Serrated Edge vs. Straight Edge

D

Dextar

Joined
Sep 14, 2017
Messages
539
Hi there,

I see some videos and articles compare the serrated edge vs. straight edge, but can you advise that in everyday use (not survival not tough outdoor use), which is better?
PS: seems more pic in the forums are straight edge ones.

have a good one.
 
I'm in love in half serrated blades since decades :^D
But mayority of bladers love plain ones.
Can't help, sorry.

Anyway I use ordinary plain ones everyday too, so I'm combo.
 
simply put its far easier to maintain the sharness of a straight edge blade , especially in the "field".
serrations have its place too.
especially if one works with ropes more
personally though, i honestly can't foresee replacing a stright edge outright with a fully serrated knife on a daily basis.
however if you're strapped to a seat, go for it !
 
It all depends on what do you plan on using it for. Example, my daily use is mostly dicing some fruits, cutting an omelete, trimming a thread and opening envelopes/packages. Plain edge is king for me.

However, if you were working in a farm environment, you might need to cut cord or rip through bags of whatever (bags might be textile). Then, a serrated edge MIGHT BE a more appropiate tool as it will keep on ripping things appart even if you ruin the edge when cutting something soiled with dirt particles.

If your daily rutine is arround a boat, then serrated all the way (and most likely something from the Spyderco SALT series).

As you can see... it all depends!

Mikel
 
Zulus said:
I'm in love in half serrated blades since decades :^D
But mayority of bladers love plain ones.
Can't help, sorry.

Anyway I use ordinary plain ones everyday too, so I'm combo.
Click to expand...
This is a divisive topic for some knife nuts..
But Ive used, carried and made both straight and serrated edged knives of many kinds. First, serrations are hard to make and sharpen well. A well designed and sharpened serration like say Spyderco style is a very effective but aggressive cutting edge, it will not really do things like whittle, slice, shave, or scrape as cleanly as a straight edge.
But it will saw or breakthrough fibrous material easier by presenting a series of points and scallops, more cutting edge, to the medium being cut.
Not a fan of combo blades but a well designed serrated edge definatly has its place as a very functional useful edge.
I much prefer the simplicity and ease of sharpening of a good old plain edge.
 
Put me in the combo edge camp; but I wish manufacturers would put the serrated section out by the tip and the plain edge section aft.

That being said, and as a total fan of the Spyderco Salt series both the H1 and the LC200N blades, a plain edge seems more useful for every day tasks and, as stated, it is easier to maintain a straight edge.

When it comes to cardboard, rope, hose and fibrous materials - there's nothing like a serrated edge. Leaving a section of the blade bit course - micro serrations helps but it is no substitute for serrations.

I should mention that some mistakenly thing that a serrated blade "saws" through material - not true! A "saw" has it's cutting edges perpendicular to the material basically scraping a little bit of it off with each pass ... of each tooth. A serrated blades slices and has more slicing edge (edges?) per length of actual blade than a plain/straight edge.
 
Specifically answering your question, just general edc, I prefer a straight edge. It handles task better, it cuts smoother and cleaner.
 
When I was climbing trees regularly for removal and pruning I always had a serrated blade!! The best I found was any crappy CRKT with Veff serrations. Nothing kills a knife like a 30-100" drop, so go cheap in that situation.
As a tractor trailer driver, flatbed, lowboy, etc, I always have a knife and have for the last 30 years. Very handy!
I've cut people out of their seat belts after accidents when they were stuck. Rope, plastic wrap and all sorts of other crap always finds a way to wrap around part of the rig n flap in the breeze!
I like both serrations and non n carry them both regularly
 
I've had a couple of serrated knives - other than the steak knife variety for kitchen use.
Never did see the point in them.
I believe my wife got a couple of them for garden use.
 
Dextar said:
Hi there,

I see some videos and articles compare the serrated edge vs. straight edge, but can you advise that in everyday use (not survival not tough outdoor use), which is better?
PS: seems more pic in the forums are straight edge ones.
Click to expand...
For the majority of tasks, a straight edge works best for me. However, as others have stated, if you work in a trade where you're constantly cutting cardboard, opening burlap feed sacks, cutting rope, etc., a serrated knife definitely has it's place.
 
