Why do companies keep making these serrated edge when they clearly don't sell as well

[SOLEIL]

Sure, SE does those tasks better because it doesn't need as much edge retention to do the task. But PE blades are no slouch either. If you're going to be getting copper cables and ropes all day, you would be better served with special shears rather than a knife anyway. For EDC tasks, PE blades can cut whatever SE blades can, whereas SE blades basically only give you 1.5" inches of knife for a lot of tasks as the serrations eat up half the blade.

When your in the field and time is money you use what you have. Your EDC tasks are much different than mine. No SE knife only gives you 1.5", unless it is a 1.5" blade. Even many CE give you more. The tasks I use my SE knives for can not be done with the efficiency or duration of my PE knives. What do you mean that it does not need as much edge retention? It needs just as much, it is that an SE has up to 3X more blade surface to apply to the task. If your EDC requirements are not in a work environment like mine then a PE is fine. Most people who use SE or CE need them for their working conditions. That is one reason they are still selling made and sold. Just because you don't see the validity of their use does not mean they are useless or unpopular. Why do they make them? Because people who need them and like them buy them. Who in their right mind would produce a product that does not sell? And if your going to be debarking trees all day I think you should have a specialized tool for the task.

 

[cotdt]

I cannot agree more with you, at the same time I am glad they screwed up...

I hate you.

 

[mdauben]

I debark trees.

Okay, I'm sure many of us could come up with odd and unusual knife uses that are hindered by a CE, but honestly, you may debark trees on a daily basis but I doubt one in a thousand other users do. I hardly think that is a valid critisism of CE for EDC. A butcher had to cut up sides of beef every day, does the fact that a 3-inch CE blade is not best suited for that particular task make it unsuitable for EDC at all? Likewise a woodcarver or a fisherman or whatever. Many people have specialized needs that fall outside the typical EDC range, but that does not mean we should recomed butcher knifes, or carving knives or fillet knives for EDC, does it?

I will never buy CE blades ever again.

Certainly that is your right and if it does not do what you need it to do that makes sense. Just becuase your unusual usage is better addressed by a PE though, is not really justification for condeming CE all together.

Even for small tasks like boxcutting/rope/food, PE blades have double the edge retention, because you have double the blade length.

With any kind of quality knife, I have never had any particular problems with edge retention from cutting a few boxes, unless you are talking about opening hundreds of boxes per day, which I would again consider outside the relm of typical every day usage.

 

[Ankerson]

With any kind of quality knife, I have never had any particular problems with edge retention from cutting a few boxes, unless you are talking about opening hundreds of boxes per day, which I would again consider outside the relm of typical every day usage.

That's what they make box cutters for.

 

[cotdt]

With any kind of quality knife, I have never had any particular problems with edge retention from cutting a few boxes, unless you are talking about opening hundreds of boxes per day, which I would again consider outside the relm of typical every day usage.

My brother lent his friend his NIB razor sharp Sebenza S30V, to open cardboard packages over the weekend. When he got it back, the knife was so dull it couldn't even slice bread. Basically a butter knife. Dunno how that happened.

 

[ohski]

Both of my "work knives" are CE... a BM 710S and my new #7 CE 806-901. We are talking about 4" blades here... I have plenty of PE and plenty of SE to work with. I'm an electrician... if it helps any bodys thought process.

That being said most of my other "EDC" (not at work) knives are PE. These are all 3.5" and under. In my opinion they all have their place and not getting a knife because it doesn't come in the flavor you like is like passing by the gas station when on empty. I don't pass any gas stations in my truck if you get the drift. Wait a min... thats because I need gas

 

[SOLEIL]

My brother lent his friend his NIB razor sharp Sebenza S30V, to open cardboard packages over the weekend. When he got it back, the knife was so dull it couldn't even slice bread. Basically a butter knife. Dunno how that happened.

It happened because it was not a serrated edge. Any PE blade will only last so long without a touchup. I have SE knives from a number of makers that would have still been usable, particularly my Spyderco SE knives. Even on a CE the PE part would be dulled but the SE section would still be cutting. SE has its' merits for hard usage.

