Thinking to get a military...in COMBO edge!

nccole said:
I think a combo edge in a longer blade is acceptable. I am one that dislikes combo edge, but if enough plain edge is still there, maybe I could warm up to it. I converted my Tenacious CE to a PE.
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Now that I know how easy it is to maintain a serrated edge, I have no complaint in having one in my pocket. FWIW - out of the three serrated edges I own DPx with the T3 just makes me shake my head with that type of serration, I wasn't too sure in seeing it the first time but it works better than the other two serrated blades I have. If there had been another 1/2 to 3/4" plain edge it'd have made it even sweeter. Just a very consistent cut every time. Is there any blade out there that has the serrated edge from the tip on back.....instead of the way it is always designed?
 
Surfingringo said:
Ok, I know there's a lot of hate for combo edges, but I'm thinking it would be pretty useful for me in the Millie. The knife would see a lot of fish cleaning and utility duty, and the combo still leaves over 2" of plain edge. I don't know...part of me understands the gripe with combo edges, but I think maybe the feeling is more about aesthetics and purist mentality than it is about actual practicality. Anyway, I'm debating it, so your thoughts are welcome.

Lance
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Good luck Lance on what you decide. I think I'll check out a combo millie at the knife store and see if it grabs me any. Don't own any Spyderco's. I know.:eek:
 
Chris Larrikin said:
I have a combo edge Delca which saw a lot of use when I was a search, rescue and (mostly) storm salvage volunteer with our State Emergency Service. The combination of pe and se was incredibly useful - serrations to cut rope, line and straps, and plain edge for dealing withsmall branches, cutting away at timber and plastic etc.
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It is good to see advice from someone that has actually used serrations. I read a lot from people that want them for certain uses without knowing for sure how they will work for those uses. My first modern folding knives over 15 years ago had combo edges but since then I've stayed with plain edges. I did buy a Spyderco Ladybug fully serrated and one day I was showing to my daughter at lunch. She pulled our her Tenacious so we did a test right there in the restaurant. I rolled up a paper napkin very tightly, pulled it between my 2 hands and had her cut it. Her plain edge Tenacious cut through it much faster than the serrated Ladybug. The Ladybug serrations are somewhat small and this might not have been a representative test of how other serrated knives would work so I need to run another informal test. I need to try this with rope and also with something like a seat belt. Based on this test I'm rethinking my opinion of serrations. I did read somewhat recently of someone cutting through plastic with serrations, something that I thought would resist a plain edge, so I think there are places where serrations would be better. I'm just not sure that there are as many of these situations as people think.
 
Well, I just ordered this. It was ramzar's post that pretty much sealed it for me. 2 1/2 inches of plain edge with an inch and a quarter of se for when it's needed sounds like a really great blade for my uses! Thanks for sharing those specs!

And the OCD award goes to MC Chan for pointing out how years in the future I could come to have tragic regrets about a $150 knife I hadn't even bought yet! Laughing with you chan, not at you. ;)

Here's what I ordered. My buddy's going to bring it down in a couple of weeks.

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I'm glad you finally pulled the trigger! I bet you'll be really happy with it.
 
Congrats Surfingringo. You'll really enjoy the utility of the ComboEdge Military and its light weight. It's by far the most used of my many Spydercos.
 
bdmicarta said:
It is good to see advice from someone that has actually used serrations. I read a lot from people that want them for certain uses without knowing for sure how they will work for those uses. My first modern folding knives over 15 years ago had combo edges but since then I've stayed with plain edges. I did buy a Spyderco Ladybug fully serrated and one day I was showing to my daughter at lunch. She pulled our her Tenacious so we did a test right there in the restaurant. I rolled up a paper napkin very tightly, pulled it between my 2 hands and had her cut it. Her plain edge Tenacious cut through it much faster than the serrated Ladybug. The Ladybug serrations are somewhat small and this might not have been a representative test of how other serrated knives would work so I need to run another informal test. I need to try this with rope and also with something like a seat belt. Based on this test I'm rethinking my opinion of serrations. I did read somewhat recently of someone cutting through plastic with serrations, something that I thought would resist a plain edge, so I think there are places where serrations would be better. I'm just not sure that there are as many of these situations as people think.
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Thanks! :) From my experience the Spyderco serrations work well in a straight pull or push cut, ie without much in the way of sawing. If you look at them it seems they're designed to (a) penetrate the material to be cut and then (b) maintain an effective cutting angle while the blade travels directly against the material - in other words the shape of the serrations effectively does the slashing for you. On larger ropes etc I did tend to move the knife in a small arc around the material while cutting - a bit of a wrist flick. I found they worked very well on fibrous salvage rope and straps. For me there was less lateral movement required to cut these sorts of things than with a straight edge.

They're also really good when it comes to cutting clothing away - the points penetrate fabric well and the edged curves make very short work of it, meaning little movement is required (the kind of movement which I imagine could result in poking someone). Thankfully this is something I've only had to do in training or when turning old turn-out gear/overalls into rags.

Of course, I am hardly an authority on it and I knew even less about knives then...but that's what worked for me :)

I think it's also worth saying that it's pretty clear Spyderco designed their serrations carefully to make sure they're useful (not just mean looking); some other brands appear not to.
 
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My combo edge just came in the mail! BM 527 Mini Presidio, about 2 inches of PE with a really thin profile. 440C that's very rust resistant.
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My brother and I are the paperboys for our university (we have other jobs as well, he's a farmhand and I'm a roofing apprentice). We are both knife enthusiasts and we both carry serrated/partially serrated knives at both of our jobs. He carries a serrated Spyderco Spyderhawk and I carry an Emerson Horseman with a combo edge. They excel as true work knives in his and mine experience. However, we only carry them at work. Outside of work, he carries a Spyderco Rock Lobster and I carry a SnG. Both plain edge. Just my experience.
 
PS there's definitely a difference between crappy knife serrations and good serrations. I keep reading that Spyderco has the best serrations hands down. While I like CRKT. Their serrations are not so good. On this BM 527...really good! Which means that Spydercos I'm sure are really really good.
 
yes they are quite good. I know I need at least one serrated Spydie in the collection, but I think it would be full serrated. Interestingly my two regretted serrated blades are both Benchmades which are out of production, AFCK and Ares. Hopefully we will always be able to get our desired versions of the Milli in the future but you never know.
 
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