edges is that, when worn, no matter what anyone says, they will never again be restored to full factory sharpness (unless sent back to a manufacturer who will do this), so they only make sense if you rarely use the knife, but need it to perform superbly in an emergency.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I'm not sure I agree. Some of my serrations don't look so good anymore, but they'll still get screamin' sharp. :)
 
I've used my serrations twice in my life because I always carry plain edge with me before I got my leatherman. I only used the serrated blade because it was easier. And will probably use them more because I have them. But half serrations don't work well. Half a blade can't cut worth a damn and half a length of serrations can't do much easier. I would rather be stuck with plain edge to do serrated job than to be stuck with serrations to do a plain edges job
 
Gaston444 said:
For Spyderco folders I find their serrated edges are generally much sharper than their plain edges (you can see that in the much taller bevel height, even if it is just on one side), so I only own and carry fully serrated Spydercos (and only Civilians, but that is another matter).

I have almost never seen a plain edge folder that was sharp enough as a plain edge from the factory, usually they are out to a useless 15-20 degrees per side, almost always opening gradually the edge angle to even far worse angles towards the tip (25-30 per side near the point is common)...

Re-profiling a 4" blade freehand is dicey, as on a folder the slightest asymmetry in bevels is really obvious, and worse of all the longitudinal stroking motion I use (to get as flat-sided V bevels as possible) means it is almost impossible to really have any heavy re-profiling done into the last 3/4" of the edge, so you have to leave 20-25% of the entire edge near the handle at its original factory dullness...: Keeping a 4" folder edge angle really low all the way the ricasso practically requires a guided sharpener to overcome this obstacle, since many folders do not have a deep "heel" at the rear of the edge to help you re-profile at the rear...: Such guided sharpeners have trouble dealing with fixed blades over 8-10", so they are simply not worth the investment for me.

If there is a fully serrated version for a folder, that is always what I would choose, as they are good to go from the box (a huge relief!). Another huge, huge advantage of most factory serrated edges is that they keep the same one-sided bevel geometry towards the tip, and for that reason alone the knife is often much sharper towards the tip than a plain edge, especially a deep bellied plain edge...

The thing about serrated edges is that, when worn, no matter what anyone says, they will never again be restored to full factory sharpness (unless sent back to a manufacturer who will do this), so they only make sense if you rarely use the knife, but need it to perform superbly in an emergency.

My favourite serrated edge story was from a factory worker who had his jacket caught up in some heavy machinery that was dragging him into its maws: He said that if it had been a plain edge he would have been dead.

Gaston
Click to expand...

What???

30-40 inclusive plain edges are useless? A 4" blade can't be sharpened freehand? People can't sharpen serrated edges?

I think you just don't know what you're talking about. All my knives are around 30 inclusive and work great. I can make an edge at 40 inclusive screaming sharp with a bit of refinement and polishing.

I sharpen 4-5" folders and fixed blades on 5" stones all the time. I've never had "25% of the edge left at factory dullness". I don't need no stinking guided system, it just takes practice and determination!

And who says you can't resharpen a serrated edge (oh wait, you do...)? I've resharpened an entire serrated bread knife to be ridiculously sharp on a set of paper wheels...
 
Blues Bender said:
What???

30-40 inclusive plain edges are useless? A 4" blade can't be sharpened freehand? People can't sharpen serrated edges?

I think you just don't know what you're talking about. All my knives are around 30 inclusive and work great. I can make an edge at 40 inclusive screaming sharp with a bit of refinement and polishing.

I sharpen 4-5" folders and fixed blades on 5" stones all the time. I've never had "25% of the edge left at factory dullness". I don't need no stinking guided system, it just takes practice and determination!

And who says you can't resharpen a serrated edge (oh wait, you do...)? I've resharpened an entire serrated bread knife to be ridiculously sharp on a set of paper wheels...
Click to expand...

Well said.. I usually refrain from getting into these battles but I get serrations sharper then most factories will take the time to. Why? Because I spend enough time to create burrs on each serrations and work my way through several grits, ending with leather and compound. The best factory serrations IMO are cutco, but the steel is just average. Nonetheless I like the classic serration style better than some of the newer styles. And it's easier to sharpen.
 
I almost universally prefer plain edge.

I despise combo edges. If I want or need a serrated knife I want the whole thing serrated.

I have a bunch of different sharpening methods I use depending on the knife.

For pocketknives I use a Smith guided system. It puts an ok edge on user knives. For my fixed blades I use a three stone setup and sharpen freehand. It puts a better edge on than the Smiths setup and has larger stones that work better on larger knives.

I am trying to decide what brand and grit water stones I want as I plan to upgrade my sharpening setups. Leaning towards a 1200 and 3000 to start out with. Planning to make the purchase online tonight.
 
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