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Fine (plain) Edge or Serrated.

I'm sure many of us have both. Overall, which do you prefer?

More importantly under what circumstances do you like a serrated edge and when do you like a fine or plain edge? Also what type of serration do you like on your blade?

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Permalink Reply by Brad T. on March 18, 2014 at 18:06

I prefer Plain edge blades. I am not saying a good serrated edge knife is not in my "Bag"(BM Nimravus), but in folders it has to be plain edge.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on March 18, 2014 at 18:30

Well in folders it also depends on what kind of serrations. I've got a couple SAKs with serrated blades that are terrific but the serrations are very small. They are really excellent for cutting and easy to sharpen. That said, I'm guessing at least 90% of my knives are fine edge for a reason.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Doug Webber on August 28, 2015 at 10:08

I've always prefered a working knife that was half serrated. Working as an electrician, stripping wire, scraping paint of screw heads and all the other things I'd use my knife for, meant that likely as not the blade was fairly dull a lot of the time. With a half serrated blade, I knew I could cut something in a hurry if I had to.

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on August 28, 2015 at 13:11

For my cutting a plain blade works better. I can see that for some applications a serrated blade might be better such as cutting rope. I have one fully serrated blade and a few half serrated but most of my knives and all of my users are plain blade.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on August 28, 2015 at 13:19

Charles, interestingly enough, a fine edge is usually advised when cutting natural fiber ropes but serrated is considered a better choice for nylon or other man made cordage.

Also lot of fishing utility knives offer a course serrated edge on the spine for use in cutting/sawing through bone and cartilage but the main fine edge is there for flesh.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on August 28, 2015 at 16:12

Tobias- I have an old Kutmaster rope knife with a serrated blade- Kind of unusual for a rope knife, but as you stated earlier may of had some advantages for synthetic lines.- I probably have 6 or 7 knives with half serrated blades, have not found a use for the serrated part yet. I could see that at some point it might become useful as a sawing mechanism, but have not found the need-

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on August 28, 2015 at 19:28

Many Steak knives are serrated but this is a hold over from early stainless steel steak knives. The steel was too soft to hold a decent edge and cut steak so they made the blade serrated so you could saw through the meat. As the stainless steel improved, many steak knives remained serrated despite having steel that could hold a good edge. Why? Because many people thought the serration was a defining point of steak knives! At the same time, there are many people who believe a quality steak knife must have a carbon steel blade and have a fine edge. Anything less is an insult to the meat.

As for me. I'm not picky. The only wrong way to eat a steak is well done!