need advice: serrated vs regular

S

SeeTOPh

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Jul 18, 2016
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Im new to the knife world and dont have much experience so i need some advice on whether to get a serrated vs regular edge knife and the pros/cons of each. My situation/needs are that Im headed to Africa for Docs without borders and I need an EDC (every day CUTTER, cause im not just gonna be carrying it). Outside of the normal every day tasks everyone uses their folder for, im will most likely be cutting clothes off and cutting tourniquets in emergent cases. im gonna be using this instead of the ugly and bulky medical shears you always see med profs using. its gonna be an auto because that will be easier to handle with gloves on that could possibly be bloody and/or ill-fitting. I know serrated are more difficult to sharpen and i going to need it to be super sharp, i actually bought the sharpener in the picture (this is my first post so i dont know how its going to show up) for said task as i wont be able to have someone else do it while im there. So knowing what ill be using it for and that ill have to sharpen it myself, what does everyone think i should get? regular or serrated? i appreciate guys, yalls advice is much appreciated

so i removed the picture of the sharpener i got, evidently from what everyone says its a POS and im going to return it. i took it off cause people were still writing saying i should get a different one and besides making me feel like an idiot (not that anyone was being mean, it was just that SOOO many people were helping me out and saying the same thing) i didnt want to waste anyone elses time by having them repeat what others have already said. All the helpful advice is much appreciated, people on here have been more than willing to give their 2 cents on things and its great
 
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I would go no serrations. In my opinion, a knife should either be full serrated or fully non serrated. Serrations are great if you are sawing things but if it is mostly clothing and things of that nature a non serrated would probably be better as they wont snag on the clothes. Serrations do not need to be sharpened very much if at all but it is much easier to sharpen a non serrated blade. I would go with a Benchmade Auto Triage. It uses an N680 blade that has a blunted tip (for rescue type work, as not to stick anyone when cutting off clothes) which is very corrosion resistant. It is also easy to sharpen and maintain. You may also purchase a strop of some kind (the Flexx Pocket Strop would be perfect) so you don't always have to sharpen. Once you get back Benchmade has the best customer service in the business and you can send it in and they will fully clean and service it for free for life. That is my opinion anyways.


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Non serrated in my opinion is best. if you do go with a serrated knife it's really not that hard to sharpen. just use a whetstone and sharpen it just like a non serrated blade. also if you really want a razor sharp knife(non serrated) I believe you're going to have to learn how to strop. there's plenty of youtube videos on how to sharpen a knife with a strop.
 
Non-serrated gets my vote.
A serrated edge is like a saw; it rips, it does not cut.
 
I used to do landscaping, and I cut more rope and burlap than anything else. For that job I carried a half-serrated knife, and the serrations were tremendously handy.

At every other time in my life, I've never carried -- or missed -- a serrated knife. I like to have as much of the blade as possible usable for general tasks, and that precludes giving up a portion of it to serrations.

I've never needed to cut clothes or make tourniquets, but those do seem like situations where serrations might be helpful. But if I had to go far away, with only one knife, I'd skip serrations.
 
Man, this forum is awesome. i posted this less than an hour ago (like i said, it was my first post ever as well) and ive already got a bunch of well thought out and informative responses. thanks guys, i truly appreciate it, its super helpful. i dont even know what a strop is, time to look it up and learn myself something.
 
I would also skip the serrations, for all the reasons already mentioned. And I second the idea of bringing and using a strop. They are very easy to make yourself. Just do some google-fu on that and you'll find out.

I'd also consider sanitation and hygiene issues when you look at knives to buy for this purpose. I could be totally off-base here -- this is your area of expertise -- but presumably you'll want a knife that is easy to clean, so you're not contaminating somebody with blood from a previous patient, right? A folder may be problematic for this reason, especially an auto, because the pivot and release mechanisms will be places for germs to hide. You might want to consider a knife that you can soak and scrub in a bowl of alcohol, for example. So something with stainless steel components and solid, synthetic handle materials.

Maybe consider: CRKT just came out with this new Homefront model with "field strip" components. I know nothing about it. But the knife is designed to break down easily into basic components for easy cleaning. It has a stainless blade with an easy-open flipper tab, and solid aluminum handles.

http://www.crkt.com/homefront-pocket-knife-K270GKP
 
I'd get a plain edge, and also get a better sharpener as pull throughs kinda suck.
Plain edge knives are easier to sharpen and more versatile. You may have a problem with your knife getting all gross if it gets bloody, so if I were you I'd still use the medical shears.
 
I'd go with the plain edge as well. I've never cared for any serrated blade I've owned except at the dinner table or the old steak knife with small serrations I keep in the toolbox for cutting radiator hoses and such.
 
