Serrated Edge on Knife or not?

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I never liked serrations. Have a crkt m-16 edc I never carry because it has serrations. I think serrations shorten the effective cutting surface. of a knife blade. A sharp edge will be far better than any serrations.

But if you want a wicked serrated knife, buy a sypdeco civilian. scary enough you will never need to use it. made for SD only.

Or get a good sharpening setup. Look around online to learn what you are trying to do microscopically to the edge. And pretty soon will will be getting knives hair shaving sharp.
 
For a defensive knife? Not especially.

For a general use knife? Absolutely.

People here are getting stuck on using serrations for rope and string only.

Doesn't anyone have No. 2 pencils anymore that need sharpened? Doesn't anyone find a need to strip a wire now and then? Serrations do a teriffic job in those roles. Try it sometime.
 
In the Middle Ages, midwives used to use broken pottery shards to cut umbilical cords. Due to the jagged serrations on the shard, the cord would clot and stop bleeding quickly.

As doctors and metal, plain-edge knives took over, the number of mothers & infants who bled out after cutting the umbillical cord drastically increased. So serrated knives (and later scissors) were used....and lives were saved.....

Applicable?.......you decide..... :cool:
 
In the Middle Ages, midwives used to use broken pottery shards to cut umbilical cords. Due to the jagged serrations on the shard, the cord would clot and stop bleeding quickly.

As doctors and metal, plain-edge knives took over, the number of mothers & infants who bled out after cutting the umbillical cord drastically increased. So serrated knives (and later scissors) were used....and lives were saved.....
Click to expand...

I'll bite...

Please provide documentation for this assertion. :rolleyes:

(You don't even have to explain why the cord was not tied off....)

Applicable? :confused:

Hmmm...last time I cut an umbilical cord was...er...hmmm...:what:

Don't think I've ever done that with my EDC.

:scrutiny:


:evil:
 
His point is that a jagged cut may not bleed out as quickly as a... more exact cut, methinks. Fairbairn said something similar, if memory serves...
 
In the Middle Ages, midwives used to use broken pottery shards to cut umbilical cords. Due to the jagged serrations on the shard, the cord would clot and stop bleeding quickly.

As doctors and metal, plain-edge knives took over, the number of mothers & infants who bled out after cutting the umbillical cord drastically increased. So serrated knives (and later scissors) were used....and lives were saved.....
Click to expand...

I did get the 'point' I only questioned the 'source'. I was unable to locate anything even remotely suggesting a 'jagged' cut was in anyway superior in a medical situation however, and was curious where this idea came from .

I did find the information shown below, which supports the idea that a 'cleaner' cut (incision) would be the better way to go from a healing standpoint. Why in the world a cleaner 'incision' would cause the death of *more* women was my 'point'.


From "Intro to Anatomy 7: The Integumentary System"

"Injury and Repair of the Skin:

An incision is a slender, straight cut made with a sharp object. An incision typically heals fairly rapidly, since there’s relatively little tissue damage. This is the sort of “wound” a skilled surgeon makes.

A laceration is a jagged cut or tear of the skin. It damages considerably more tissue than does an incision of the same length and depth, and so takes longer to heal. "
 
As doctors and metal, plain-edge knives took over, the number of mothers & infants who bled out after cutting the umbillical cord drastically increased. So serrated knives (and later scissors) were used....and lives were saved.....
Click to expand...

I have a problem with this. Doctors did not take-over from midwives until maybe the last 100 years. I seriously doubt that they and steel knives contributed to more deaths during birth. OTOH, I can see how broken pottery was probably cleaner than a dirty rusted blade that typical peasants would have in the home.

Was this class perhaps taken in a liberal arts college with a feminist agenda? ;)
 
Not. I don't like them on any knife. I can cut rope, string, or crusty bread with a very sharp, normal edged knife. How do you get a nice cut on a wood pencil with serrations? What a pain that must be.

Normal, simple, but very sharp edges.
 
I prefer half-serration because I use my knife a lot at work to cut heavy plastic wrapping on pallets. It's much easier to saw at big clumps of it with the serrations than the straight blade. That or opening the danged sealed hard plastic packaging that everything seems to be in these days.

Seems to be to be a decent mix for me. Now, if someone comes out with a knife that had two blades, where one blade is fully serrated and the other was a plain edge that would definitely go to #1 on my to-buy list.
 
Leatherman

Now, if someone comes out with a knife that had two blades, where one blade is fully serrated and the other was a plain edge that would definitely go to #1 on my to-buy list.
Click to expand...
Had a look at the Leatherman Wave or Surge?

One plain blade, one serrated blade.

And other cool tools, too.
 
45Guy said:
Now, if someone comes out with a knife that had two blades, where one blade is fully serrated and the other was a plain edge that would definitely go to #1 on my to-buy list.
Click to expand...

Spyderco's Byrd line: Byrd Wings

by20gps.jpg
 
I like the concept, but the way the Spyder blade has to hump up to show the thumbhole makes it uncomfortable to handle. I played with a cheap copy at a gun show and if it had felt better in the hand, would have bought a real Spyder.

