Shaving Sharp Serrated Knives

BladeChemist

BladeChemist

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Aug 19, 2010
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In the interest of "just because", has anyone here spent the time and sharpened their serrated pocket knives to shaving sharp? I know serrations aren't at the top of everyone's sharpening list, but I for one am interested in seeing what such a knife would do to rope or what have you.

In combination with my Edge Pro, I'm thinking these could help the process.

And if that doesn't interest you, take a look at this selection of rescue knives by Spyderco. A fully serrated pocket knife in S30V? I'm interested, and maybe some first responders out there would be interested as well.

Just imagine what a super-sharp serrated s30v blade could do when time counts?
 
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My BM 710 has serrations and about once a month I bring it home from work and spend some time cleaning it up and sharpening the whole blade. I'm an industrial electrician by trade so the knife gets used alot.

Ski
 
I started a thread on this subject here quite a while back. Since then I've learned quite a bit more about sharpening serrations and should probably update it.

A couple things...

I'm not a fan of tapered rods to sharpen serrations. You necessarily make a serration wider when you remove metal with them. They also are just not wide enough to fit larger serrations.

As for S30V... it's not my first choice for edges that I keep shaving sharp. My understanding is that it's benefit is wear resistance and that wear resistance means that it will keep cutting after it's dulled. Apparently the grain structure of the metal stays coarse as it wears down. This can be good on a serrated knife since serrations tear more than they cut anyway. However, if you want to keep a hair splitting edge on a serrated edge, why not go with say a VG-10 steel?

Full disclosure though... If you want to call BS on any of this, I'm caught. Because I've never let a S30V get dull enough to test this theory. I'm only going on what I've read.
 
changeofseasons said:
I started a thread on this subject here quite a while back. Since then I've learned quite a bit more about sharpening serrations and should probably update it.

A couple things...

I'm not a fan of tapered rods to sharpen serrations. You necessarily make a serration wider when you remove metal with them. They also are just not wide enough to fit larger serrations.

As for S30V... it's not my first choice for edges that I keep shaving sharp. My understanding is that it's benefit is wear resistance and that wear resistance means that it will keep cutting after it's dulled. Apparently the grain structure of the metal stays coarse as it wears down. This can be good on a serrated knife since serrations tear more than they cut anyway. However, if you want to keep a hair splitting edge on a serrated edge, why not go with say a VG-10 steel?

Full disclosure though... If you want to call BS on any of this, I'm caught. Because I've never let a S30V get dull enough to test this theory. I'm only going on what I've read.
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Wow, hey- thanks for the input. Your Edge Pro-Pro setup is amazing, I can't believe your thread didn't get more hits. I'm going to gawk at that some more now.

P.S. I was giving S30V as an example- it would be interesting to obtain a tough/hard steel in a fully serrated model. Just because :D
 
All 'first responders' should be required to maintain a PE at shaving sharpness. That's what cuts rope, seatbelts, clothes, etc. the best.

The above comment that serrations tear more than they cut is too true, and it takes more effort to tear than it does to cut. A sharp PE outcuts a SE every time.
 
I have a Spyderco 3+" length with a half serrated blade marked
AUS-8 STAINLESS.

I have read a few posts here, and I have only one comment. Someone
posted that a particular way of sharpening "removed metal" as if that
was a bad thing.

Is it possible to sharpen a blade without removing metal? I have
plenty of kitchen knives that have been sharpened over the years
and all of them have lost a little width as they were sharpened.

Back to the Spyderco: recommendations for sharpening the
serrated portion ???

Thanks,
Eric

PS: what is a PE?
 
The diafold sharpeners work pretty well. Changofseasons' setup looks pretty slick, but since I don't have an edgepro...

I use the diafold. I clamp the knife in a padded vise and using good lighting, hone them by hand. I generally use a rolling motion along the curve of the serration with a narrower portion of the hone. I'm pretty sure mine came with instructions, and uncharacteristically I read and followed them. Because of the taper its not possible to match the radius. Any burr can be removed by very lightly passing the diafold along both sides a couple of times at slightly larger angle. Results tend to be good to excellent - enough to shave arm hair. Re some of the other comments about serrated edges, I tend to agree. They do work great for hard use on tough materials, but for environments where the owner is willing and able to do some maintenance, a plain edge performs better (with the appropriate grind).
 
In the interest of "just because", has anyone here spent the time and sharpened their serrated pocket knives to shaving sharp? I know serrations aren't at the top of everyone's sharpening list, but I for one am interested in seeing what such a knife would do to rope or what have you.
Click to expand...

Yep :)
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6392077&postcount=203

When you have serrations that are very sharp, not too spiky, and ground acutely enough, they can do most everything a plain edge can do (and things PEs can't) and certainly don't tear. If your SE is tearing, you're doing something wrong.

I've actually shaved my face with a SE cara cara rescue (ground flat on the back), and while it was certainly more tedious, my face was very smooth and not nicked.
 
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