this is why i always carry both instead of trying to force either to do everything.
I carried both side by side on vacation and in every single comparison the coarse PE did better.
I can't think of anything off the top of my head my SE Pacifics cut better than me PE. If you guys have any suggestions I'll try them out.
for me it's less about a side by side co
parison in a controlled environment and more about what i need to work in an emergency. i've said it a handful of times here, but if i have to cut my kids out of seatbelts, i want teeth at the ready. i don't have time to fuss with a coarse plain edge and hope it doesn't slide off.
i see my knives first as an emergency tool. if everything goes wrong, i want to have a tool i can depend on. most likely, that will involve some form or emergency that requires cutting of coarse materials, so i will always carry se, even if i only carry one knife. for standard edc cutting, i prefer a plain edge, but i can cut with se so it's my default, even though i use the pe for almost everything from day to day.
this is why i always carry both instead of trying to force either to do everything.
I carried both side by side on vacation and in every single comparison the coarse PE did better.
I can't think of anything off the top of my head my SE Pacifics cut better than me PE. If you guys have any suggestions I'll try them out.
Any hard plastic. Coat hanger, chap stick tube, pvc etc.
Pvc pipe cutters have a plain edge but they work because of the mechanical advantage. Its a push cut, but its a push cut you could never achieve without that mechanical advantage. Once you end up using a series of draw cuts/ sawing motions, serrations start to win.
Thin sheet metal.
Once again, metal cutters have a plain edge, but they work on a mechanical advantage. If you are trying to saw through a material like this, a plain edge knife isnt going to do well.
Ive said this before. Serrations exist somewhere between a plain edge and a saw. You are also not going to find a plain edge saw.
Last edited by VooDooChild on Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Rome's greatest contribution to mathematics was the killing of Archimedes."
Good luck cutting with a PE what I cut with my Jumpmaster 2 or even with my SE Pac Salt in H1 at peak sharpness. The only task I can't accomplish fast enough with my spyderedges (sharpened my style) is to peel a rotten tomato
Idle curiousity, why would you want to peel a rotten tomato?
FWIW, they do actually have band saw blades and circular saw blades with no teeth. Now, what they’re used for… I have no idea, but I’ve seen em! So they can be found.
Also, on a second note… This isn’t a “defend serrations” thread. Homie only said he was loving PE blades with a coarse edge more for his personal use at this point and time in his life, because it’s working better for him. Obviously, everyone has their personal uses for a knife every day that others don’t encounter.
FWIW, they do actually have band saw blades and circular saw blades with no teeth. Now, what they’re used for… I have no idea, but I’ve seen em! So they can be found.
Ha, I mean you can cut things with a grinding wheel. Or a water jet. Or lasers!
I think when it comes down to the sawing motion we can exert with our arms, then teeth prove to be pretty useful.
"Rome's greatest contribution to mathematics was the killing of Archimedes."
FWIW, they do actually have band saw blades and circular saw blades with no teeth. Now, what they’re used for… I have no idea, but I’ve seen em! So they can be found.
Ha, I mean you can cut things with a grinding wheel. Or a water jet. Or lasers!
I think when it comes down to the sawing motion we can exert with our arms, then teeth prove to be pretty useful.
Yeah I’m way to lazy for that and own way to many tools. Only occasionally does a hacksaw find its use, but I don’t remember the last time I didn’t have the heat wrench (torch), cut off wheel or a compound miter saw etc… available or something better than a manual saw.
Again, this is only based on personal day by day usage. Not that once a year tool… but I got those too!
I should’ve added to my original post… combo edges!
I was pretty happy with my combo edge Resilience when I got it. I felt it it was a long enough blade to have both edge types be useful. But the serrated part makes it snag more in cuts VS my PE Resilience.
Still a nice knife and I feel like the spikey SE part could come in handy initiating cuts in certain materials....just not the things I cut day to day I guess.
My favourite thing about SE is that it keeps a working edge longer relative to a PE blade in the same steel. Well ground SE in thin blade stock is great for getting the most out of steels that have lower quantified edge retention (e.g., 8Cr13MoV, VG-10, BD1N, LC200N) compared to high-vanadium content particle metallurgy "super steels".
I kind of get that with the really coarse edges. I wouldn't dream of carrying a 2,000 grit edged knife that had no shaving capability. But my 200 grit edges can remain useful for weeks past that point.
this is why i always carry both instead of trying to force either to do everything.
I carried both side by side on vacation and in every single comparison the coarse PE did better.
I can't think of anything off the top of my head my SE Pacifics cut better than me PE. If you guys have any suggestions I'll try them out.
That's a good one It's a joke, yes ?! You almost fooled me
P.S Just in case you are serious I can give you a rope (or even a special belt) that MY SE Pac Salt cuts better than your PE...not to mention my Jumpmaster 2. Your PE could take a back seat
Which kind of rope? I've got some here I could do comparisons with.
this is why i always carry both instead of trying to force either to do everything.
I carried both side by side on vacation and in every single comparison the coarse PE did better.
