Serrations

[newknife]

Serrations or No Serrations?

Myself, I love good serrations, and I just wanted to share a few quick "pros" that I've found of serrated and half-serrated knives, as well as maybe convince some peiple to try em' out because lots of the knife community seems to poo-poo them.

-Sharpening pencils, heavy duty whittling, etc.
-Cutting cordage and tubing
-Cutting thick materials (cardboard, hard plastic, sheet metal)
-Minor sawing tasks
-Cutting down plant stalks and bamboo
-Superior edge retention
-Cut when dulled
-Tearing into stuff

These are just things I've found. Serrations do inhibit tasks like shavings, feather sticks, and other fine work, but a large serrated/half blade paired with a smaller plain edge seems to provide the most capabilities for knife tasks.

Also, my favorite serrations are Kershaw and ESEE.

I agree. They are useful and I find that they excel at the task you listed.

 

[hardheart]

I had a fully serrated Endura that could whittle hair, but without a buffer I don't think I would try to replicate the sharpness. The Sharpmaker and Profiles do a good ob in restoring a very good level of sharpness, imo/e. I would rather sharpen serrations than recurves. Pencil sharpening isn't really a precise task, but the valleys between serrations do a fine job of smoothing the wood and graphite. Not that I'm an accomplished pencil sharpener, I like pens.

 

[ThirdTooth]

they both have pros and cons. I think its would be ideal to carry both, but if I had to choose between the two I would pick plain edge any day of the week

 

[sja2249]

These days I carry a Leatherman Surge and a Benchmade AFCK. The AFCK is plain edge, and the Surge has one of each. I RARELY use the serrated blade, but it's nice to have for tasks that I don't care to subject my plain edge to.

 

[Dr Heelhook]

Who's arguing or going off topic? I'm just trying to convince you to abandon serrations and stop poo-pooing plain edges! :thumbup: I have found that a properly maintained plain edge does everything a serrated knife can, just as good if not better....and it's easier to maintain.

You're the one arguing and certainly the one poo-pooing.

I have found the almost total opposite to what you've found. A serrated edge does almost everything a plain edge does and many things much better, if you just use it properly. A plain edge may be easier to sharpen, at least if you only have a rock to do it with, but it doesn't matter much since you also have to do it much more often. Serrated edges are safer too because of the lowered risk of slipping.

And BTW, if someone says something works fine for them which doesn't work for you, it doesn't mean you're right and they're wrong, it only means you haven't been able to figure out how to do it.

 

[marcinek]

And BTW, if someone says something works fine for them which doesn't work for you, it doesn't mean you're right and they're wrong, it only means you haven't been able to figure out how to do it.

Precisely! Clearly you haven't been able to figure out how to use a plain edged knife.

 

[bdmicarta]

they both have pros and cons. I think its would be ideal to carry both

I'm experimenting with carrying both- here is what I am carrying today:

 

[hettingerjm]

On most combo edge knives I don't have enough plain blade for it to be worth while. The solution? EDC my favorite knife in plain edge. But keep a lightweight serrated folder in the EDC bag so I always one if needed for something more heavy duty.

 

[Dorito Monk]

You're the one arguing and certainly the one poo-pooing.

I have found the almost total opposite to what you've found. A serrated edge does almost everything a plain edge does and many things much better, if you just use it properly. A plain edge may be easier to sharpen, at least if you only have a rock to do it with, but it doesn't matter much since you also have to do it much more often. Serrated edges are safer too because of the lowered risk of slipping.

And BTW, if someone says something works fine for them which doesn't work for you, it doesn't mean you're right and they're wrong, it only means you haven't been able to figure out how to do it.

Really? The way I see it, Serrated edges are much more dangerous, for a couple main reasons:
- It's much easier to do horrifying damage to yourself if you slip up - the tearing and ripping effects they are so handy for when cutting bread, carpet, whatever, translate to some really brutal injuries. The only cuts I've ever needed stitches for came from serrated blades - one from a knife that closed on my hand and another from slipping with a bread knife.
- You're much more likely to mess up and cut yourself when your serrated knife gets snagged on the material you're cutting. Much the same way anyone who's worked in a kitchen or been to Boy Scouts knows that a dull knife is more dangerous because the extra effort it takes to force a dull knife to cut something (sawing, wrenching, reefing on the thing) dramatically increase the likelihood of you slipping up and cutting yourself.

 

[slight]

I don't really sharpen many pencils with my knives, but I do know that serrations can carve wood fairly easily. You just have to flip the knife over and put the flat side on the wood.

 

[GatorFlash1]

If you have two knives, both 4.0" in length, one plain one fully serrated, which has the longest cutting edge and by how much. I'm just guessing the serrated probably has at leas 4.5" of cutting edge.

 

[whetrock]

I love serrations for what they're worth. IMO they go nicely on smaller blades like the Spyderco Ladybug and Cricket. Other than finer task serrations can cut a wide array of materials with relative ease and can hold a working edge for quite some time. I've been wanting to add a larger fully serrated folder to my EDC rotation for general use to further expand my knowledge and experience with them. I believe that they have a great deal of potential and are often scoffed at and despised by a great number of people. I for one try and keep an open mind in regards to serrations.

 

[clockman]

I like serrations on smaller knife. I always have a Caly jr in SE in my lr pocket. It will cut just about anything...nothing metal or sharpen a pencil tho.

I always have a large pe folder in my rf pocket too. I have several other bigger se knives, but the Caly jr handles all my cutting just great.....I don't even notice it

in my pocket.

 

[bladeboss]

HALF SERRATIONS-No. Hate them. It looks cool, but I don't find it useful at all.
I would be willing to try full serrations though. I've never had or used one.

 

[bladeboss]

I had a fully serrated Endura that could whittle hair, but without a buffer I don't think I would try to replicate the sharpness. The Sharpmaker and Profiles do a good ob in restoring a very good level of sharpness, imo/e. I would rather sharpen serrations than recurves. Pencil sharpening isn't really a precise task, but the valleys between serrations do a fine job of smoothing the wood and graphite. Not that I'm an accomplished pencil sharpener, I like pens.

What Kershaw knife is that?

 

[scrub]

I like either full serration or plain edge not a big fan of the combo edge due to my sharpening skills.

 

[hardheart]

Kershaw ET

 

[PropThePolecat]

I like 3-point serrations like those on Benchmades and Spyderco. I dont like the ones on ZT and Kershaws.

I use part-serrated blades 2 places - on work and for fishing. I found the part-serrations work well when cleaning slippery fish, especially when cutting dorsal fins and heads off. The plain edge is best for gutting the fish though.

Serrations are great too for cutting bread and ripe tomatoes.

I dont like serrations on my fixed blades though. And i dont like them for woodwork/bushcraft.

 

[JuJu-]

Dorito monk: It sounds like you have Great White Disease - Once bitten twice shy!

 

[Dorito Monk]

Dorito monk: It sounds like you have Great White Disease - Once bitten twice shy!

Haha, you're probably right. I'm probably a bit paranoid about serrated knives - they really fudging HURT.

I still don't have feeling in most of that finger...