The point of serrations?

I like partial serrations. They can start a cut through a tough material that the plain edge will then be able to finish. Believe it or not, some knives actually dull out after cutting things like cardboard, and some people don't actually carry a sharpener in their pocket to bring up the edge again. And besides, what is the problem with having partial serrations anyway? You can make a neat cut just fine with the belly on the blade, and use the serrations if you need them.

And why question whether you should baton with serrations? Use your brain and get a hatchet and never baton again. Thats why they were invented.
 
pwet said:
true. :D
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LOL. I've found that a dull plain blade is easier to deal with (and fix) than a dull serrated blade. I've never understood why so many steak knives are serrated. A blade with bad serrations definitely just tears steak and other meats. I don't care to watch people eating steak with their hands, though. :) The only thing I really might want to use a serrated knife for in the kitchen is bread. Anything else, a plain blade works better for me.

Outside the kitchen, I still prefer a plain blade. Serrated just tears cardboard and paper, in my experience. In an emergency, my plain blades will slice through clothing and webbing just fine. I'd imagine a plain blade would cut through wire more easily than a serrated blade, also, though I don't use my knives that way.

I find that serrations just slow me down in most cases.
 
viva la said:
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I bought a set of Cutco Knives around 6 months ago. Worst knife purchase I ever made. The knives don't have a plain edge and they don't really have a serrated edge. Not sure what they are thinking but these knives will not cut through hard veggies or fruit worth a darn. I almost cut my finger off trying to get one through some potato's to cook. You have to force the knife through. I think they call the edge the Double D edge. It is suppose to protect the edge from hard surfaces, but all it does is make the blade difficult to get through materials. The only blade I recieved (parring knife) that was not serrated won't hold an edge more than a couple of days. The steak knives do OK but I bought the set to have some great knives in the kitchen. Live and learn. Now I wish I would have bought the Victorinox.

Sorry if I got slightly off subject, but I don't consider Cutco serrated.

Bill
 
Serrations work not so much because of increased effective blade length but because of pressure per square inch. If you're applying 10 pounds of pressure to one inch of blade surface, imagine how much pressure that would be if applied to 5 serration points. That's how saws work. Another analogy: imagine trying to give yourself an injection with a "needle" the size of a pencil eraser. Not gonna happen.
 
wsfarrell said:
Serrations work not so much because of increased effective blade length but because of pressure per square inch. If you're applying 10 pounds of pressure to one inch of blade surface, imagine how much pressure that would be if applied to 5 serration points. That's how saws work. Another analogy: imagine trying to give yourself an injection with a "needle" the size of a pencil eraser. Not gonna happen.
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This is a good analogy. Serrations often help because they initiate cuts the way one might use the point of a knife to initiate a cut. The blade has a lot of little points along the edge of the blade to help initiate cuts.

There seem to be other factors, too. Already mentioned, that allow serrated edges to maintain cutting ability where plain edges might dull. Serrations also seem to act like lots of tiny hawkbills in a row, aggressively grabbing the material to be cut. The curvature encourages lots of slicing action. Also, though it doesn't have to be the case, I find that for some reason serrated blades are sometimes ground top a more acute single edge bevel angle than their comparable plain edge double bevel. I've noticed this on a few combo edge knives. Of course, acute edge bevels are not exclusive to serrations. But when this is the case, serrations will generally outperform the plain edges in nearly every area.

I've become more of a convert to serrations as the years go by, with the simple realization that they are not as limited as so many knife nuts (myself included) simply presumed. For the most part, a sharp knife is a sharp knife. With few exceptions, they are not really much harder to sharpen, if at all. The only significant difference is that they seem to cut more aggressively, and for a longer amount of time.
 
Have never been a real fan of the partially serrated blades but have been using a Meadowlark Byrd out in the yard and it does a fine job. Took a Rangeland Plant identification class last week; used my Ritter Griptillian for first couple of days and it was o.k.; sliced through some large cattails just as slick as you could want but we were getting into some areas that it didn't do as well (may have been getting dull) so switched to the Byrd and it was great; I am convinced the serrations were a big help. Suit the tool to the task, I guess.
 
Also, dull serrations will tear through something and make a mess, but a dull plain edge blade will not cut at all. Fibrous material like muscle tissue in steak is much easier cut by serrations. Notice how the blade on the spyderco civilian is serrated fully. I carry a partially serrated Leatherman Skeletool, and it is more than enough for any task.
 
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