Plain vs Serrated Blade

[FlipperFla]

Considering purchasing an ESEE3 what are the pros and cons of a plain vs a serrated blade for a survival knife? And the different functions of a survival vs a camping knife.

 

[Allriverssouth]

I've spent a lot of time in the woods and a quality knife is extremely important to me. But, what I would always come down to with advice is personal preference. For me, I think a non-serrated works best. I prefer a fixed blade around 4 to 5 inches in length, flat ground, full tang, and nothing much more than 1/8th inch thick. I carry an axe or saw for the big stuff.

Here is an article I wrote and some of the thoughts about the subject of the perfect knife: http://sportingclassicsdaily.com/perfect-guide-knife/. I hope it helps.

 

[FlipperFla]

I've spent a lot of time in the woods and a quality knife is extremely important to me. But, what I would always come down to with advice is personal preference. For me, I think a non-serrated works best. I prefer a fixed blade around 4 to 5 inches in length, flat ground, full tang, and nothing much more than 1/8th inch thick. I carry an axe or saw for the big stuff.

Here is an article I wrote and some of the thoughts about the subject of the perfect knife: http://sportingclassicsdaily.com/perfect-guide-knife/. I hope it helps.

Thanks for the response, great article. I am leaning towards serrated, being around a water environment and a lot of our adventures are by boat or kayak, cutting line from a fouled prop for example. In your trips to the Glades, did you do the Wilderness Waterway? A great book about the Glades in the early days is Killing Mr. Watson. I use it as a reference for the locations of the early homesteads, mark them on the GPS and visit them. When we stopped at the Watson Place you could feel the evil “vibe”, my wife wouldnt even get out of the skiff! Thanks again.

 

[Herbie]

cutting line from a fouled prop for example

Classic case of "get the right tool for the job".

For woodcraft or hunting use, I'd prefer no serrations. There are too many operations where I want to use the base of the blade for control, and the serrations would be in the way. On the other hand, if I was working on a boat, I'd wanted a single-hand opening serrated blade, preferably with a marlin spike on the backside. Some boats even insist on a fixed serrated blade kept outside the clothing whenever on-deck.

Supposedly the reason all the original "survival knives" issued to pilots had serrations was for sawing through aluminum fuselage, and the type of serration seen on Vietnam-vintage pilot's knives sort of bears that out. Definitely not the knife I'd choose for other work, though.

The upside is that good knives don't have to be expensive. A $20-$30 Mora will do everything you need from a woodcraft or basic hiker's survival knife perspective.

 

[FlipperFla]

Classic case of "get the right tool for the job".

For woodcraft or hunting use, I'd prefer no serrations. There are too many operations where I want to use the base of the blade for control, and the serrations would be in the way. On the other hand, if I was working on a boat, I'd wanted a single-hand opening serrated blade, preferably with a marlin spike on the backside. Some boats even insist on a fixed serrated blade kept outside the clothing whenever on-deck.

Supposedly the reason all the original "survival knives" issued to pilots had serrations was for sawing through aluminum fuselage, and the type of serration seen on Vietnam-vintage pilot's knives sort of bears that out. Definitely not the knife I'd choose for other work, though.

The upside is that good knives don't have to be expensive. A $20-$30 Mora will do everything you need from a woodcraft or basic hiker's survival knife perspective.

Thanks for the info. The right tool for the right job says it all.

 

[s.e.charles]

I am not a fixed blade carrier, but a CR Leek for edc. if you like the ESEE knives, why not a combination blade?

 

[Explorerinil]

When I go into the woods I carry a fixed blade Randall knife, before that a buck. I don’t care for a serrated blade knife.

At work as a police officer... I carry the most tactical of all knives, a Swiss Army knife.

 

[robert]

I have an old Spyderco Delica tethered in my pfd pocket and a Gerber River Shorty on the lash panel, for everything else I use a plain blade. I carried a serrated sheepsfoot for a little bit at work but they suck for everything other than cutting rope or webbing- and a pair of scissors works better on webbing. Well over twenty years as a paramedic/remote duty medic and I can count the number of seatbelts I've cut on on one hand. When I was into climbing I had the Spyderco clipped/tethered to my harness. Combo knives are even worse in my opinion as the serrations are right where you want to be for doing any detail work.

Oh, serrated knives do work great as bread knives. (This site has one of the crappiest selections of smilies, what happened to the ones off the old site?)

 

[CCH]

A good plain edge is better at everything you use a knife for other than cutting large quantities of rope. Oh, and the aforementioned bread knife.

 

[lugueto]

I have a couple of ESEEs as well as a few other knives that are dedicated for camping and bushcraft and every single one has a plain edge.

I know, the bushcraft cliche is almost as big as the overland one these days, but they're used for camping chores, hunting, fishing, etc.

I don't care for serrated edges, I like to think they have their place but I still haven't found one on my lineup.

 

[s.e.charles]

A good plain edge is better at everything you use a knife for other than cutting large quantities of rope. Oh, and the aforementioned bread knife.

aren't you forgetting tomatoes?

 

[CCH]

Good point, however I don't eat tomatoes unless they are sauce. I'm a meatatarian with the occasional bread thrown in.

 

[robert]

aren't you forgetting tomatoes?

View attachment 469976

Meh, if that Santoku is properly sharpened it'll work just fine on tomatoes. I've got a Henckels Pro S 5.5" Santoku that I use for most cutting tasks in the kitchen anymore.

 

[zimm]

serrated blades are for bread. if it needs teeth, theres a tool for that... a saw.

 

[Buliwyf]

I use a ''Work Sharp'' tool to sharpen everything. Seems like for rope and bread, plain blades work best if sharp. I can get plain blades sharper overall. But I have to stay on top of them, if they dull, they lose to serrated blades.

I have a broken steak knife on my dive harness.