why do people not like serrations?

I like them for the most part but unless the blade is fully serrated, they seem to be in the wrong place on a blade to me. They should be in the front with the plain edge in the back. imho. keepem sharp
 
I prefer Serrations. I even like the look of them better than a traight edge. I guess for what I use my knives for it just works out better for me. I don't keep knives long and really never have to sharpen them so sharpening the Serrations isn't an issue.
 
I like serrated knives, and I like plain edge knives. What I don't like are combo edge knives---neither fish nor foul.
 
Honestly I think for a lot of people it is like color. Some colors go in and out of popularity. Right now plain edges are quite popular and honestly I can not explain why I prefer them. I recall in the early 90s I thought serrations were something I simply must have on a knife, now I avoid them (sort of like tanto blade shapes).

I can sharpen serrations and probably could use them for all of my EDC tasks, but I prefer plain.

I hate to say "trend" because that word is often associated with negative connotations. It is hard to ignore market trends...they exist.
 
Rossi Knives said:
Serrations can do things a plain edge can't though.
Click to expand...

Didn't read all of this thread so not sure if someone commented on this.

I wholeheartedly disagree. Please tell me one thing that you can do with serrations that I can't do with a plain edge.

Edit: If you're going to say ropes/straps, I addressed that in another thread just like this one. I only carry plain edge knives and my work demands the consistent cutting of rope, twine, string, cords, straps, etc. I've never had a problem AT ALL. I also sharpen my knives after every day of work. Maybe that's the reason I do fine. In any case, Serrations don't do anything for me except cut steak. (Which a plain edge would cut just fine...and yes, I have used plain edges to cut steak just fine)
 
I'm 56 years old. I've carried a knife since I was 10, and a serrated blade was not really an option back then. The very first serrated blades I saw were on the very cheapest, stainless steel kitchen cutlery (given away at Shell gas stations). Because of this, both serrations and stainless steel both convey an image of 'cheap and inferior' to me, regardless of the truth. On top of that, I take pride in being able to sharpen to at least hair-shaving keenness. It's really hard to shave hair off your arm with a serrated blade, or to experience the joy of cleanly slicing paper or meat, or of shaving wood. The tearing produced by even well done serrations simply gives me no joy.

That said, I stash a fully serrated Endura in both my car and truck, since it will slice a seat belt like no one's bussines, should the need arise.

But that's just me..........................Frank
 
You can do more with plain edge, plain and simple. IMO serrations are a little more specialized in function than just a plain old wedge.
 
I like serrations, and prefer to carry at least one 3.5"+ blade with at least half SE, I feel kinda naked with out it. But that's just me. :)
 
I like them personally. Ive noticed (or it seemed anyway) that if i have to cut something like hard rubber or really dig into a material i could cut faster with the serrated edge. Like a steering wheel on a wreck scene. Maybe it just seemed that way. Never timed it.:D
 
If I need to rip through a tough material in a hurry, serrated edge works better. Plain edge works too, just slower and takes more effort. I prefer plain edge because most of the time I need the neat controlled cut.
 
I think it is usually a matter of aesthetics, with the bias towards the purer and cleaner lines of PE's. Also, people like the versatility of having a nice sharp clean blade in all different places in your EDC, because sometimes you want the tip, sometimes the belly region, and often the heel of the blade for close-in detailed stuff. I have always disliked SE or CE for both these reasons...HOWEVER, I recently carried my CE Tenacious around for a week or so at a beach house, beating on it for all sorts of tasks in and around boats, the beach, and wooded areas near-by. In this case I was carrying the knife purely as a hard-use tool with no thoughts to aesthetics, and I was really surprised how viscous the serrated part was in tearing through anything I threw it at. Granted the serrations were still factory sharp; but honestly, there were times when they cut faster than a sharp PE would have purely because of the aggressive contact angle that the serrations put the cutting surface at relative to the thing being cut. It tore through branches and wood, old salty rope, fabric, and fish. The fish in particular is a good example of a situation where the serrated part will out-perform a PE, no matter how sharp, for all you doubters, because you need to get through soft bits and skin (easy) interspersed with bone and cartilage, and you want to do it immediately while your mind is on other things.

