The Incredible "usefullness" of Spyderco's Serrated Blades

J

JD Spydo

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Nov 20, 2004
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When I got my first Spyderco folder back in the Spring of 1995 up till then I had never got to try out a really high quality serrated knife. I discovered that Spyderco truly took serrations to a much higher level. My first Spyderco folder was a fully serrated, GIN-1 MARINER model. Once I started using that awesome full SE Spyderco MARINER model I got to see first hand how efficient and useful that a high quality serrated blade can be for many different cutting jobs.

I would love to hear some testimonies about how you all discovered first hand that Spyderco's great serrated blades do incredibly well And which was your first Spyderco serrated blade? Also I would like to know about some of the cutting jobs you all found that Spyderco's serrated blades did really well on. We all started out at some point with Spyderco's high quality serrations. Also how you can describe that Spyderco's serrations are far superior compared to others.
 
Maybe this thread will move me to try one. I was seriously thinking about picking out a model when the Khukhuri bug bit. I've often read of many folks praising those Spyderco serrations. The only experience I have with serrated was an old half serrated Gerber Gater in which I noticed how well those serrations would open the brisket on a deer. Maybe soon I'll try one.
 
I also started with a SE Mariner back in 1989. I still have that knife and it was my duty knife for years.

I am back to interest in full SE. Pacific Salt and eyeballing a Para 3 SE. Recent SE is the Endela and it has a great SE profile, maybe the best or tied with the Caribbean.
 
The LC200N SE Native lasted three weeks in daily gardening use, cutting weeds, cane, cattail and wood. That is comparable to PE Maxamet performance in my experience. So serrations are magic. Convinced, soon I bought a Caribbean Sheepfoot SE, a Tasman SE, a Dragonfly SE in H1 steels and another DLC SE S30V Native. Great users. I maintain them with the corners of my ceramic stones and diamond loaded strops.
 
I’ve got an Executive with a full serrated blade (my first Spyderco) I’ve used for almost 40 years, an excellent cutter. I think the full flat grind serrated versions would be even better.
 
Spyderco's serrations are more like a saw. I have a PM2 with serrations and the Tazmin Salt. I was shown a Matriach once too. They're insane.
 
The SpyderEdge is awesome when you need to cut hard and cut fast.



Aside from the Clipit Delica, the knives above are somewhat task specific. But within their task, they kick a##!

Green: kayaking, sailing, and watersports; line cutting, utility etc. SE PacSalt is the gold standard.

Blue: yard work, sod cutting, etc. So far, its a beast.

Black: dog walking & cycling. In the terrible event an animal gets aggressive with me or my pup, I want to be able to stop the threat as efficiently as possible.

The SE Clipit makes a pretty good small utility knife for backpacking.

IMO the main drawback to GOOD serrations is difficulty sharpening, though they are sharpenable.
 
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Great thread idea. Lets take a hint from nature:

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My first one was the Native Salt in LC200N. It took three weeks of hard garden/yard work to make it completely dull, with a couple of tips of the teeth bent. But made it sharp again on a corner of a ceramic stone easily. Not quite like new, but close enough. It was soon followed by a Tasman Salt in H1, a Caribbean Sheepfoot, another DLC Native and a Dragonfly 2 in H1. Out of these I sold the DLC Native, because I realized it's too tactical for me and I lost the Dragonfly, but promptly replaced it with a new one. They are used in the garden and on the waterfront cutting cattail and cane. I am thinking about the Native Chief LW SE right now, they say BD1N gets really sharp really easily.

For those struggling with sharpening - don't try to sharpen each scallop separately with a chainsaw file or anything like that. Just do strokes like you would do with a PE blade, but use the corner of a stone. Do this on the scalloped side of the SE blade until you can detect a burr on the other side. Then do the flat side, but much more lightly, just to remove the burr. Again, use the corner of a stone for this. It can even be stropped on the corner of a leather strop this way.

Also, not all SpyderEdges are the same, some are deeper and more jagged, the recent ones are more undulating. IIRC there are test showing the older jagged patterns underperform.
 
I bought a Gin-1 Native SE in the 90s, maybe? The Sharpmaker is great for any serrated knice.
 
Spyderco serrations sing in the kitchen. My favorite gift for a bride and groom.
 
My delica 4 serrated was the family go-to knife for slicing our baguettes during breakfast, as serrated blades make cutting french breads so much easier.
 
I owned an operated a landscape company for over a decade. I used a Spyderco Tasman Salt with a serrated blade for many years. It proved its excellence for the job daily. I still have never found a better tool for quick finish pruning of various palm and tropical plants. A few of my customers asked about the knife and at least one of them ended up buying one for themselves.
 
Full serrated K390 Police, with the new, flatter serration pattern, and a wave on it, is my jam. Also, big Cricket fan here, actually, my girl stole my Cricket and said it is the most useful knife she has ever used, and it kicked the orange aluminum BD1N PM2 out!
Love Spydie serrations. Would even trust my Matriarch 2 to some light work.
 
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