Whittling with the Serrated Edge

Joined
Apr 5, 2006
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8
The Spring Whittling Season has broken out around here, so yesterday I headed out to the back porch with a narley piece of Fir to make a few shavings and test out my new D4 PE and E4 SE (steel handles). It has been difficult to make up my mind which is a favorite, though the E4's toothy blade hasn't done the best job of a few indoor cutting tasks.

Well, that serrated edge's ability at stock removal was quite a surprise. I had it just a bit beyond factory sharp with some of those "profile" Spyderco ceramic rods and this may have helped, but the serrations themselves behaved like an entirely different species of woodworking tool. It was like a combination knife, rasp, saw and gouge and I got my carving roughed out in about one third the usual time.

As I found out, the fully serrated edge may not be a jack of every trade but it certainly has a place in my pocket, and not just for cutting wire either.
 
Welcome to the forums!

That's an interesting observation. In a recent thread about firestarting under difficult conditions, another person made similar comments. I like serrations for some tasks, but always figured that the scallops-and-points would not be useful for woodworking.
 
Yeah, I have alway shied away from serrated blades purely because I used my knives for whittling a lot. I may have to get that serrated dodo I've been looking at.
 
Agreed, w hile horrible for fine wors, they do eat up wood like nobody's business. If you need to go from a large chunk to a smaller (rough) shape, a spyderedge does the job quickly. Then you'll have to switch to a plain edge if you want to get it smooth.
Welcome to the forums!
Peace.
Alex.
 
I'm will definately be looking at more fully-serrated blades after this recent whittling experience. They are very aggressive cutters and this can be handy out in the woods as well. Even so, it was nice to have that D4 PE on hand to smooth things out, since the E4 SE's performance was a bit like chainsaw carving en-miniature.

One concern when I ordered the SE knife was that I would not be able to establish and maintain an edge which was "whittling sharp." As it turns out, this is not a problem. The 701 stones do a fast job and maintain the factory profile easily. Also, I have been stropping the edge on a piece of 12 oz. leather (about 3/16" thick) glued to a board with green honing compound. Odd though it may sound, this thickness of leather conforms to the shape of the serrations and polishes the inside surfaces very well.
 
I was whittling this weekend, using both a SE Dodo and a PE D4. Serrations can save you a lot of effort in the initial whittling state -- lots of wood is sliced off effortlessly. I then switch to a PE for the smoother work.

Welcome Catustomus!
 
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