new knives lacking serrations, changing market place: or am I a dinosaur?

T

tom102

Joined
Jul 6, 2014
Messages
9
I may be an odd ball, but I prefer a combo edge to a plain edge. And on some models fully serrated. I had to search just to find a combo edge manix lightweight. I was surprised to find many non sprint run models not offered with serrations (based on inventory that I saw). Spyderco was the king of serrations (this may of course just be my opinion). So why does it appear that a lot of the knives aren't being offered with them?
 
They simply don't sell as well as plain edge knives
 
For me at least serrations fell out of favor because they are a pain to sharpen and there are only a handful of jobs that they work better for versus a plain edge.
 
My first Spyderco was a fully serrated Endura. I used a Sharpmaker and it was easy to maintain a very sharp edge. Years later, when I finally sharpened all the serrations smooth on that knife, I bought another fully serrated model to replace it. By then I also owned several plain edge knives I found more useful, more often. I haven't used that second Endura much since buying it. It's handy when needed but there's just not a lot of things I need to cut that requires serrations.
 
I believe combo edges make great users, especially in longer blades where you get enough of each configuration. They are highly out of favor amongst knife aficionados it seems though. My theory is that there have been so many cheap Chinese ce junk knives flooding the market for the last couple of decades that there is now an aversion amongst collectors and afis to anything with a combo edge. I think that combo edges look cheesy to them because of that association. I have heard a lot of folks on here give all kinds of logical and practical reasons that they don't like combo edges, but honestly I believe that many just don't care for the look, and I believe a lot of that is because they remind them of cheap gas station knives.

Personally, I love a good combo edge. I think the Military is a perfect example of a combo edge done right. Unfortunately, like the op said, they are getting difficult to find.
 
Surfingringo brings up a solid point about length. Most EDC sized knives don't give me enough length of either edge type on a combo edge, so I prefer one or the other.
 
I like combo edge knives, when you have to cut something quick nothing beats having the serrations there. The blade has to be long enough though to actually make them useful. They are probably not as popular because of looks and are harder to sharpen. Main reason I only have a few combo edges myself. Want to get a full serrated Spyderco soon though :)
 
Redmasta said:
I like combo edge knives, when you have to cut something quick nothing beats having the serrations there. The blade has to be long enough though to actually make them useful. They are probably not as popular because of looks and are harder to sharpen. Main reason I only have a few combo edges myself. Want to get a full serrated Spyderco soon though :)
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You should! And I highly recommend THIS one! Pacific Salt. Spyderco knows what they are doing when it comes to serrations and serrated h1 performs as good as anything on the market. The salt knives are just great knives overall. Lightweight, cheap, tough as nails, completely rustproof and class leading edge retention.
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johnny_boy02 said:
For me at least serrations fell out of favor because they are a pain to sharpen and there are only a handful of jobs that they work better for versus a plain edge.
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I agree with the sharpening problem but I think there are many tasks where the aggressiveness of the combo edge cuts right through them. I know some who will only purchase a combo edge from a company like Kai because they offer a free sharpening service. I have become a Spyderco collector and maybe that is something they could take a look at, they might see an increase in demand for the combo edge. Just a thought!
 
I have had a few CE Spyders (Salsa, Vesuvius) and sold them off because I really prefer all or nothing when it comes to serrations. I love my full SE Native and Military, but on a small knife like the Salsa, or a thin 2mm thick knife like the Vesuvius, I really don't see the point in partial serrations.

However, I recently picked up another CE Spyder, a Caspian Salt2 and I will see how it goes. I have used it a bit and so far and have no complaints.
 
I have a CE delica and that is the smallest I would go with one. I liked the FFG enduras but no serrations was a deal breaker. I understand serrations can be tricky to sharpen. To be honest I have never really honed my sharpening skills (pun intended). The owner of the local knife shop offers sharpening service, and he is awesome at it.
 
I personally like knives in PE and SE. And as others have said, sometimes CE can be good if the blade is long enough. I'm not a master sharpener, but I've never found Spyderedge serrations difficult to sharpen on a Sharpmaker. Most of the time, a touch up is a breeze.

I love my Pacific Salt in SE. It's my main EDC blade.

Jim
 
One of my first modern knives was a combo edge Wayne Goddard folder. I thought a combo edge was the best of both worlds but in all the time I carried it I don't recall using the serrations to cut anything. I am equipped to sharpen serrations but I have decided I don't like them just based on aesthetics so I don't buy combo edges except for one instance this past year where I bought a hard to find discontinued knife in combo edge just because it was available.

I think there are situations where serrations are of benefit, but I wonder if you shouldn't have a fully serrated blade to take advantage of that. I've read that a sharp serrated edge will do anything that a sharp plain edge will do and I can't argue with that.
 
I could be wrong but with a lot of these "super steels" coming out there isn't as much of a need for serrations as there used to be. I still like serrations on my H1/dive knives though.
 
I recall reading that typically a SE knife will cut efficiently for twice as long as a PE knife, even when it gets dull due to the extra pressure the raised part of the serrations puts on the medium being cut and the extra cutting length (Shortest line between 2 points is straight), but due to the way H1 hardens it will perform efficiently for 4 times as long in SE as it will in PE. My SE H1 Dragonfly performs exceptionally well, and H1 sharpens easily enough (SharpMaker makes sharpening serrations easy enough), but I do prefer the ease of sharpening of plain edge, and the extra stability and predictability to be a benefit of a plain edge, and I find them more useable for most tasks I use a knife for. I'd sooner carry a full serrated knife in H1 as a pair with a PE knife in a steel like CPM CruWear or CTS-204P than have one combo edge knife. I don't have a single combo edge knife so I could be biased, but I can't imagine using one.
 
Wharn said:
I could be wrong but with a lot of these "super steels" coming out there isn't as much of a need for serrations as there used to be. I still like serrations on my H1/dive knives though.
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That may be part of it. It may also be that some of the "super steels", while tough enough for normal edges and tips, are just too brittle when ground to the needle-like points of Spyderedge serrations. I'm fairly certain that's the reason serrations are no longer offered on Spyderco's ZDP-189 offerings, so it may hold true for some of the other exotic steels as well.

However, for the most part, the lack of CE offerings and the lack of SE versions of the more "collector oriented" models is simply a result of low demand for them.
 
i have a tenacious with full spyderedge and love it. i also have a harpy with one as well. my delica is just a combo edge, oh ya my uk pk with the sheepsfoot blade also has a full spyderedge as well. i really enjoy these knives. would be nice if more spyderco's would be offered with a combo edge or full spyderedge or at atleast be able to send them into spyderco to get this done. i would gladly pay for it. i want to get a paramilitary and only seen plain edge's on them.
 
I like the look of plain edges, but for times that I have acutally used my knife for something other than molesting or cutting paper, serrations are almost a must.
 
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