Who makes the best serrations?

Starfish

Starfish

Joined
Jun 14, 2001
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And what makes them so great?

I'd like to pick up a serrated knife, and started thinking about serrations in general. I've heard about some knives having useless serrations, and others described as pocket chainsaws. Clearly, then, all serrations are not created equal.

So -

(1) Which manufacturer makes the highest-performance serrations?
(2) What makes their serration pattern so great? Is it the pattern, the steel, what?
(3) Is there a particular knife from the manufacturer identified in #1 that really highlights the manufacturer's skill in producing serrations?

With regards to question #3, I'm looking at fully serrated knives, not combo edges.

We who are about to be educated salute you :)
 
I tend to prefer plain edges, but Spyderco, Benchmade, SOG, Gerber, Buck, Camillus, etc.. make good serrations. The the quality of the steel is a factor in overall edge holding, but it's the pattern of the serrations which determine how smooth the knife will cut. In my opinion, one of the best serrations I've seen are Kit Carson's reverse serrations like the one's used on the Buck Intrepid and the Outdoor Edge Magna. These serrations bite deep into fibrous material and cut rather than rip the material.
 
I think your question is really interesting, thanks to Lansky. For a long time people said that they liked Cold Steel's serrations but they were difficult at best to sharpen. Lansky now makes an $8 sharpener for Cold Steel's pattern. Actually, they make specific sharpeners for a few different serration patterns. I have limited experience with serrations, having only really used Cold Steel and benchmade types. I guess I'd have to say that Coild Steel's pattern is aggressive while cutting smoothly. And now you can sharpen it, so check out Cold Steel.
 
Spyderco has the best serrations. If you look, most of the other companies with "good" serrations just copy their pattern. As to a particular knife in their lineup.... I dunno any of them really. Some have more agressive serrations (my Delica has pointier serrations than my Military) but they all work great.
 
If you're wanting a fully serrated quality knife, check out the Spyderco line. IMO, they've set the standard for serrated blade performance. :D
 
IMO Spyderco makes the meanest serrations I have seen.
I think the Civilian (while not being a utility blade) is an excellent
example of a nasty fully serrated knife.
 
Spyderco!

I've only owned one Spyderco knife that was fully serrated, but I;ve used some others, Owned: G-10 Harpy Neeb Loaned: SS Endura, fully serrated.

Great serrations!

Also, my Outdoor Edge Impulse (fully serrated) has some really great serratons on it, took a nice chunk of thumb from me the other day, closed it on my hand, didnt feel it when it cut it was so sharp, only when my thumb tried to pull back and it started to rip across the serration. :eek: :eek:

Spydero, Outdoor Edge.

Oh yeah....Emerson Knives Inc. have good serrations...but I dont think they offer a fully serrated blade.
 
1. Sypderco
2. Cuts/rips like a "mother"; pattern makes resharpening easier
3. Police (stainless steel handled hollow ground blade)

Enough said. Case closed. Don't ask anymore questions on this subject. ;) (Just kidding)
 
I have a Spyderco Merlin, which I tested together with Colt Cobra, semi-serrated. The Spyderco won, slicing through the fibrous, ½ inch, polyester rope without any problems. The laser-cut serrations of the Colt only got stuck ... :barf:
 
Not to sound monotonous but...
Spyderco
it's my personal opinion that if you must have a serrated knife (and I don't recommend you do unless you cut highly fibrous materials all day everday), Spyderco is the only design worthwhile, good steel, great serration pattern.
I'm considering a Fully Serrated Spydie Endura as my dedicated serrated carry knife.
 
Spyderco. The more rounded serrations of the Military cut smoothly, and stay sharp a long time.
 
I will go with Spyderco. I also own serrated knives from Benchmade, one from Cold Steel, and a few from other companies. I love them all, but Spyderco's serration pattern is the best, IMO. The serrations on my Endura are pointier than on my Harpy, for example, but the same design. I guess I'm a bit of an oddity because I like knives that are fully plain, fully serrated, and 50/50. Spyderco's seem to have reached that fine line between being adequately razor sharp but still durable enough for work serrations will be needed for.
Jim
 
Spyderco. They are fairly easy to sharpen with a Sharpmaker, and aren't nearly as fragile as the serrations on Cold Steel knives.
 
I prefer BenchMade's serration pattern, A close second is Spyderco. I hate the Cold Steel serrations.
 
although I haven't used any fully serrated knives besides Spyderco I have to agree that their serrations are hella agressive. I have used a g10 Harpy for the better part of this year and haven't found anything that they can't rip through and with the Sharpmaker they are super easy to get sharp. Lansky also makes a small crock stick that is made for the Spyderco serrations. I just recieved a fully serrated Viele in a trade and plan to use it as my EDC when I'm not at work. spyderco seems to make the most knives that are fully serrated as well. I'm not sure what you're gonna do with the knife like do you want a nice folder or a workhorse. for a more gentlemans folder I would get the veile or Lum Chinese folder which are both in vg 10 steel. for a smaller workhorse try the Standard or rookie (both discontinued but available easily at ebay) for a larger one try the Native or Military. or you can get my favorite for cutting fiberous material such as small tree limbs, rope, or wires the Harpy. (it is tougher than the Merlin I have usee both) I think the g10 harpy is discontinued but you can get it easily on ebay.
 
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