The serrated blade (at least my Spyderco's) can easily be sharpened on a Spyderco Triangle sharpener (along with plain edge knives).

The serrated edge is MUCH better for cutting fiberous materials continuously. The first few cuts are just about the same with a plain edge. Soon the serrated edge shows it's advantage. One of the first Spyderco Mariners cut 6 rolls of fiberglass tape into 10 inch lengths after 3 other good plain edge blades (all longer) wore down on the first two rolls. Not a stunt, we needed the tape to fair a long cable we were towing at sea. They also work well if you have to open lots of boxes with fiberous tape.

I carry a plain edge for EDC, but use the serrated edge where it is best. The addition of a section on a longer blade makes sense if you might need it a lot without the time to sharpen it (survival knife on the water, I.e. SOG SEAL).

For full disclosure, the owner of Spyderco has been a good friend since before he made his first knife. I have been using a Triangle sharpener since the first run.

Respectfully,

Jerry

Regarding serrated parts of survival knives, many popele don't like "spoiling" the most important part of the blade . I was wondering if it was wiser to put serrations on the back . But that will interfere with battoning. So, instead of serrations all the way on the back, knifemaker can leave the first inch or so ( for the user thumb ) and then 2 inch serrations, then plain back up to the tip of the knive, which is enough area for battoning.


Just wondering

Most of my knives are non-serrated for the reasons already mentioned. That said, a Spyderco rescue type knife that is kept in my truck console is fully serrated, but it's only function in my life is to cut a seat belt or two should the need arise. I've never carried it. The knives I normally carry (EDC) are all plain edge.

I won't buy a serrated blade for general use. I think a plain edge is much more generally useful. Somehow, serrated blades have become all the rage. I guess people who don't really use knives much think they look cool.

That being said, I do have a "river knife" with a partially serrated blade attached to my pfd for sea kayaking. The primary use there would be if I became entangled and had to quickly cut ropes, nets, or whatever. Highly unlikely I will ever need it, but if I do, I will need it bad! It may be that a well sharpened plain blade would do just as well in that application, but the river knife is what I have.

I used to carry a partially serrated knife for EDC. It was great for getting through that annoying plastic clamshell packaging. I hated it for everything else though! Now I carry a plain edge knife.

I do carry a fully serrated river knife on my PFD, but its sole purpose is in case I need to cut rope or other entanglements off myself or someone else.

I wouldn't consider a knife with serrations for purchase these days. I made a mistake in the past and purchased a small blade that was half serrated. Serrations are useless for 99% of what you'd normally do. Actually worse than useless - they are a hinderance. And for that 1% of the time where they might have a small bit of utility, the serrated section of the knife is too short to actually be useful. 99% of the time they just waste an area of the blade that could be very useful as a straight edge. And they hang up on things while cutting and do their best to make even the straight portion of the blade useless too. Total waste IMHO. (But good for those long flexible kitchen knifes - serrations along the full length of that long blade make slicing tomatoes heavenly!)

Yes. Numerous times. Typically with clothing, webbing, rope and occasionally as a make-shift saw.

Now, most of the time it was in a pre-hospital or military environment.

My knife for boating/swimming is a fully serrated Spyderco Atlantic Salt. In that situation, where you end up cutting a lot of heavy lines, ropes, frozen fish, ect.....serrations can prove very useful.

Otherwise, the overall majority of my blades are plain edge. For general tasks I don't find serrations to be a necessity as long as my knife is kept sharp. If anything, I sometimes find them to be a hindrance.

If there is one company that I think does partially serrated blades right, it's Victorinox. They put the plain edge towards the back and the serrations towards the front. For some reason I find that arrangement to be much more practical.

I prefer the serrations on the spine, like on this knife I have:

http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=156&brand=kershaw

I use the serrations anywhere it'll work in order to spare the main blade. As one example, those serrations work better than any scraper I have for a ferro rod. That serrated edge generates a shower of sparks with easy.

I agree with Paul's comment above.

I don't hate serrations per se, and I do use them on difficult rope, plastic, and fibrous plant materials.

What I do hate is the lousy style and placement of the serrations on most blades.

I'm quite happy to have a simple, scalloped serration toward the front of the blade, leaving at least half of the handle-side portion as a plain, fine edge. This looks odd to the inexperienced user, is resolutely untacticool, and probably puts a damper on sales.

I generally sharpen blades as if the serration wasn't there, and periodically tune them up with a round diamond file. I know this is heresy, but these are working blades; they get used up over time. And the reworked serrations often work a lot better than the originals. With some blades, I'll gradually sharpen the original serration right out, and then add new simple scallops where I want them with a chainsaw file. This works well with any of the softer steels, including Moras.