To serrate or to not serrate?

looking to pick up an edc-type knife, and am wondering what folks prefer, and why (partially serrated, non serrated, fully serrated). it seems that the partially serrated knife offers the best of both worlds, but i've seen some criticisms about this setup before.

i prefer plain edge.

if its sharp it will cut thru.

only if i know i would have to cut thick rope (or similar) many times a day i might consider carrying a serrated edge. so far i havent needed one.

unless you expect you're going to require the full length smooth cutting surface, why not go partially serrated? (or back serrated is best)
If you routinely use and sharpen the straight section, the serrated area preserves the factory edge for WTSHTF type stuff.

I like serrated for cutting cooked meat, and for sawing things like ropes, small branches.

Smooth edge for anything else. This includes combat.

Won't consider dual-setups.

I think it entirely depends on what you use your knife for. For me a plain edge does everything I need and I can maintain it a little easier. If needed I'd use a fully serrated blade but I have found with the combo edge neither the straight portion nor serrated portion were long enough for my preference so I'd use one or the other...but that's just me. I'm sure some here will tell you the exact opposite:shrug:

I EDC a partially serrated which works best for me. Depends on your usage as I may have to cut through several cable ties and the serrated edge is great for that, but I still have a section of plain edge blade when needed.

All depends on the usage. Serrated for anything best cut through with a sawing motion (cooked meat, ropes) and straight for that best cut with a single slice.

That being said, the only serrated knives I have in my house are steak knives. Exacto knives, katana, even replica swords, all straight-edged. Even my hunting bolts for my crossbow (though I have been tempted to custom-serrate one just for fun.)

To be honest, I edc all three types at once. I carry a Leatherman Surge or Core on my belt (both have a serrated knife and a straight blade). In my back pockets, I have a Victorinox One Handed Trekker (half and half blade), and a Spyderco Native III (straight blade).

FRANKVZ said:

I EDC a partially serrated which works best for me. Depends on your usage as I may have to cut through several cable ties and the serrated edge is great for that, but I still have a section of plain edge blade when needed.

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photonwave said:

All depends on the usage. Serrated for anything best cut through with a sawing motion (cooked meat, ropes) and straight for that best cut with a single slice.

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I have a strong preference for straight although I do carry a combo edged Benchmade 770, I seldom use the serrated section, and when I do it's the Leatherman Wave that gets called up.

The most applicable statement addressing your query is summed up in Photonwave and Frankvz's posts. It all boils down to your own set of demands and the job at hand.

Plain edge only because I've never mastered the art of sharpening serrations.

photonwave said:

Serrated for anything best cut through with a sawing motion (cooked meat, ropes) and straight for that best cut with a single slice.

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If you have to saw your way through a steak, you've cooked it too long. :laughing:

Back to the OP, I like plain edge. Serrated edges get gunked up and sticky pretty quickly when used on packing tape. Serrated edges are also not very good at fruit. I have a Spyderco with a 4" combo edge that I used for a number of years. In my experience, the 2" of serrations at the base of the blade are not really useful for anything camping-wise. Except maybe cutting thick rope, but the short length of serrations doesn't really give you much advantage over a plain edge. I think the Spyderco serrations are actually worse at cutting thin ropes because the rope tends to snag.

brucec said:

Serrated edges get gunked up and sticky pretty quickly when used on packing tape. Serrated edges are also not very good at fruit.

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Tape gunk is a bummer to have on your blade and I've had problems with it on my straight blades too, but one way to minimize the amount that gets on your blade is to cut so that your blade is pushing into the tape as opposed to pulling out on it.

Definitely agree on the fruit too - got to be a straight blade!

brucec said:

If you have to saw your way through a steak, you've cooked it too long. :laughing:

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Aw, man. I like my beef ribs with a crunchy outside. And you NEED a serrated edge to cut through a rack of those.

kaichu dento said:

Tape gunk is a bummer to have on your blade and I've had problems with it on my straight blades too, but one way to minimize the amount that gets on your blade is to cut so that your blade is pushing into the tape as opposed to pulling out on it.

Definitely agree on the fruit too - got to be a straight blade!

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A little silicone lubricant greatly helps with stuff sticking to the blade, and also ease of cutting.

Good ol' chouji oil (clove oil) does the trick as well, if it's pure.

Depends on what you're cutting on a regular basis. In my experience, a fully-serrated knife is only good for cutting food. For light use, get a small smooth-edged ceramic knife like one of these by Boker:

http://www.boker.de/us/index.php?c=37,1,16&a=110088&p=&pp=0
http://www.boker.de/us/index.php?c=37,1,16&a=112030&p=&pp=0
http://www.boker.de/us/index.php?c=37,1,16&a=112040&p=&pp=0

They are expensive, but you'll never need to sharpen them, which means you won't need to futz with a portable sharpening stone or diamond file -- though the credit-card-sized diamond files do look pretty handy, it's still one more thing to have to carry. The ceramic blade will hold an extremely sharp edge for a very long time, pretty much eliminating the need for a serrated portion.

Back-serrated knives supposedly offer the best of both worlds, but in reality you need a much longer blade for a combo edge to be practical. If size is no issue, then maybe that doesn't matter for you. In my experience, though, I stopped using combo-edged knives because I prefer smaller knives for EDC and also because I kept stabbing the side of my thumb on the serrations -- the points are usually so sharp that they'll go right through skin even if your finger doesn't slide at all. Few places on your hand are more painful to cut than the side of your thumb closeest to your index finger, because the skin there gets stretched every time you grab something.

My 2009 Victorinox Soldier is fully serrated and it's fantastic at cutting hamburger buns in halves for the BBQ. Also really good for meat.

I like my spyderco combo as my EDC because it lets me open the mail easily and also will be good for cutting ropes in a WTSHTF scenario.

photonwave said:

A little silicone lubricant greatly helps with stuff sticking to the blade, and also ease of cutting.

Good ol' chouji oil (clove oil) does the trick as well, if it's pure.

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I've always used WD-40 to clean off any gunk but have a preference for not getting any on the blade in the first place, and it can be minimized or even eliminated, by doing a press-cut against the non-sticky side of the tape, as opposed to pulling back against the sticky side.

fyrstormer said:

Back-serrated knives supposedly offer the best of both worlds, but in reality you need a much longer blade for a combo edge to be practical.

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This was even more true of the first ones which tended to allocate the blade length in a half & half configuration. Many newer knives have more of a 60/40 or even 70/30 split, which I like much better, and my 770 falls into this category. I must say that I'm surprised to even find myself carrying a combo edge after determining about 10 years ago that I never would again.

My EDC is partially serrated and to be honest I can't remember the last time I used the the serrations. I prefer a plain edge because it's easier to use and easier to sharpen. It's also predictable. I don't care for the way serrations cut in a jerky manner. If I could find the model of knife I carry with a plain edge I would buy it in a minute, but it's out of production.

Regarding steak knives - I prefer a plain edge on them, and I keep them very sharp. If you ever use a sharp plain edge steak knife, you'll never use a serrated knife again.

The only serrated knives I like are for slicing bread and tomatoes, and I often use just a plain edge for tomatoes.

Not to serrate. :thumbsup: