Short Combo Edge Blades; Do They Have Merit?

[silverds]

Hey danbot, can you see what you can do about the MDF closet.

 

[silverds]

I thought that's what Sabres were for.

LOL Brilliant

 

[Pilsner]

Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and over there somewhere.

Edit: my arrows don't show up.

Yes. Which is why I sometimes take one climbing, though not in the rigging to be fair.

 

[danbot]

Hey danbot, can you see what you can do about the MDF closet.

Cut the red wire of course.

 

[silverds]

Chief danbot, get geared up and get that anchor squared away.

 

[silverds]

So you see private danbot, that's why I don't carry two knives. Now get off the deck and into that plane.

 

[19-3ben]

That's something I don't recall ever seeing.

Victorinox does it on some of their folders.

 

[Danke42]

If the serrations are as sharp as the rest of the blade then of course it's useful.

If the serrations are those little butter knife style bumps then no. Unless your task involves blunting something apart.

 

[scottyj]

The serrations on my Adamas are super sharp, and they rip through plastic banding/thick wire with ease.

 

[Wanimator]

I never got serrations... I use them often on my Pacific Salt but I VASTLY prefer a plain edge.

 

[danbot]

Chief danbot, get geared up and get that anchor squared away.

Aye Aye, Cap'n Silverds!

 

[danbot]

Looks like I'm gonna have to give my combo edge another go and see if I can develop some love for it!
Next strapped pallet of boxes that come into work is mine!

 

[BK14]

Not exactly a short edge, but my Emerson Horseman is in combo edge. It’s a bit odd really. I don’t desire or have serrations on any of my other knives, but on the Horseman (my most carried knife) it just works. I use it when work really needs to be done. Working around horses, there’s a lot of zip ties and twine and other fibrous materials. However being able to cleanly slice plastic or an apple or leather is also invaluable, so that’s why I prefer a combo instead of full serrations. In conjunction with the chisel edge, the serrations really make it the knife I grab when stuff just needs separating.

 

[microtech85]

I think the combo blades have some merit. Not for me personally. The first knives i ever bought were combo blades. I quickly learned that i preferred to have the entire length of the blade plain for my type of cutting. I see the serrations as a good way to have an effective cutting edge long after your plain edge has dulled though. I really did enjoy the serrations on the tip of my blade on my vicotrinox solider '08.

 

[danbot]

I think the combo blades have some merit. Not for me personally. The first knives i ever bought were combo blades. I quickly learned that i preferred to have the entire length of the blade plain for my type of cutting. I see the serrations as a good way to have an effective cutting edge long after your plain edge has dulled though. I really did enjoy the serrations on the tip of my blade on my vicotrinox solider '08.

That's about where I was on the combo edges as well. I tried one at one time, but I found the serrations were just too "grabby" for the things I needed to cut. I preferred the plain edge and couldn't really think of anything where a serrated edge would be that much better.

 

[A.L.]

I thought about combo edges recently, and although I don’t need one (now) I can definitely see the point of owning knife with one. I very rately use the lower part of the blade in anything utilitarian so I would not mind having serrations in the lower part of the blade in modern knife.

 

[chiral.grolim]

I greatly prefer a combo-edge on my EDC when expecting to cut through rope, rubber tubing, or any other medium that might slide along the edge as I attempt a push-cut. The penetration points on proper serrations bite in FAR more easily than all but exceedingly fine-edged blades, and the scallops are generally of such thin geometry that they separate the material with minimal effort.

As a case, I own both the regular combo-edge Gerber Order and the plain-edge Walmart version and while I can "make do" with the plain edge on the materials mentioned above, it just doesn't have the aggression of the serrations and is less of a joy to use, requiring more effort and more care. On the other hand, I far prefer the plain-edge version for cutting apart packages and cardboard as the serrations tend to gum-up easily on a draw-cut.

 

[BK14]

I should add, I see partial serrations as a possible good thing on thicker and beefier blades that aren’t going to slice very well anyway. For example, I would be opposed to a combo edge Delica, but not a combo edge Mini CQC-7 of the same size. This could just be me.

 

[machineage]

I bought a Spydie Native in all stainless and partial serrations. Must be close to 15 years ago. If I bought it now I would buy the plain edge.It's still a great little knife, and does a multitude of tasks quite will. I do like serrations for any type of ti-raps or tough plastics. That's where they really shine.