Partially Serrated, or Not?

If I buy a knife, do I get it with a partially serrated blade, or not? For instance, the blade for a Benchmade Griptilian 551. The serrated section seems to have an advantage to, say, cutting rope, but appears to be harder to sharpen. I'd appreciate your advice on the subject.

Not, no, never neit, nemoy, nein, etc., etc., etc..

Bountyhunter

I'd advise NO serrations. You can sharpen a plain blade to optimize it for whatever medium you like.

Bear

Hello Jagd,

Give a look here and here for some good info.

Hutch4545

I have found serrations useful for cutting through tough clothing when you don't have a pair of shears handy, but I wouldn't choose them for a PSK knife. Serrations are easily sharpened using a triangular rod. I think gatco even has a tiny pocket sized one but I wouldn't want to have to worry about a specialized and fragile sharpening stone in the field.

My experience was helping a crashed mountain biker. She was in a lot of pain and bleeding quite a bit from the thigh, but I couldn't tell how bad it was so the pants had to come off. She was wearing sporty styled pants made of heavy polyester, like basketball shorts or warmups are these days. The material was already slick, extra slick with blood, and it was stretchy enough that it was very difficult to cut with my plain edged blade, which was plenty sharp both before and after the incident. Since then I carry a serrated blade as well as a plain blade and a pair of shears in all but the lightest FAKits. The blade I chose is fully serrated. On many of the partially serrated blades, the serrated section is so small that you have to saw, rather than being able to just let er rip.

There are a few types of material that responds better to a serrated blade but I find that for my daily use I would much rather have a good straight blade. I have always thought the 50/50 ones were less than either other style.

Serrations do have their place. However for the most part I wouldn't buy a knife with serrations for EDC or survival use. The posts above outline many reasons not to do it.

However for rescue work serrations make a lot of sense. The knife then becomes a dedicated tool and should not be used to open up boxes or to carve fuzzy sticks but is used to cut rope, seat belts, clothing etc. If you think you will need a knife on regular basis for these purposes buy a dedicated fully serrated knife.

BTW, I've never understood a partial serrated knife. One a small 4" folder it just doesn't provide enough area to be useful and then the plain edge is compromised for detailed tasks.

Adam

I'd have to say no also. Only once have I found serrations useful and that was when cutting through a cars battery cable but it all honesty that knife was so icredibly sharp that I probably could have done it almost as easily without the serrations. I own no knives at all with serrations (not even in the kitchen).

All I can say is that it is hard enough for me to sharpen a straight blade! I could never sharpen a serrated one! They do cut some things really well, like cooked beef and rope. I say no, get a straight blade.

My thought is I carry a plain blade as my main blade and I carry something serrated (in a multi-tool). That way I have both. If I only carry one it is a plain edge.

I disagree. They do good at making fuzzy sticks. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

As a serrated blade owner, I do agree with several points listed above for not getting one. It is not good for things that require a clean cut. I have read of serrated blade owners that have no trouble with this but, it has not been my experience.

I can say that I would not carry a serrated blade as an EDC except that I do not have a good plain blade. I carry a Spyderco 93mm Rescue and have had it for 10 years.

As to sharpening, I have only had to sharpen my knife once since I got it. That is not to say it didn?t need honed up before that. I use it for everything and did not have any problems due to being dull. I work as a dispatcher and for the Boy Scouts as a rappelling instructor and ropes course director. For rescue, the serration is ideal. It cuts through ropes, web, and seatbelts like butter. In a survival situation, the plain blade will be MUCH easier to sharpen.


I have tried the saw thing and it never worked. A serrated blade does not have a ?set? to make it easy. You could say it was 1 sided. I tried and just got it bound up. (The set of the saw blade means bending alternate teeth outwards to either side, making the cut wider than the blade, so that the latter does not jam. Fine Tools.com )

If I were buying my first one, I would get the plain blade.

Hey Storm, Welcome Aboard!!
I carried a Spyderco for years and found their serrated blades did very good. You might find the DMT diafold stone (the one shaped like an ice pick) does a great job on keeping these blades razor sharp.
Since I almost always keep my blades very sharp I have changed to a regular blade to get around the limitations of the serrated blade for EDC. I have done wood work and fuzz sticks with mine but would rather have a plane blade. I will admit that if you don?t do much sharpening the serrated blade will allow you to saw through some materials long after I would have put the stone to mine.
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />