Serrations Yes or No

Serrations Yes or No

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Unsure

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
I've been using and collecting knives for 30 years.I much prefer non serrated blades.I have an old Spyderco Police model that I had to grind the serrations off of.It got lost under the seat of my truck for 5 years.I tried to restore the much dulled serrations with my s.c.sharpmaker and a DMT diamond rod,no luck.My point is don't let them get dull.The 20 year old knife is razor sharp again,but non serrated.
 
GRIM 62 said:
I've been using and collecting knives for 30 years.I much prefer non serrated blades.I have an old Spyderco Police model that I had to grind the serrations off of.It got lost under the seat of my truck for 5 years.I tried to restore the much dulled serrations with my s.c.sharpmaker and a DMT diamond rod,no luck.My point is don't let them get dull.The 20 year old knife is razor sharp again,but non serrated.
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I'm sure the knife works great now, but to play Devil's advocate for the cost of postage you could have shipped it to Spyderco and had them sharp as new again.

Mike
 
Serrations have always been helpful to me, I sure prefer plain edges but most of the times I need serrations because of the power they have over plain edge. Most of the times I find that for example on plastic parts, Using a lateral swift with the serrations than using the plain edge for a push cut works great and you don't have to use to much power. Going full serrations on a blabe sure isn't my cup of tea either. By the way if I have serrations they better be good or else they are unworthy of having because of the hassle to sharpen. I love my serrations on the Cold steel knives.
 
Serrations have their place, most of the time serrations are not needed.

So I voted no.
 
I dont get this "serrations are good for cutting rope and cardboard" statement. This sounds to me like an assumption. Ive never seen any tests (although I think Vasilli may have done some) but im willing to bet a scary sharp edge cuts just as well as a serrated one.
 
About the only place I can abide serrations are on a bread knife.
 
Serrations will continue to cut cardboard and rope after a plain edge has stoppoed cutting effectively. Serrations have more surface area, and they have sharp points that can initiate a cut. They are very useful if you have to cut anything like a steak or other food that is on a plate, as only the points of the serrations are getting dulled by the plate. The serrated edge also has multiple angles of attack for the edge to cut something. The serrations may be ripping on cuts when they get dull, but they do cut better than a dull plain edge. They are harder to sharpen, but a Sharpmaker can easily get serrations tree topping sharp or better.

All of that was just being devil's advocate because I am a PE guy, but I don't think the benefits of serrated edges should be ignored just becuase we like our plain edges and their cleaner cutting and easier sharpening better. A very sharp plain edge can probable do everything a serrated edge can do, but unfortunately hair whittling edges go away quickly. I will have to test my SE Endura Wave against a PE knife of the same steel to see for myself how each does. I just remember being shocked how long and how well a SE Caly 3 I used for a week in a passaround cut. It seemed like it kept on cutting way after my PE VG-10 knives would have given in. It might not have cut as clean as a PE, but it kept on effectively cutting.

Mike
 
gunmike1 said:
Serrations will continue to cut cardboard and rope after a plain edge has stoppoed cutting effectively. Serrations have more surface area, and they have sharp points that can initiate a cut. They are very useful if you have to cut anything like a steak or other food that is on a plate, as only the points of the serrations are getting dulled by the plate. The serrated edge also has multiple angles of attack for the edge to cut something. The serrations may be ripping on cuts when they get dull, but they do cut better than a dull plain edge. They are harder to sharpen, but a Sharpmaker can easily get serrations tree topping sharp or better.

All of that was just being devil's advocate because I am a PE guy, but I don't think the benefits of serrated edges should be ignored just becuase we like our plain edges and their cleaner cutting and easier sharpening better. A very sharp plain edge can probable do everything a serrated edge can do, but unfortunately hair whittling edges go away quickly. I will have to test my SE Endura Wave against a PE knife of the same steel to see for myself how each does. I just remember being shocked how long and how well a SE Caly 3 I used for a week in a passaround cut. It seemed like it kept on cutting way after my PE VG-10 knives would have given in. It might not have cut as clean as a PE, but it kept on effectively cutting.

Mike
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Very well said.
 
I like half serration knives as I have worked on boats and I have found most people's non serrated knives will not cut line due to neglect. A serrated knife does not need to be sharpened as much.
 
BA_Colt said:
I like half serration knives as I have worked on boats and I have found most people's non serrated knives will not cut line due to neglect. A serrated knife does not need to be sharpened as much.
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I prefer one of my knives to have serrations as I never know what might happen. In some protracted emergency situation I may dull the plain edge of my knife with other tasks and then need to quickly cut through webbing. If that happens I really don't care how clean the cut is as long as it's cut quickly. I prefer serrations on my folding knife because I tend to use my fixed blade a lot for making points and whittling things out in the bush.
 
Score one for serrations. Here are a few pics of working with a SEAL Team and some Bamboo.

Using the serrations I was able to get pretty smooth crosscut in about a minute and a half.

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and quietly whittle, not hack, out a sharp bevel in about the same amount of time. The serrations did well in just tearing away sections.

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Then I cleaned it up a bit just working with the knife and then checked out the tip some.

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The green piece in this picture is the off-fall untouched…you can see one side of the cut is cleaner than the other.

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Folks, i'm on the fence on this issue. I don't use the serrations that much but they do come in handy for quick rough cuts on rubber or heavy straps.

I guess i lean more toward them then i do away from them.
 
I know serrated edge can handle various things plain straight edge is not very good at.
If a knife had two blades, then one straight and other serrated would not be bad.
 
I have been avoiding serrated knives for about 45 years. I have always sharpened my own knives and it is impossible to maintain serrations in a factory fresh state for the long haul. Without a factory jig the serrations morph over time to only an approximation of their original form.

The thing that I really hate about serrations is how sloppy they work on delicate material. With a fine razor plain edge I can cleanly slice free hanging polyethylene film while it snags and rips on serrations. Serrations are only an advantage when you are sawing. When you are sawing you want saw teeth, not serrations. I have a heavy duty SAK with a longer locking blade and a saw blade. I like that a lot more than a SAK with serrations.
 
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