Dragonfly Salt serrated or plain ?

elena86 · #1

I decided to purchase a Dragonfly Salt to complete my Salt line but I can't decide between the the serrated and the plain version.I wonder which one sharpens easier on the Sharpmaker....I like the looks of the plain one but I also know the advantages of H1 teeth.This one is going to stay in my watch pocket and used for everyday mundane chores.Does such a small blade really needs serrations, I mean do serrations realy make a difference on such a small blade, for small tasks ?
I can see the difference on my Pacific Salt but I wonder about the D'fly....Help me decide.

araneae · #2

H1 is best serrated.

twinboysdad · #3

If you don't want SE, I would suggest the VG10 model. H1 PE does not hold an edge very long for me. Sharpens easy but retention is meh. To quote Surfingringo loosely, "SE H1 basically is a super steel based on the work hardening"

xceptnl · #4

twinboysdad wrote:If you don't want SE, I would suggest the VG10 model. H1 PE does not hold an edge very long for me. Sharpens easy but retention is meh.

This sums up my feelings and experience.

DutchBlades · #5

Go for the serrated edge

Plain edge is nice and all, but not with the H1 steel.
Salts are made to be used and that's noticeable with the steel.
Besides, the serrated edge comes in handier than the plain edge in the area these knives are meant to be used.
It doesn't hold an edge very long, if you want a PE just get the regular version with the VG-10.
Allot better for a plain edge

(this also gives you an excuse to justify the purchase of another dragonfly :D )

Evil D · #6

Serrated. I bought a PE and really regret it. I have full size knives for PE, it would make an excellent SE backup/second knife.

3rdGenRigger · #7

Evil D wrote:Serrated. I bought a PE and really regret it. I have full size knives for PE, it would make an excellent SE backup/second knife.

This sums it up perfectly.

opusxpn · #8

Serrated is better in H1, I got both on this steel and prefer the SE and the sharpening is about the same on the sharpmaker. The plain edge does go dull rather quick. One more vote for serrated.

Surfingringo · #9

Hi Elena86, I'll throw in my ¢2. I am ok with pe H1 even though the edge retention isn't great. What I have found though is it is more functional on the larger knives where there is more edge. I find that on the dragonfly the cutting gets concentrated on such a small area that the edge doesn't last long at all. I also find that a small blade can be extremely effective when serrated. It really doesn't take many serrations to accomplish what serrations are made to do. So to put it simply, I prefer the serrated version in all of the salt knives, but the Dragonfly is the model that I think benefits the most from a serrated edge.

elena86 · #10

Surfingringo wrote:Hi Elena86, I'll throw in my ¢2. I am ok with pe H1 even though the edge retention isn't great. What I have found though is it is more functional on the larger knives where there is more edge. I find that on the dragonfly the cutting gets concentrated on such a small area that the edge doesn't last long at all. I also find that a small blade can be extremely effective when serrated. It really doesn't take many serrations to accomplish what serrations are made to do. So to put it simply, I prefer the serrated version in all of the salt knives, but the Dragonfly is the model that I think benefits the most from a serrated edge.

Thanx.I am sure you are right.Do you own and use H1 D'fly serrated ? What's your opinion on it ? I only have D'fly in Vg10 but I am not pleased with it.It is something wrong with the grind.It is too thin for my taste and it is quite difficult to maintain a shaving sharp edge.Plus it dulls quite fast.It is not the same with my other VG10 Spydies.I decided to give my FRN VG10 to my wife and too keep my G10 D'fly just for the looks.But lately I was caught in the H1 vortex.All my H1 Spydies are in SE, except for my Tasman(but yesterday I ordered a SE one).I allways loved spyderedges and I am confident that H1+ spyderedges= cutting power.And by the way, from your experience, how difficult is to sharpen H1 serrations on Sharpmaker ? .In my case I only use SM and sometimes waterstones and a Bark River leather strop(mostly for PE convex edges).

GoldenSpydie · #11

I have a Salt 1 in PE, and if you are willing to "touch up" the edge every few days, it's fine. I enjoy sharpening, so I ran it over the stones every evening during my spell of carrying the Salt 1. I generally hate serrations, and PE worked fine for me.

YMMV.

Rutgrr · #12

I have the PE and I like it. I just touch it up once in a while. Then again, I don't use it that much. It takes a nice edge.