 

[3mptin3ss]

i love full SE

 

[SIFU1A]

Another great deal I got was this NIB Ti ATR for around 166.00. I admit I got lucky on this one as I've seen the same go way higher, but in PE it never would have went so low.

thats a really good deal, i have 3 ti ATR's (2 PE and a SE) and the SE one i got 2 or 3 yrs ago was more than $166, IIRC it was right around $200 even then, i like the PE a bit better though, if i could only have one it would be a PE for sure.

really the Ti ATR is the only production i ever carry anymore, they are a darned good knife.

 

[jill jackson]

The discounted price on those when they were in stock was 190 and up, Serrated or PE.
EBay is funny once in awhile something seems to slip by and go cheap. Right after I won that ATR I watched others just like it bring close to 300 and one way over 300! (which I never would pay)

 

[tirod3]

Box cutting is an EDC task for most retail workers - and there are millions of us. Not all chains and franchises make it easy like the 'Marts or lumberbox stores that issue nonlocking box cutters. Many of the rest of us in small business and local stores cut up boxes daily - and management is a little lax about keeping enough box knives around, much less a reasonable supply of blades.

So we carry our own - and select a blade in part on it's ability to cut boxes. My selection of EDC in the last five years always includes that. I've come to use only plain edge, and prefer TiN/TaN bonded blades. My experience is that serrations hang up in the cut, especially with double corrugated antifreeze boxes. Those require an X cut across the bottom to flatten. Most other boxes can be broken down by popping the glue on the flaps.

EDC for one person doesn't define another's. Insisting a task falls into a specialty use to make the point partial serrations are better is just rhetoric. It's like firearms - whether you want a thumb operated safety or not is often discussed, but how the firearm is used and where has a lot to do with it.

What a person does with his knife and how they use it certainly isn't governed by one group of forumites. I have used and still own partial serrated knives and just don't prefer them anymore - but I've been carrying a utility knife since the '70's. My observation is that the more experienced a user, the less serrations they buy. Difficulty resharpening, chisel grinds, loss of plain edge length, appearance, and actual usefullness in daily tasks are part of that decision.

 

[Ankerson]

Box cutting is an EDC task for most retail workers - and there are millions of us. Not all chains and franchises make it easy like the 'Marts or lumberbox stores that issue nonlocking box cutters. Many of the rest of us in small business and local stores cut up boxes daily - and management is a little lax about keeping enough box knives around, much less a reasonable supply of blades.

I know what you mean, I used to be in that business (Not a mart either) and in management for most of it. I always had my cutter with me and made sure I had plenty of blades. Too many sheeples walking around to use an EDC to open boxes. Just using a box cutter is bad enough for some of them, a real knife would cause a panic.

 

[CDHumiston]

EDC for one person doesn't define another's. Insisting a task falls into a specialty use to make the point partial serrations are better is just rhetoric. It's like firearms - whether you want a thumb operated safety or not is often discussed, but how the firearm is used and where has a lot to do with it.

What a person does with his knife and how they use it certainly isn't governed by one group of forumites. I have used and still own partial serrated knives and just don't prefer them anymore - but I've been carrying a utility knife since the '70's. My observation is that the more experienced a user, the less serrations they buy. Difficulty resharpening, chisel grinds, loss of plain edge length, appearance, and actual usefullness in daily tasks are part of that decision.

Exactly, and stating that serrations do not work on certain task is just the same. I worked in retail and for breaking down boxes in that job a plain edge box cutter was fine, but for actually cutting boxes up in to smaller pieces the sawing ability of serrations has worked better for me.

My observation is that the more experienced knife user selects the knife that works best for him in a given situation, not that they don't buy serrated blades.

I have been carrying a knife since the 70's as well. In my current job as an electronics technician I find that a partially serrated blade works best for such tasks as stripping wire, cutting nylon rope and zip ties etc...

