Serrations are great for a self defense or safety knife because they excel at cutting hide as well as fabrics. They puncture as well as a plain blade. I prefer a plain blade because its easier to maintain and keep like new or better. I don't like sharpening them. I do like serrations on a few purpose driven blades though. I prefer Spydercos.
I don't buy a lot of serrated knives (in think my number is 3 total, and one was a gift). They do take more time to sharpen, but I don't find them overly difficult to sharpen. I have a Cold Steel partially serrated Recon 1, and had a clip point Voyager that I purchased to give my dad. The points on the CS serrations are NASTY, and grabby. But they would not be too hard to damage the points on. If you had hard contact with hard materials like wire or glass, etc. But, I like the way they cut rope or straps. I've not tried a Spyderco serrated edge, but they look a bit more durable.
Simple. They are a pain in the ass to properly sharpen. You can somewhat by stropping the back side but to give them a true good sharpening it can be almost impossible depending on the style of serration. Most people into knives are proud of putting their best edge they can on a knife.
This is one reason Spyderco's are the best. Not only are they extremely effective, they're made with ease of sharpening in mind (especially with their own Sharpmaker). I can't sharpen the serrated side of my Microtech Mini SOCOM (the only partially serrated knife I own) - I have to sharpen from the flat side, which I hate doing. And Cold Steel...they're no better than a steak knife from the $.99c store.
Do you sharpen just the one side with grind(chisel grind) ,I have that sharpener and have used it with some success bust I can never get it like the factory edge,can you describe your method?ty
Yeah the sharpmaker rod’s corner just bobs in and out of those serrations like a boxer. The only issue is the angle has to be less or match the one of the sharpmaker’s jig’s two settings or you have to lean the knife or freehand. (I just freehand) My microtech has those serrations with those stupid angular scallops cut out meaning you will never get them truly sharp unless you sat with a tiny tiny stone doing each facet. Cold steel’s serrations have always reminded me of a cheap kitchen or steak knife. They have that special croc stick for them but since the scallops are so small you probably wouldn’t be able to drag the edge horizontally across it as the bumps on the stick likely won’t reach the apex of the scallops. So I imagine you would have to do each set of however many bumps on the stick there are’s worth of serrations one at a time by sliding the edge down vertically. Wish the veff serrations weren’t a crkt exclusive. Also I like the crk serrations with the flat teeth inline with the edge.
Serrated is generally great for man-made materials (heavy fabric, rubber tubing, belts, rope, cardboard, etc) when ugly does not matter, only speed and effort, and a great deal of cutting/ripping to do, NOW. Plain edge superior for near everything else.
I used to despise serrations but I have come to appreciate them in certain situations ,was in Mexico on vacation had to cut a 10" diameter of flower stems ,roses,etc. My serr. xhp code 4 did it in about 10 seconds ,I am not sure if my other plain edge knives could have pulled it off so effortlessly, Another instance at work we need to cut some rags/debris from a pipe ,I pulled out my razor sharp vg10 endura got about 1/2 way then the edge died,a coworker always carries serrated cheap knives pulled his out and cut right through with no problem, ever since I don't count serrations out-Sal I need a fully serrated Manix in Maxamet
I try to "rub" the serrations at around 10 dps with the rod at the section of the rod that is the same size as the serration. I then do trailing strokes almost flat to a benchstone on the flat side of the chisel grind. The important part is just like a plain edge to make sure there's aren't any wire edges hanging off the serrations. I then strop the flat side on leather. I put a 20 dps edge with the plain portion usually which I normally don't do for pe knives really light pressure. That's pretty much it.
This, at least as far as my personal opinion goes. As many others have mentioned, serrations tend to work well with cordage, strapping, rope and other various fibrous materials. My knives are divided into "work" use knives and "personal" (non-work) knives, and for what I tend to use my personal knives for, I prefer them to have plain edges (I'm not cutting too much rope in my time off). Also because my personal knives have ~2.5"-~3.5" blades, as has already been mentioned, I find that when blades of that length split their edge between serrations and P/E, there's not enough usable room for either. Some of my work knives have combo edges and because they're larger (>3.5"-~4"), I don't mind the teeth and in some cases I find it particularly useful (I do cut a fair amount of strapping and the like on the job). However, most of the work blades I use now all just have a plain/fine edge. The only one I have currently that's sporting a combo edge is a KSF Exclusive Benchmade 908BK-1501 Stryker that I got in a combo edge to replace my old trusty C/E Benchmade 710SBK which I gifted to a friend who was working construction at the time and was in need of a solid work blade. It does the job well, but I wouldn't go any shorter than that for a partially serrated edge (3.6" blade length), and sometimes I find myself missing the extra length on that 710 I gifted away. Just my $0.02, ymmv. ETA:
Your welcome, try the stropping though I feel like deburring your edges makes a big deal of difference!
Well, I'll add my personal opinion... I believe serrations are largely a marketing gimmick. They look cool and our minds believe they look like they cut super great but that has not been my experience, even with cord, rope, etc. There are two basic methods for cutting something with a blade: Slice or saw. Slicing does not remove any material, it simply separates the material from itself. Sawing removes material to accomplish the separation. A lot of folks say you should use a serrated knife just like a plain edge, to slice. Then why do I need serrations? Especially combo edges? And if that is the case why do so many people praised the straight edge at the end of so many Spyderco serrated knives? So if they are best applied in sawing, then, by comparison they suck at that. Saws don't have scalloped teeth for a reason. It has been my experience that serrated knives tear and rip at cord and rope and in many cases are actually harder to use than a plain edge. Plain edges cut seat belts very well. Besides, I want to carry a pocket knife, not a pocket saw.
I think serrated edges tear,rip,and also CUT also the edge is a radius which would avail itself to more edge exposure which Is why I believe makes the edge last longer than a plain edge,but what do I know I am just a fellow who plays with knives
Let's see if this embeds I usually use the Smith's rods bc I like to noodle and get a shallower angle than factory on the SE. This looks like cutting to me rather than tearing. Edit: With a toothy edge from the Smith's cuts are pretty clean still.
Cold steel serrations are best but when theyre sharp,after they get dull are impossible to sharpen and you have to grind them off.Spyderco serrations are good and can be sharpened back to razor sharp,also Victorinox serrations are excellent.2 paring knives ftom Victorinox that i use with serrations cut meat and vegetables same or even better than all my other knives.Buck also does serrations that are pretty good and easy to sharpen.
For me, it depends on the serration pattern. I like Spyderco serrations most of the time, but if they're too narrow and pointy with the scallops ground too deep, I don't like them. I do like the serrations on my sabre-ground Delica 4, SS Police, Harpy and Tasman Salt knives; they don't hang up on materials. I also like the Victorinox serrations. I also have a serrated David Boye folder that probably cuts fibrous materials the most cleanly, because the serrations are very gently and shallowly ground. I don't like the serrations on Cold Steel and Emerson knives. Most of the time, my EDC users are plain edge. Jim
I will put my gimmicky serrated Spydercos against your plain edges any day of the week when cutting reinforced tubing, drive belts, cutting away cold.welded tubing from flanges, large diameter sand packed hawser, slick poly rope, and yes, large bunches of flower stems. As for sharpening them, most folks' jobs leave me unimpressed, and the times they rarely are dull enough to resharpen, back to Spyderco they go, while its spare twin does its time in rotation. They have their uses, they do some jobs better than any other.