I can't think of anything off the top of my head my SE Pacifics cut better than me PE. If you guys have any suggestions I'll try them out.
for me it's less about a side by side co
parison in a controlled environment and more about what i need to work in an emergency. i've said it a handful of times here, but if i have to cut my kids out of seatbelts, i want teeth at the ready. i don't have time to fuss with a coarse plain edge and hope it doesn't slide off.
i see my knives first as an emergency tool. if everything goes wrong, i want to have a tool i can depend on. most likely, that will involve some form or emergency that requires cutting of coarse materials, so i will always carry se, even if i only carry one knife. for standard edc cutting, i prefer a plain edge, but i can cut with se so it's my default, even though i use the pe for almost everything from day to day.
In an emergency I'd rather have the coarse PE. It will cut without slipping, even stuff like poly rope and seatbelts, and it won't snag.
this is why i always carry both instead of trying to force either to do everything.
I carried both side by side on vacation and in every single comparison the coarse PE did better.
I can't think of anything off the top of my head my SE Pacifics cut better than me PE. If you guys have any suggestions I'll try them out.
Any hard plastic. Coat hanger, chap stick tube, pvc etc.
Pvc pipe cutters have a plain edge but they work because of the mechanical advantage. Its a push cut, but its a push cut you could never achieve without that mechanical advantage. Once you end up using a series of draw cuts/ sawing motions, serrations start to win.
Thin sheet metal.
Once again, metal cutters have a plain edge, but they work on a mechanical advantage. If you are trying to saw through a material like this, a plain edge knife isnt going to do well.
Ive said this before. Serrations exist somewhere between a plain edge and a saw. You are also not going to find a plain edge saw.
I find when cutting stiff plastics it's more about geometry than edge type or finish.
I think if you really want to appreciate where vivi is coming from, buy a PE Pac Salt and reprofile it to 12DPS at 200-300 Grit.
There are tasks that a true serrated edge will excel at, and PE as well. But for the best of both worlds. I prefer the vivi edge to rounded serrations. Though both work well as hybrids.
I can confirm about the stropping. When I first did my vivi edge I made sure to spend the time and get it shaving sharp off of the stones. I have used a strop to maintain it. And after each stropping there was a very noticeable difference in performance. I gained some push cutting, and lost some aggression. It is at it's best off the stones or after 1 or two stroppings. After 3 stroppings it becomes more of a traditional PE with each subsequent stropping.
As I was just saying in another thread, I think I'm starting to lean towards keeping my PE mirror polished, my SE toothy, and keep a few hybrid vivi edges and hybrid SE's with rounded teeth and thin edges. In other words there is no one knife for me. They all have their place and function. And much like vivi finds he doesn't need SE for most of his cutting tasks, I find that for what I personally cut 6 days a week, high polished plain edges work best for me.
-Matta.k.a. Lo_Que, loadedquestions135I ❤ The P'KAL
"The world of edges has a small doorway in, but opens into a cavern that is both wide and deep." -sal
Seems to jive with my experience as well. The thinned out SE edge on the Caribbean I won was an eye opener and makes SE much more useful to me vs stock SE edge. That said, I choose a coarse edge PE for most tasks.
"...it costs nothing to be polite." - Winston Churchill
“Maybe the cheese in the mousetrap is an artificially created cheaper price?” -Sal
I think if you really want to appreciate where vivi is coming from, buy a PE Pac Salt and reprofile it to 12DPS at 200-300 Grit.
There are tasks that a true serrated edge will excel at, and PE as well. But for the best of both worlds. I prefer the vivi edge to rounded serrations. Though both work well as hybrids.
I can confirm about the stropping. When I first did my vivi edge I made sure to spend the time and get it shaving sharp off of the stones. I have used a strop to maintain it. And after each stropping there was a very noticeable difference in performance. I gained some push cutting, and lost some aggression. It is at it's best off the stones or after 1 or two stroppings. After 3 stroppings it becomes more of a traditional PE with each subsequent stropping.
As I was just saying in another thread, I think I'm starting to lean towards keeping my PE mirror polished, my SE toothy, and keep a few hybrid vivi edges and hybrid SE's with rounded teeth and thin edges. In other words there is no one knife for me. They all have their place and function. And much like vivi finds he doesn't need SE for most of his cutting tasks, I find that for what I personally cut 6 days a week, high polished plain edges work best for me.
Well said. A coarse PE is in between a SE and typical PE in how it cuts.
You've got to be real careful trying to strop or refine the coarse PE edges. For a while I was using a strop once or twice per side, or one light stroke on the sharpmaker fine rods. But over time I felt that degraded edge performance. Sure it would push cut a little better, but as the expense of edge life and cutting aggression.
I've found with a light touch shaving sharpness is consistently obtainable off 200-300 grit diamond stones. Something I wouldn't have believed five years ago. In fact my Pacific Salt I carry every still shaves, and it still has the same edge that I put on for the microscope thread.
There's definitely room for different edge types. I'm not selling my SE Pacifics any time soon. I EDC a SE Z cut at work. And I keep a couple polished edges around because they are fun to cut with and they're great for opening letters. I just don't enjoy the upkeep requirements of establishing a polished edge and having to touch it up so frequently.
I've personally never warmed up to serrations. Even trying one of Vivi's reprofiled salts didn't do it for me. I like the smooth lack of resistance feeling a sharp PE has when slicing. SE is good at one thing cutting aggressively.
I've personally never warmed up to serrations. Even trying one of Vivi's reprofiled salts didn't do it for me. I like the smooth lack of resistance feeling a sharp PE has when slicing. SE is good at one thing cutting aggressively.
It's a joke, yes ?! You almost fooled me 