 

[Confederate]

Many times I find it difficult to buy a plain edge of a model I want because the only thing some stores sell is the combo blades. I agree that some people will look at a combo blade and think, who knows, maybe I'll need the serrations sometime. But what do most serrations cut well? The fine serrations on a Cold Steel knife can cut through almost anything fairly well, but most other serrations (like the ones on my CRKT) are too bumpy to cut much of anything except small tree limbs and saplings.

If one is cutting cardboard, the smaller serration pattern will let you cut til you pass out. But what can I cut with the larger patterns? I don't know, since most of the time I'm trying to use the two inches of plain blade just north of the serrations.

To a hunter, serrations aren't much good except for sawing between joints and separating bones, but most patterns are more like saws. On a tactical knife, serrations can be vicious (again, if they're fine enough). I can get by on most everything with my Cold Steel Gunsite, which has a 5-inch combination tanto blade. The serration pattern on that particular knife works well for cutting rope and cord, and it's always sharp.

Anyway, I'm convinced a lot of people buy the combo blades because they don't slow down to think what they might be cutting with them. Any knife I buy in the future will be a plain edge. I went through my serration phase, and still think the teeth on the Cold Steel knives make for exceptional emergency and tactical blades.

 

[mdauben]

EDC for one person doesn't define another's. Insisting a task falls into a specialty use to make the point partial serrations are better is just rhetoric.

I disagree. People put pocket knives to all sorts of use on a daily basis, but the fact is that some uses are much more common that others.

Certainly, if someone asked about serrated or partially serrated blades for EDC and you replied that you use you EDC for breaking down boxes and found that serrations were not as good as a plain blade, that is definetly a valid and useful comment. If you just said that plain blades are better for EDC, period, (which a lot of people are doing) that is IMO not a useful or valid response, becuase you are basing that on a specific task (breaking down lots of heavy boxes on a daily basis) that most people probably do not engage in.

What a person does with his knife and how they use it certainly isn't governed by one group of forumites.

I never said it was. It is a fact, however, that there are some tasks which are more common for EDC than others. Just becuase a serrated knife is not as good as a plain edge for some less common uses does not automatically make it a poor EDC.

My observation is that the more experienced a user, the less serrations they buy.

Honestly, I don't necessarily see that. I have been carrying and using serrated and partially serrated blades since I bought my first Spyderco over 20 years, and still find them useful for many tasks. Some people don't like them for valid and articulatable reasons (like yourself) but my observation is that a lot of people automatically reject serrated blades becuase they view them as not appropriate for a "true knife expert" like themselves.

 

[panicotr]

Interesting discussion. Couple of years ago a horse tried to exit a trailer through the window; hung up on the hay net and was planning on using me for his next purchase point. One pass of a combo edge released him.

I would really like to carry two blades, a fully serrated rescue knife and a plain edge, but compromise around the farm with a CE. My edc Tenacous has enough PE due to blade shape to make it work in the kitchen where that style is my preference.

At work if I need to cut through a piece of drywall it goes easier & with less guilt with the CE. Most of my purchases to date have been CE. Now that I have a few I am shifting to PE; but this discussion has me thinking of a Spidey rescue.

Nice to be able to have these little differences of opinion.

 

[James Y]

I normally prefer an all-plain or an all-serrated blade. I do own several CE blades, though, and have found their usefulness (to me) depends on the knife design itself, as well as the serration type. For my purposes, I found I don't care for the serration patterns used by the following companies:
Cold Steel
Emerson
Some older Kershaw models ( teeth too long and pointed).
While I like the serrations on a lot of Spydercos, some Benchmades, and also some Ka-Bars.

I have found some CE's to be useful, esp. if the blade is around 3.9 to 4" long. I haven't found serrations all that advantageous for breaking down boxes, unless I'm doing a LOT of boxes at a time. Some patterns rip or hang up more than others. I find the serrations that I do like are not at all difficult to resharpen when necessary. And I have found them to be an advantage when cutting things like marine rope or netting.

So I guess it depends on my uses that day. Actually, I rarely carry CE anymore, as I tend to carry a full PE and a full SE, just in case. But CE are popular among many people, and if they can get the uses they want/need out of them, that's a good thing.
Jim