Buying a new Endura: PE, CE, or SE?

nccole said:
Sal has stated that SE H1 outperforms (at the time) any steel they use on the CATRA.
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I heard The same thing. The H1 steel with that impact qualities makes it a very good steel for SE.

read a long time that on a CATRA test, Sal had around double the result withSE H1 than other spyderco SE. The PE not so great a result. It had to do with the work hardening on the edges apparently.
 
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masters2010 said:
Why do you all recommend the H1 for SE over the VG-10?
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I read a long time that on a CATRA test, Sal had around double the result withSE H1 than other spyderco SE. The PE not so great a result. It had to do with the work hardening on the edges apparently.
 
masters2010 said:
Decided to go with the Pacific Salt serrated, thanks for all the input!
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You made an excellent choice my friend. I have a large rotating collection of Spydercos but the serrated Pacific Salt is arguably my all time favorite. :)

Here are a couple of "in the wild" pics for you while you are waiting. :) Notice I grind the spine flat on mine to suit my uses.


 
Never SE for me, I'm aware it's great for sawing or hacking through tough stuff but it's Greek to me. I love slicing with little effort using my razor sharp pocket toys.
 
Cravin01 said:
Never SE for me, I'm aware it's great for sawing or hacking through tough stuff but it's Greek to me. I love slicing with little effort using my razor sharp pocket toys.
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Hi Cravin, I believe "Razor sharp" is the key phrase here. I find if I keep my serrated knives at the same level of sharpness as my pe knives that they will slice effortlessly. Here are a couple of mackerel that I cleaned a few months ago. One with a phil wilson custom and one with a serrated Pacific Salt. Though a serrated edge is definitely not the "ideal" tool for this work, there was certainly no sawing or hacking involved in the process. My serrated salts are kept tree topping sharp and it push cut through that mackerel like warm butter.
 
Lance, are you using the Sharpmaker to maintain the edge on your SE Pacific Salt? Mine is sharp, but not tree topping. If your answer is yes, then I know I need to hone (!) my SM skills.
 
Bill1170 said:
Lance, are you using the Sharpmaker to maintain the edge on your SE Pacific Salt? Mine is sharp, but not tree topping. If your answer is yes, then I know I need to hone (!) my SM skills.
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Hi Bill, yes, I use the sharpmaker. I use the white/fine rods and sharpen the serrated side at 20 degrees and every three passes or so I do one pass on the backside. On the backside though I tilt the knife so that it is close to flat on the stone...probably about 5 degrees. I've done em like this since they were new and had good success.
 
Yeah I've cut my finger with a se Native that was wicked sharp, If I could get motivated in learning to maintain that kinda edge I'm sure I'd change my tune, but from where I stand it seems all up hill.
 
My preference is PE day to day, just because it's simpler to maintain, and a scary sharp edge on a good quality steel can do just about anything I'd ever need a knife to do.

But yeah, if I was a fisherman or paramedic or something, then maybe I would rethink it. For my life though, a scary sharp PE is more than enough for any task, and usually better than anyone else around me has.
 
I too prefer a pe for 90% of my cutting chores, but I do appreciate a se knife at times. As far as the edge, it is extremely easy to maintain a se on the Sharpmaker. It makes a big difference if you do regular "30 second" touchups and never allow the knife to get really dull. I used to avoid se knives because I was afraid I would struggle to keep them sharp. Once I got the sharpmaker and watched Sal demonstrate how to do it on the dvd I gave it a try and realized my concerns were entirely in my imagination. As I mentioned earlier, i use a little different technique than he demonstrates and I get really good results. Here is a copy and pasted explanation I made in another thread if anyone is interested.


Serrated Edge:

Fine rods in the 40 degree slots. Three passes on the serrated (left) side pulling straight down like normal. Then 2 very light passes on the back side. When working the back side, tilt the knife so it is almost flat with the rod...about 5 degrees instead of the 20 degree angle you would get if you pulled straight down. Repeat until sharp. Thats pretty much it. One tip is you want to go fairly slow and keep the pressure fairly light so that you don't "jump" the serrations. If you go too slow it doesn't work....too fast either. There is a certain speed at which the rod will smoothly enter and sharpen each of the individual serrations as you pull the knife down. It will be pretty obvious once you are doing it and have a tactile feel for it.
 
Surfingringo said:
I too prefer a pe for 90% of my cutting chores, but I do appreciate a se knife at times. As far as the edge, it is extremely easy to maintain a se on the Sharpmaker. It makes a big difference if you do regular "30 second" touchups and never allow the knife to get really dull. I used to avoid se knives because I was afraid I would struggle to keep them sharp. Once I got the sharpmaker and watched Sal demonstrate how to do it on the dvd I gave it a try and realized my concerns were entirely in my imagination. As I mentioned earlier, i use a little different technique than he demonstrates and I get really good results. Here is a copy and pasted explanation I made in another thread if anyone is interested.


Serrated Edge:

Fine rods in the 40 degree slots. Three passes on the serrated (left) side pulling straight down like normal. Then 2 very light passes on the back side. When working the back side, tilt the knife so it is almost flat with the rod...about 5 degrees instead of the 20 degree angle you would get if you pulled straight down. Repeat until sharp. Thats pretty much it. One tip is you want to go fairly slow and keep the pressure fairly light so that you don't "jump" the serrations. If you go too slow it doesn't work....too fast either. There is a certain speed at which the rod will smoothly enter and sharpen each of the individual serrations as you pull the knife down. It will be pretty obvious once you are doing it and have a tactile feel for it.
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Thanks for this info. I am competent at sharpening, especially with a Sharpmaker, which is easy for me. However, I don't get a lot of practice with my serrated Endura. I'm glad I can draw on your experience rather than try to "invent the wheel" myself.
 
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