Why the obsession with plain blades?

T

tweible

Joined
Jan 25, 2000
Messages
5
There seems to be much more interest among the people of this list in plain blades as opposed to serrated or partial blades. Why is this?

Is it because you can "rough" sharpen a plain and get a similar effect?

Or because it is more difficult to sharpen serrated blades than plain?

Or because you just don't do things that lend themselves to serrations like cut rope?

Thanks!

todd
 
I am of the old school and like plain blades.It is because of what I am used to.Also I think serrations look like #$%^
on a knife.I own one knife that is serrated[Goddard Jr]
I don't think I am obsessed with anything other than my passion for knives.PLAIN BLADE knives.
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PS:I have cut a lot of rope with plain blade knives
-BY the way WELCOME to the Forums-----------------

have a"knife"day

[This message has been edited by nifrand (edited 01-26-2000).]

[This message has been edited by nifrand (edited 01-26-2000).]
 
I mainly like the looks of a plain blade. it's clean, it's pretty, it can do everything I need it to do.
Plus easier to sharpen.

I would say that they're easier on sheeple, but I'm known for whipping out bali songs and larger folders around people, so at that point, serrations or not, it's more the fact that I have a knife in my hand in under a second that bugs people.

And before I get lectured, yes, I am more careful than not where I whip my knives out.

Plus serrations are a bitch to sharpen if you don't have anything to sharpen them with. And what scratch I do have, I tend to spend on food, CD's or blades.

chizpuf
 
Welcome to the forums Tweible. I too am used to plain edges, even way before the "toothy" models became popular. Tried them all, plain, serrated, part serrated, chiseled plain, part serrated chiseled, etc. For my purposes I' ve found the plain edges much more useful.

You are correct on the "rough" sharpening. Firstly, ALL edges have serrations. You just can' t see them with the naked eye. They are in fact micro- serrations that can be seen with the aid of magnification. A course edge is my personal preference as it has enough bite to go thru even fibrous material.

It seems that serrated edged blades are not moving as much lately in the exchange forums...

L8r,
Nakano

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"To earn a million is easy, a real friend is not."
 
Plain blades are useful for a wide variety of tasks, serrated blades are more job specific. I don’t like partially serrated blades because they simply don’t have enough of either edge to be useful. A good fully serrated blade is excellent for certain tasks, such as the aforementioned parting of rope and of course slicing bread. I keep a Spyderco Rescue in my car and with my rigging equipment for that reason (rope and webbing, not bread). But I carry a plain edged blade at my side because it is a better all around cutting tool.

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
stjames said it quite well. if i plan on cutting lots of rope, etc. i will take a full serrated blade. part serr. blades are a compromise that are not as good as the things they combine. i carry three knives currently, all plain edge. two have polished edges and the other is fairly coarse. when i know i'll be working, i switch to at least one serrated spyderco.
 
St James and Leroys said it well. I went through a "partial serration" period, which I now regret. You don't get enough of either, unless you have a really long blade. I guess it works OK on a 6" Lightgoot Predator but it sure doesn't work to my satisfaction on a 4" folder. The one place it does work is on my Gerber River knife where one side is completely serrated and the other isn't serrated at all. But that's really a special use canoeing and kayaking knife.
 
Have you ever tried to sharpen a pencil with a serrated blade? I guess it can be done, but it wouldn't be pretty. It's also kind of hard to whittle with a serrated blade.
 
I dont like serrations for many different reasons:
They look crap. It is possible to resharpen them, but takes much longer than a plain blade of the same length. They are ugly.
All cutting jobs can be done with a plain blade (if sharpened with a coarse stone).
They really dont look good.
Its not possible to sharpen serrations without a special sharpener you have to carry with you in addition.
You cant do any fine cutting jobs with a serrated blade (like mentioned above).

The half-serrated look even worse than the fully serrated.

Well, this is just my personal opinion.
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I have only two knives that are 50/50 serrated and for some tasks the semiserrated blades are better. But not too often so they are slowly becoming plain blades anyway....

David

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Plain blades any day. I will not buy a knife with a serrated blade. Most of the reasons were mentioned above.The sharpening part is the main one.Many manufactures make knives that you can only get with serrated or partially serated blades. In my opinion they are losing sales because of this.

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janefromnc

walker
 
Actually, I think serrated blades do a great job of sharpening pencils -- just keep the point w/in serration, instead of drawing across, and unless you're using a cold steel, with those little tiny serrations, you're fine.
 
When I started collecting knives it was serrations, serrations, serrations. But as time went by I found that daily, I really didn't need serrations. And now that I have an Apex sharpener, all my blades are polished to 3000 grit-they cut through poly rope like it's string; why have serrations? Don't get me wrong, if I was cutting lots of tough fibrous materials I'd use one of my serrated knive, and whenever I go hiking I take a serrated knife along. But day to day, I just found the plain edges to be more suited to what I was cutting.

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"Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n"
John Milton
There are only two types of people; those who understand this, and those who think they do.
 
StJames said it well as did others. To that I would add that standard serration patterns are worse than useless for left-handers.

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The thorn stands to defend the Rose, yet it is peaceful and does not seek conflict
 
Theres one I didn't think of.Sharpening pencils.Difficult with a serrated.I am a carpenter.Sharpen pencils all day long.

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have a"knife"day
 
For me there are several reasons:
1) I like the way plain edges cut.
2) For me the plain edge is easy to maintain and I have never been able to sharpen serrations effectively.
3) I think plain edges are a lot tougher.
4) I like the way a plain edge looks over a serrated edge.
5) I never cut fibrous materials.



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Contrary to popular opinion, plain edge blades cut rope just fine.

I do not own a serrated blade personally (except for kitchen bread knives) because I see no benefit to them and I do see a hassle in sharpening them.

It is true that a serrated blade that is dull will cut better than a plain edge that is dull but, if you keep your edges sharp like I do, then you don't have to deal with a dull edge.

I'm in a shrinking minority, though. 68% of the tactical folders we sell are with partially serrated or serrated blades. The percentage of plain edges sold a year ago was about at this level so the serrated blade is growing in popularity for sure. Take care.

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Fred
Knife Outlet
http://www.knifeoutlet.com
 
I have to agree with everyones opinion so far re: plain blades. Now if I want to slice bread then I prefer serrations.
Bob
 
I carve, so plain is the only way to go. Even if I am not planning to carve with a knife, it's a mindset.

I will say that if I did buy a serrated knife it would be the Nemesis. Mean looking!!

That Dalton Cupid is mean too.

I see a pattern here....

Brandon
 
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