Should a survival knife be semi-serrated, or totally smooth?

Plain edge for me too. Maybe pick up a Leatherman or something else with mixed blades so that you can see which you use most.
 
I like a plain edge too. Plain edges need to be sharpened more often than serrated but are more versatile. If you find yourself with only your knife, it would be difficult to sharpen serrations on a rock.
 
plain knife for me. if i really wanted the serrated edge for some reason though, i would just bring my demo knife along, which has two knife blades, a plain one and a whole serrated one. (and it has a saw blade too! :) )
 
Plain edge. I have a partially serrated edge on my Gerber 600 multitool only because I can't get one without it.

I've never had trouble getting through a seatbelt with a plain edge using only one stroke (Ka-Bar mule, less than 4" length, so it's not like I have a long draw to work with). I think the seatbelt thing is a largely theoretical advantage so long as you actually keep your blades sharp. A dull serrated blade will cerainly saw through a seatbelt faster than a dull plain edge will rub through.

Rope? Well, talking survival or woods running, my knife for that is a RAT-7, with the longish draw I get with it, I don't see how it'd take much longer to go through rope with it than with a serrated blade.

Besides, I tend to sharpen the RAT with only the coarse side of a diamond hone, which in effect, makes microserrations. It cuts very, very well. I hone my smaller blades smooth for finer cutting tasks.
 
You are 100% right that a sharp blade with a good grind will cut better than a serrated edge on almost anything, including a seat belt. It works on rope too. But the reality is that the edge may not always be sharp, especially if you just cut, pried and sawed your way through part of a door, roof, seat or whatever. You could be trying to get into another car, or another part of your car to get at someone else.
Same in trying to cut a branch of a sweeper on a river or to get through part of a canoe or kayak to free yourself or someone else.
Serrations do have potential advntages because you can never tell what the hell might happen. And, shame to say, it isn't always possible to keep a knife in perfect cutting condition in the harsh & mobile conditions.

But I still like a long clean edge for ordinary situations.

That partly serrated Predator just hits the spot for me though, like almost all Greg's fixed blades. I haven't seen him do a serrated edge in a long time, though.
 
Plain. You can sharpen a plain edged on a stone much easier than you can a serrated. Buy a seat belt little mini-cutter or whatever you call them and keep it in your sheath pouch. Personally, I have NO doubts that I could cut through seat belt webbing if I needed to with a plain edge!

I carry a little folding saw, a Leatherman, and a two ring string saw that takes up no weight at all.
 
Like me a generally prefer a plain edge, but if Im cannoing, I want a 1/3 serrated blade, on something with some serrations.
 
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