Serrations are great for rope, feed sacks ... fibrous materials. It will also go longer without a sharpening but the benefits in those areas comes at the expense of benefits in other areas.

Plain edge are easier to sharpen and provide a broader spectrum of functionality. If you want, you can sharpen a little rougher on a small section of the blade providing "micro serrations" on a plain edge which I have found useful without abandoning the usefulness of a plain edge.

Don't get me wrong, I have a bunch of serrated and partially serrated knives which are dedicated for special purposes - and I use them, but still prefer, for most general cutting tasks, a plain edge - especially if i were in your specified situation.

Too bad you are only looking at automatics or I would have recommended a Chris Reeves Sebenza or Ontario RAT-1 knives. In the case of the latter, you could have a whole munch for the cost of the former and therefore always have a sharp one handy and not care too much if one or more them became, shall we say, "lost."
 
Agreed on triage, I'm an EMT for 12 yrs and this is my edc for shift and off duty. Its my suggestion for a field tool.
 
I'd go with a 60/40 plain edge/serrated as has been mentioned the serrations come in handy just for the situations the OP mentioned but there's a lot more slicin' of things that will benefit from a primarily plain edge. Have you considered a multi tool with a blade upgrade that comes with both a one hand opening locking, serrated and plain edged blade, plus all the other tools.

I'm probably the only person who's not crazy about the Leatherman Wave but it's a very capable utilitarian tool that in the environment you're about to be put in will serve you much better than just a folder, if you can take both get a plain edged fixed blade and a Multi tool.

One last bit of advise is to keep a close eye on your multi tool because they have a tendency to walk. I used to put a keeper leash on mine so I couldn't put it down and forget it makin' it easy for someone to walk off with it.

If you can bring some extras to give to some of the local doctors that would an added bonus. Ask around at some of the local big box stores if they'd like to donate a few to go over, many places love to donate if for nothing else than to write it off on taxes. You'd be amazed at the generosity of most people when it comes to a charity or good cause.
 
im bringing more than one knife with me, but the auto is the one thatll be in my emergency kit...i just got a medford micro praetorian cause i think its fun looking and a lionnsteel tre carbon fiber because you can add/take off both the flipper and the thumb stud and it has ball bearing movement that ive been told is pretty good. plus i like how it looks, not too fancy, not too technical, not too simple, just a good bit of everything. im thinking of getting a hinderer but his popular 3.5 is too big for my personal preference for an EDC. the only knife ive ever carried before was a mini-grip and that was a good size. maybe 1/8 to 1/4" bigger would be perfect
 
i like the idea of breaking down easy for good cleaning in case it gets really dirty. as far as the germ thing, i would only be using it for emergency cases in the field, not from one patient to the next kinda thing
 
Also, don't think that automatics are the only knives that can be opened with rubber gloves on. I wear nitrile gloves in my workshop, and have no problems whatsoever opening anything with one hand. Don't limit your search, if you don't have to.

Something else to keep in mind, most autos (at least the ones I have!) can't be closed one handed. Not saying it isn't possible, but I have to use my other hand or a leg or the still warm corpse of my enemy. I prefer knives that I can flick open, and flick closed with one hand, leaving the other hand available to disable the bomb and save the president.
 
Slauterhause said:
Also, don't think that automatics are the only knives that can be opened with rubber gloves on. I wear nitrile gloves in my workshop, and have no problems whatsoever opening anything with one hand. Don't limit your search, if you don't have to.

Something else to keep in mind, most autos (at least the ones I have!) can't be closed one handed. Not saying it isn't possible, but I have to use my other hand or a leg or the still warm corpse of my enemy. I prefer knives that I can flick open, and flick closed with one hand, leaving the other hand available to disable the bomb and save the president.
Click to expand...

you need one hand to disable a bomb? thats pretty bush league, youre really not shit unless you can disable a bomb with your feet...but real talk, thats something good to think about as far as closing. but how gnarly would it look if you saw a doctor knuckle deep in someones abdomen clamping an artery while hes holding a blade in his teeth? im so doing that if i get the chance, and ill give my phone to a bystander just to take a picture
 
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Ditch the pull through sharpener. It will ruin a knife you buy and never get anything really sharp. As for serrated or plain edge? Well thats debatable and youll get many different answers. If you know how to cut with a serrated blade then it will benifit you to buy one other wise stick with a plain edge.
 
I just spit coffee all over my phone you jerks!!
I have a good bunch of autos and they are easily closed one handed......I usually just spit at the warm corpse of my enemies!
I would also look at the BM Triage. Excellent auto and it's a Benchmade!!
Joe
 
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