So, IMO CE can indeed be very useful for hard-use in a varied environment when you don't have time to mess around. That said, I never buy CE or SE for my normal knives because, honestly, for most tasks they are just ugly, unnecessary, and pain to try to use. Especially the ugly part -- you aint never gonna see the beautiful lines of a katana broken with a serrated section. :)
 
All serrations aren't the same, but none will allow you to really cut bark off a branch or to whittle. They can cut aggressively, but the bumpy kind found on most knives are like saw blades, only there's not enough saw to saw. In short, these never dull because they almost never get used.

One also can question some types of plain blades, like the chisel grinds that are ground on the left sides of blades. For right-handed users, this is ridiculous, as the chiseled part is always getting in the way of what is being cut. I have a CRKT M16-14SF which is a beautiful, but the chisel grind and bumpy serrations make it almost useless for precision cutting.

My carry knives tend to all be Cold Steel because they're sharp, well made, strong and come in longer blade sizes. Also, their serrations are fine, easy to sharpen and cut aggressively through fibrous materials. Spyderco also makes excellent knives. Benchmade also is one of my favorites, but some of their serrations are bumpy and saw-like. Better to stick with plain edges.
 
I dislike serrations because I don't get what the point of using them is, I mean really a plain edge can do just about anything you need, a serration can just get caught on clothing and stuff; and if you're in an emergency where you need a knife to say, cut a seatbelt, that could be life threatening.

They look cool on some knives but I just don't see the point.
 
they are great for some applications, like cutting hemp rope for rigging..but for an edc, their not for me...they remind me of Ginsu's
 
1066vik said:
I think serrations are great - for certain applications.
I prefer a plain edge because in my experience it has been more versatile over the long run.
Click to expand...

Yep. I still have a few serrated Spydercos kicking around somewhere (lost my plain edge Co-Pilot, DOH! :() but I've long since opted to carry plain edged knives instead. I don't cut rope and the like all day, so I just grew annoyed with the kinds of jagged, tangly cuts even hair shaving sharp serrations often cause... not for want of sharpness, but because of the very shape of the edge itself. Also, they'd be a nightmare to re-profile with long enough use... you'd probably have to wrap chainsaw files in wet-dry sandpaper or something.

Oh, and if you ever carve or whittle, you're likely to prefer a PE or you're a masochist. :D
 
1)A plain edge can do anything a serrated edges can

2)They look ugly to me

3)My favourite knives arent offered in serrations (not that id buy them)

4) I dont own the sharpening tools to sharpen them, and i wouldnt buy them for knives i find inferior anyways

5) They are useless for carving. They do not work at all for this. I really enjoy carving spoons etc, and I cant do a good job with serrations.

Overall, I think they suck and are great for people who will never sharpen their blades as they are "functional" for a good long time. I can sharpen my plain edge blades easily and couldnt care less about this property of them. Yes, I have tried serrated blades to test them out (delica). No, I dont have the knife anymore as I found it useless for me. I gave it to my bro who isnt a huge knife guy and it works for his needs.
 
ohen cepel said:
I don't care for them since they (for me) are hard to sharpen properly once they get dull and I'm not a fan of the way they look.

They have their place on certain blades but nothing that I use daily.
Click to expand...
My sentiments exactly! :thumbup:
 
The significant value of serrations that make them appealing to casual knife users: a dull serrated blade will cut better than a dull plain edge because of the sawing effect.

This applies to newer knives as well when it comes to cutting things like rope, webbing, and seatbelts. A serrated knife doesn't have to be sharpened as well as a plain edge does for cutting these things, and is probably a better choice for someone who cuts those things regularly, or needs to in emergencies.
 
longbow said:
I like them for the most part but unless the blade is fully serrated, they seem to be in the wrong place on a blade to me. They should be in the front with the plain edge in the back. imho. keepem sharp
Click to expand...

+1
I'd use my knife carving or push cut
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top