I visualize something like the conventional pocket knife Muskrat pattern, with opening studs on the blades. With a pocket clip you would know which blade was up and could open the smooth edge or turn it for serrations without having to look.
 
Agree with Jim Watson-

The idea is great, the execution is lacking. Spyderco tried it years ago with the Dyad series of knives. Same thing-the 'humping' of the blades makes it awkward to carry and when that happens, it doesn't get carried.

By far the best iteration of this thought was done by Buck-albeit crudely-in their Crosslock series of knives. They offered them in several different versions, but believe it or not, I'm not sure they ever offered it in a two bladed plain\serrated configuration (I'm WRONG ON THAT-SEE BELOW). And, as I said, the Buck version was a thick handled rather crudely executed attempt, but it was superior to the Spydercos in that the blades opened on opposite sides of the *flat* of the handle and not opposite end-to-end. They also used thumbstuds which eliminated the 'humps'.
What we need is the Buck's basic design, but executed in G-10 or aluminum scales and a narrower profiled blade.

buckcotecrosslock.jpg

183CM.jpg








That second one doesn't look too bad now that I look at it. Much improved over the original version in the handle department...

Well, look what I found...

1208357528_rigging-folding-knife.jpg
 
Well I love the utility of the serrations on my Gerber. Serrations are definitely more useful when it comes time to hack through something with a dull knife. I would definitely reccomend a 1/2 serrated knife to someone that plans on ignoring their knife until they need it.

But I can see how serrations can be a bad thing, as they require a special tool to sharpen. The only sharpening tool I own is a Speedy Sharp, which is only useful for doing straight blades.

Of course I don't really use my folders very often and typically just use razor and kitchen knives for opening and cutting things. Economically, it's cheaper for me to just get the blades free from work than it is to buy sharpening tools. My next knife is probably going to be a folding razor-knife for this reason.

Honestly though, after buying several knives, my absolute favorites are the 1" swiss army knives and Swiss Cards. A blade, a Screwdriver/Nail File, and a pair of scissors are all I need in a knife. My Swiss Card is so old, I have to keep it in a photo sleeve to keep the tools from falling out. Ironically, the Blade, SD/Nail File, and Scissors are the only pieces I haven't lost out of it.
 
I've noticed that serrations are a love/hate thing with a lot of people. My EDC knife is a serrated Gerber EVO. I find serrated edges to be very useful for sawing(Yes, I abuse my knife) and the serrations on Gerber knives are not so aggressive as to get in the way when performing other tasks. Of the 3" blade length, about 1 1/4" is serrated. If I got a knife purely for self-defense I would get a straight blade, but for utility my current setup is perfect for me. (Especially since my cheap $30 Gerber can shave hair when I'm done sharpening it :D)
 
Arfin, it's ironic you bring up the Leatherman tools as my birthday is next month and I put a Leatherman Wave or Blast as the first thing on my list.

Woolfam, good concept, but I agree with everyone else, that just looks plain uncomfortable to carry.
 
This is a little late but on the topic of surgical incisions and the use of pottery shards. It's actually the opposite.

A clean incision tends to bleed less.

Blood vessels are layers of tissue, one of those layers is muscle. Thats what causes the the vessel to dilate or constrict. When a vessel is cut cleanly, the muscles tend to constrict and close themselves off. When a jagged cut is made on the same vessel, the end of the blood vessel is left with loose tissue on the end and it is unable to close off completely.

Think of a cinch bag. It's capable of closing off completely on the end. That's essentially what a blood vessel does when cut cleanly. Think of bags with that cover flap just inside the top. If you left the flap out and tried to close the bag. You can't close it all the way.

That's the best I can come up with at 1am. I work in the OR as a surgical nurse and believe it or not, Surgery is not as bloody as you would expect.
 
Pottery dust probably caused clotting, not the jagged edges. Any fine powder causes clotting to increase. try it sometime.

I still say go plain edge, learn to sharpen it well. I have seen no serrations that could cut anything as fast as a good edge.
 
Check with the Cold Steel site -- which is pretty over-the-top on use of knives for defense, but nonetheless reliable information.

In a "defensive knife" you want large, long, heavy, single edged, and a FIXED blade. Serrated blade, folding pocket-knives are not designed nor intended for any sort of serious defense.

The fundamental defensive move with a knife is slashing. Slashing with a straight edged blade produces a clean cut -- deep, smooth, fast.

Slashing with a serrated blade tends to "catch" on whatever material it's cutting. You don't want "catch" when you're swinging and slashing in defense.

Serrated blades are for cutting line (marine application), fabric, synthetic material (like plastic pipe).

Besides which -- they're hell to sharpen.
 
I like a little serration on my everyday pocket utility knife. Its good for cutting certain things like rope. But for self defense knives, etc I prefer no serration.
 
as far as umbilical cords go tearing them(or letting them break naturally) allows it to clot faster the ragged edges(of the vessel) give the platletts more surface to stick to. that being said if you cut it just tie it off.
I like a knife with serrations but thats mostly cause I suck at sharpening and buy mostly cheap knives
 
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