Why the hate for serrations?

Serrations can look cool on a knife.
It may work fine on certain things.
Then again i figure one has to ask the question
of just how often the serrations are actually put to use.
Nice to have, but serrations placed towards the inner side of the blades edge
at the tang or bolster can get in the way of some certain cutting motions.
Besides i think just about everyone have no idea how to sharpen serrations
or are reluctant to invest in a sharpening system to deal with it.
In short, one either forsake the serration feature
and carry something else disposable as insurance for light task "just in case" scenario....and prays it would suffice
Or live with serration warts and all
 
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WillB said:
Hence why you have a blade with both? Partial Serration blades seem to be a good balance in cases like yours.
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Partially serrated blades have the serrations through the portion of the blade closest to the handle, which is the portion of the blade that I use most when driving power through long push cuts. Partial serrations would be a poor choice for my applications.
 
There are things serrations do really, really well and I love them for those tasks, but I don't do those things very often and a lot of serrated blades won't cut as cleanly as a properly sharpened plain edge, so I gravitate towards the plain edge.

As for partial serrations, I don't find them very useful at all, honestly. In use, I just find myself annoyed at the performance of either the serrated section of blade or the plain edge, so I stick with fully one or the other.

Now on the other hand, the upcoming Benchmade Outlast interests me a great deal. A nice, thin, slicey plain edge combined with a very tough fully serrated blade. It may be a little gimmicky, but if the serrations are done right I think I'll pick one up for the versatility.
 
I actually like them as well and have never had a difficult time sharpening them on sharp maker. Few passes on the stone edge not the flat and sharp as new!
They seem to add to the versatility in my opinion. But old school grandpa knives with plain edges never appeared to be under knifed either.
 
This always comes back around again every few months. In my personal opinion, serrations are for folks who aren't interested in maintaining their knives. Most of my knives, I've got edges on them that will easily handle anything others might claim they need serrations for. I have not once encountered media where I find myself wishing for serrations.
 
I don't like partial serrations as they have had a tendency to snag when not in use along with for me they are almost never used. I have no need of them and if I did I would want a whole serrated blade or a double edge blade with one side plain and one side serrated.
 
I don’t really like the way serrations look especially on half serrated blades, and I don’t normally have a need for them. If I didn’t like sharpening, and cut plastic straps frequently, then I would probably go after serrated blades.
 
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As with many other things in life and with knives, variety helps achieve balance, makes things more interesting and enables us to achieve the most efficient results. Most of my blades are plain edge, but I do have some with half serrations and a few with full serrations. When cutting plastic ties and bands or rope and certain other materials, serrations can offer a big benefit.

Unlike many others, I don't mind sharpening serrations at all, and generally find them as easy - sometimes easier - to sharpen, compared with plain edges. Once again - variety and balance.

As for those who have aesthetic/cosmetic objections, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I first saw the Ontario Rat 1 I thought the looks were pretty unappealing. After using one A LOT in a variety of circumstances, some quite challenging, that RAT 1 now is a beauty to me!

While I value the way a knife (or other tool) looks, unless I see it as practically a work of art, it's still just a knife/tool and its most important values (to me) are quality, usefulness, durability and value.
 
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It's not something I need in MY knives, and especially not partially serrated, as the serrations are always in the wrong place.

But I can definitely see the use for them, and I sometimes use a completely serrated edge for cutting insulation and other things, but then it's not MY knife.
 
I enjoy my A.G. Russell Sea Skorpion. It is marketed as a rope knife and it excells in that application. I like having the marlin spike handy, it can function as a small pry bar. The serrations cut through rope and twine easily.

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The AG Russell looks nice. I don't think any (or few) actually hate serrations. It is just a personal preference to have them or not. I'm mostly a "not". I seldom cut much rope or twine. The plain edge works well enough for the limited cutting I do on things of that nature. Now other than on a SAK, partial serrated blades are a deal breaker for me. Don't want one and already have a number that I never use.
 
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When I first started buying knives I would many times buy one with half serrations, but after using them I found I did not need the serrations so I no longer buy any knife with serrations other than a bread knife
 
Landshark99 said:
When I first started buying knives I would many times buy one with half serrations...
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The very first knife I purchased after joining Blade Forums was a SOG Northwest Ranger which at the time had a partial serrated blade. The purpose for the knife was to use as a hunting knife and general purpose woods knife. I believe I have a SOG Tiger Shark with the partial serrations as well.... (This was a mistake purchase and I just didn't want to return it.) Bought a couple of the SOG Flash series as work knives and pretty much trashed them after using a while. I have the small Air Sog folder with full serrations and it's a pretty nice little lock back knife. This was in 2005/2006 time frame and during the time I refer to as my "SOG Days". Seldom even look at their knives any more.
 
22-rimfire said:
The very first knife I purchased after joining Blade Forums was a SOG Northwest Ranger which at the time had a partial serrated blade. The purpose for the knife was to use as a hunting knife and general purpose woods knife. I believe I have a SOG Tiger Shark with the partial serrations as well.... (This was a mistake purchase and I just didn't want to return it.) Bought a couple of the SOG Flash series as work knives and pretty much trashed them after using a while. I have the small Air Sog folder with full serrations and it's a pretty nice little lock back knife. This was in 2005/2006 time frame and during the time I refer to as my "SOG Days". Seldom even look at their knives any more.
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Me neither. Theyve certainly long since managed to kill any desire for their knives considering all the 'carp' theyve turned out for many years. Not least SE.
I like some of their older knives and still want a first model Tomcat badly.
 
"You should at least have a serrated utility knife in your kitchen, with their scalloped, toothlike edge, are ideal for cutting through foods with a hard exterior and softer interior, such as a loaf of crusty bread. The principle behind a serrated knife is similar to that of a saw, the teeth of the blade catch and then rip as the knife smoothly slides through the food. Sometimes a serrated blade is a better option."

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/best-bread-knife.1457608/page-3#post-18398901
 
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I like my serrated sandwich making knife. Gosh probably all of 99 cents a hunert year ago.
The serrations make pretty patterns in my mayo as I spread it on the bread.

Oh yeah and I like serrations; the funniest thing I ever saw someone do with a knife was one time when I was working in an engine machine shop and there was this guy who was cutting up cardboard boxes. It took so long I had to sit down while I watched. Poor bastard sawed and sawed and sawed. There were strings and paper shavings all over the place. :eek: :D :p :p

I suppose they can be made to work to cut rope. Cold Steel seems to be able to get them to do that pretty well (and maybe cut arms off and stuff . . . is that the whole point in the video ?).


I only cut rope about once or twice a year and every time I try it with my mirror polished M4 I get all set to be disappointed by my sucky inappropriate rope cutting choice (everyone here knows the only way to cut rope is with toothy S110V) . . .
I close my eyes and give it all I got with my sissy polished plain edge and . . .
it's as if I missed and the blade just sliced through thin air.
I notice after I open my eyes and start to breath again that some how the rope gets severed in one slice though. Someday I'm going to leave my eyes open to see what actually takes place. :)
 
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