Not a huge fan of serrated knives although I've had a few partially serrated and still have one. They're good for cutting rope and that's about it. I prefer plain blades on all my knives.
 
Zulus said:
I'm in love in half serrated blades since decades :^D
But mayority of bladers love plain ones.
Can't help, sorry.

Anyway I use ordinary plain ones everyday too, so I'm combo.
Click to expand...

Ya, I'm considering to have a half serrated one
 
GIRLYmann said:
simply put its far easier to maintain the sharness of a straight edge blade , especially in the "field".
serrations have its place too.
especially if one works with ropes more
personally though, i honestly can't foresee replacing a stright edge outright with a fully serrated knife on a daily basis.
however if you're strapped to a seat, go for it !
Click to expand...

Seems like I need both:D
 
Mikel_24 said:
It all depends on what do you plan on using it for. Example, my daily use is mostly dicing some fruits, cutting an omelete, trimming a thread and opening envelopes/packages. Plain edge is king for me.

However, if you were working in a farm environment, you might need to cut cord or rip through bags of whatever (bags might be textile). Then, a serrated edge MIGHT BE a more appropiate tool as it will keep on ripping things appart even if you ruin the edge when cutting something soiled with dirt particles.

If your daily rutine is arround a boat, then serrated all the way (and most likely something from the Spyderco SALT series).

As you can see... it all depends!

Mikel
Click to expand...

Thanks for giving the sample scenes, I think I definitely need serrated ones!
 
SALTY said:
Put me in the combo edge camp; but I wish manufacturers would put the serrated section out by the tip and the plain edge section aft.

That being said, and as a total fan of the Spyderco Salt series both the H1 and the LC200N blades, a plain edge seems more useful for every day tasks and, as stated, it is easier to maintain a straight edge.

When it comes to cardboard, rope, hose and fibrous materials - there's nothing like a serrated edge. Leaving a section of the blade bit course - micro serrations helps but it is no substitute for serrations.

I should mention that some mistakenly thing that a serrated blade "saws" through material - not true! A "saw" has it's cutting edges perpendicular to the material basically scraping a little bit of it off with each pass ... of each tooth. A serrated blades slices and has more slicing edge (edges?) per length of actual blade than a plain/straight edge.
Click to expand...

Considering 1-2 days outdoor hiking, camp, after reading the replies, I think a half serrated one is better, OR bring 2, one serrated, one straight
 
Dextar said:
Hi there,

I see some videos and articles compare the serrated edge vs. straight edge, but can you advise that in everyday use (not survival not tough outdoor use), which is better?
PS: seems more pic in the forums are straight edge ones.

have a good one.
Click to expand...
I prefer a straight edge, because then you can get a multi tool with a serrated, as well.
 
I prefer for non-serrated edges. I sharpen to a toothy, aggressive edge, so cutting rope and other fibrous material is no problem.

I do recognize that serrated edges are more versatile than I previously believed. I used to think you could not carve wood with serrations, but I've seen too many photo and video examples to the contrary over the last couple of years to realize I was wrong. A non-serrated edge may be better for most wood carving tasks, but you can carve some impressive feather sticks and wood shavings that are exceptionally easy to ignite because of the increased surface area over the same cuts with a straight edge.

When I state my preference for one over the other, I don't really care about the reasons anymore. I want what I want and that's sufficient (for now).
 
There are cutting tasks that the serrated can do better, and there are others it would do poorly at. So for an all around EDC I prefer a plain edge which will do all tasks reasonably well. IMO
 
The purist in most of us here tends to appreciate and prefer knives with plain edge blades. That is not to say that many of us do not also recognize the utility of a good serrated edge as well. My approach is to carry a plain edge blade as my primary knife, and also carry a fully serrated Spyderco Dragonfly. It's small, clips into the corner of my back pocket, and goes virtually unnoticed until needed. This method has served me well. The thought has occurred to me, however, that perhaps I came up with this justification just as an excuse to carry more knives, but I'm fine with that ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top