Surfingringo · #13

elena86 wrote:Thanx.I am sure you are right.Do you own and use H1 D'fly serrated ? What's your opinion on it ? I only have D'fly in Vg10 but I am not pleased with it.It is something wrong with the grind.It is too thin for my taste and it is quite difficult to maintain a shaving sharp edge.Plus it dulls quite fast.It is not the same with my other VG10 Spydies.I decided to give my FRN VG10 to my wife and too keep my G10 D'fly just for the looks.But lately I was caught in the H1 vortex.All my H1 Spydies are in SE, except for my Tasman(but yesterday I ordered a SE one).I allways loved spyderedges and I am confident that H1+ spyderedges= cutting power.And by the way, from your experience, how difficult is to sharpen H1 serrations on Sharpmaker ? .In my case I only use SM and sometimes waterstones and a Bark River leather strop(mostly for PE convex edges).

Uggh, I just wrote a super long reply and somehow deleted it!

. Anyway, the short version is this...use the salt platform for all your serrated knives. When you want a plain edge look to other steels and models. That's the way I look at it anyway. The sharpmaker is very easy to use on serrated blades and I keep all my salts sharp enough to pushcut phone book paper. Even with fairly heavy use it only takes 1-2 minutes a couple of times a week. I find it a lot easier to maintain than repair. As far as technique, just start doing it the way Sal demonstrates in the video. You will make some small adaptations to your own technique but that's a good place to start.

eagletalon · #14

After a lot of researching on the internet, I decided to go with the SE for my Dragonfly Salt. Read the SE's edge is stronger than the PE. For me, it was about what I'm going to use the knife for i.e. cutting fishing line + rope, cut through fish bone, etc so I went with the SE. If your current line of salts are PE, I suggest having at least 1 SE. Love my dragonfly Salt SE. Better yet, get 1 of each :)

spyderHS08 · #15

It took me a while to decide the same thing, se or pe d'fly salt. I ended up going with the pe for a few reasons. I have a ladybug salt, tasman and spyderhawk in se and the d'fly just didnt look right in se to me. Also, on a little back up knife with a smaller blade I knew I wouldn't be using it for huge tasks and I wanted a nice little razor edge. The blade is also pretty small so it doesn't take much to put a sharp edge back on it after a few months of edc usage. I am very happy with my purchase as I have been able to keep it shaving sharp and the blade looks good to me in plain edge. Another thing people tend to forget is that H1 steel is a work hardened steel meaning with use and sharpening it gets harder and harder and starts keeping a better edge and stays sharper for longer times, IMO resembling a nice VG-10 steel after a while. Good luck with your decision!

Surfingringo · #16

spyderHS08 wrote:It took me a while to decide the same thing, se or pe d'fly salt. I ended up going with the pe for a few reasons. I have a ladybug salt, tasman and spyderhawk in se and the d'fly just didnt look right in se to me. Also, on a little back up knife with a smaller blade I knew I wouldn't be using it for huge tasks and I wanted a nice little razor edge. The blade is also pretty small so it doesn't take much to put a sharp edge back on it after a few months of edc usage. I am very happy with my purchase as I have been able to keep it shaving sharp and the blade looks good to me in plain edge. Another thing people tend to forget is that H1 steel is a work hardened steel meaning with use and sharpening it gets harder and harder and starts keeping a better edge and stays sharper for longer times, IMO resembling a nice VG-10 steel after a while. Good luck with your decision!

Hi spyderhs08. I don't believe this ^ is correct sir. H1 is work hardened during the grinding process but continued sharpening of the steel on a stone does not further affect it's attributes.

Jazz · #17

PE all the way.

Evil D · #18

I have sharpened mine quite a few times and it still doesn't hold an edge near as well as VG10 (when sharpened at the same angles and such). I actually tried to sell mine on CL a while back for pretty cheap and nobody wanted it lol.

spyderHS08 · #19

Surfingringo wrote:Hi spyderhs08. I don't believe this ^ is correct sir. H1 is work hardened during the grinding process but continued sharpening of the steel on a stone does not further affect it's attributes.

Well I can tell you my first hand experience with H1 has been this way as my plain edge salt 1 holds a heck of a lot better edge than it did 7 years ago....but everyone has different uses and experiences I guess.

Surfingringo · #20

spyderHS08 wrote:Well I can tell you my first hand experience with H1 has been this way as my plain edge salt 1 holds a heck of a lot better edge than it did 7 years ago....but everyone has different uses and experiences I guess.

Interesting. I have not had mine nearly 7 years but mine gets a LOT of sharpening. I have not seen any change in edge retention. Glad you have had such a good results with yours. :)