Straight edge vs. serrated

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brian321

Joined
Jan 31, 2010
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Which is better for outdoor Wilderness use and why?(Camping,Hiking,and survival). I am new to knives and would like to start a good collection so im just trying to find out some information before i buy. Thanks.
 
Serrations are useless, unless you want to only cut cord or rope.
 
For wilderness use, PE is better, because it is more versatile. However, serrations are good for ropes and seat belts and such. All you'll ever need probably is one serrated blade like a serrated Endura or Millie or something. Unless, if you want to cut down limbs you need a whacking huge saw.
 
Not a fan or serations, but I am becoming quite fond of notching on the spine for make notches in wood.

Check the Seal Pup Elite to see what I mean.
 
First, welcome aboard :thumbup:

Second, don't start collecting knives.:eek:

Last, Both edges have benefits, However the plain edge is much more versitile. Some combo blades have just enough serrated edge to work for cutting rope and such but they are few and far between, Most end up not having enough of either edge to really work well.
 
I have wondered about this myself. I haven't been into knives for very long, but this has been my experience: When I first started out, I bought combo blades. I thought it was the best of both worlds. I thought you had the straight edge for slicing jobs and the serrated edge for cutting rope quickly. Then I read that a sharp enough straight edge would slice through rope as well as a serrated edge, and therefore, serrated edges were unnecessary. I paid more attention after that, and found that to be generally true. I realized that when using my combo edge knife for rope, the serrations where both cutting and tearing the fibers, and that a straight edged knife was cutting the fibers cleanly w/o tearing. So now I believe that a sharp straight edged knife is all you need.
 
And on the other sides of things, a well sharpened serrated edge will push cut many things as well as a plain edge ;)
 
If you cant sharpen or dont maintain your blade: Serrated edge

Everything else: Plain edge

YMMV
 
brian321 said:
Which is better for outdoor Wilderness use and why?(Camping,Hiking,and survival).
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You should firstly consider what tasks you need the knife to do and then buy a plain edge knife to do it. You should also learn proper maintenance of your knives (especially if you are starting a collection) and that very definitely includes sharpening! Once you have learnt to keep a knife razor sharp you will find that the plain edge blades will keep up with the serrated edge ones just fine.

Ignoring the kitchen knives all my blades are plain edge except for one of the two blades on my Leatherman Wave. I have carried that Leatherman for over 8 years and use the serrated blade so really that I have never had to sharpen it. I have on the other hand sharpened the plain edge blade and I keep that 'shaving sharp'. Even the little Leatherman Squirt S4 has a 'shaving sharp' blade that I am confident would cut rope or seatbelts if it had to.

I would rather slice a tomato with a 'shaving sharp' plain edge than a serrated edge, though I will admit that a blunt PE knife is about as good for slicing a tomato as a spoon (marginally better than a hammer)!

In short plain edges are the best and I say that with the assumption that you will keep them sharp. I can't emphasize enough how important that last bit is - keep them SHARP!
 
mossyhorn said:
Serrations are useless, unless you want to only cut cord or rope.
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Serrations are GREAT if you want to cut cord or rope.:D:p

Plain edges are useless if you want to cut cord or rope.:p:D

I like a combo edge myself.
 
timcsaw said:
Serrations are GREAT if you want to cut cord or rope.:D:p

Plain edges are useless if you want to cut cord or rope.:p:D

I like a combo edge myself.
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I like plain edge for cord and rope. Ever try cutting paracord with a SE knife? It snags and catches everywhere unless it's ridiculously sharp.
 
I say, unless the knife is fully serrated it's not as useful. Mostly plain edge knives for me.
 
Recently I picked up my first fully SE blades. I still have a combo-edge Gerber from a job before I was into knives. IMHO so far, they are pretty specialized. brian321, for camping, hiking, and survival, I would definitely recommend a well-maintained plain edge. I do a lot of hiking, camping, and long-distance backpacking and I have never wished for a serrated edge.
 
I have to say I used my D'allara (Spyderco) serrated edge to saw through a 3 inch piece of wood to make a makeshift mountain climbing stick.

But I have to admit, it sucks in shaving wood pieces and food cutting. I'd go for combo edge.
 
Thanks for all the responses, So far i bought a USMC Ka Bar Serrated, And a RAT Izula PE and i kind of regret the Serrated one(although i have hardly used it to know.) And as for sharpening I have bought about 4 different sharpeners i am not exactly sure how to sharpen them really good yet.(maybe im just inexperienced). I have practiced trying to sharpen my Cheap pocket knives(from china LOL) but have had little success. I dont want to try on a good knife yet ill probably just make it duller LOL.
 
Do the above posts apply also for a smaller knife such as the Spyderco Delica?
I'm trying to decide between the combo or plain edge and I'm totally confused!
 
When I head to the mountains for the weekend to do some camping and hiking it's the: SEAL Pup

Blade Detail: ComboEdge
Blade Length (inches): 4.75
Blade Material: AUS6
Carry System: Kydex Sheath
Handle Material: Zytel
Overall Length (inches): 9.00

This one works well for me.
 
mikellen said:
Do the above posts apply also for a smaller knife such as the Spyderco Delica?
I'm trying to decide between the combo or plain edge and I'm totally confused!
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TBH I think that the combo edge is worse on small knives like the Delica - you end up with a rather tiny amount of serrations and a rather tiny amount of plain edge. Sawing rope with a combo edge is horrible - you only have a short length of serrations to saw with.

The best option would be a plain edge.
The 2nd best option would be a serrated edge.
The worst option would be the combo edge.
 
I found a combo edge can be useful in a limited scope of use, for example in my work I sometimes need to saw off a SMALL chunk of hardened plastic or rough up a surface and the serrations come in handy as even a very sharp blade won't perform on hard plastic like this, even as a plain edge might be somewhat capable in this usage I work in oily conditions and a very sharp blade would be asking for trouble.
 
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