Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
With Evil D's post on serrated knives, and JD's constant praise of them I came to the conclusion that this is THE knife to give to people who are not knife people.
I've always been a fan of serrated knives. Mostly after the fact as a "knife guy" but even before that I remember using an AUS-6 Meerkat SE and AUS-8 Dragonfly for far longer than they should have been used. As a part-time Starbucks barista when my wife was in college I had a white Ladybug SE which was my "go-to" box knife and general thing-opener. It made it 2.5 years of casual use and I may have spent a minute or two touching up the scallops every 6 months, if that.
As a present for Father's Day I bought my Dad a PE Dragonfly Salt. Great little knife on all accounts. The problem is he lives most the year in Cali and brought the knife with him. He's mostly retired and just uses knives for opening things from Costco and little house tasks. I visited him and it was DULL to the nth degree.
Part of giving gifts that you are passionate about is to let them go. Like freeing a bird into the wild :p or maybe an insect in this case. Doing it again I think I would have bought him a SE version. Even when they get dull the functional advantage of having such a knife over your teeth, fingernails, keys, or any other improvised cutting tool is a blessing.
If the person you are shopping for knows what a sharpening stone is this might not be as important. For people who are more likely to lose the knife than to sharpen it, SE might just be a good investment for them.
I've always been a fan of serrated knives. Mostly after the fact as a "knife guy" but even before that I remember using an AUS-6 Meerkat SE and AUS-8 Dragonfly for far longer than they should have been used. As a part-time Starbucks barista when my wife was in college I had a white Ladybug SE which was my "go-to" box knife and general thing-opener. It made it 2.5 years of casual use and I may have spent a minute or two touching up the scallops every 6 months, if that.
As a present for Father's Day I bought my Dad a PE Dragonfly Salt. Great little knife on all accounts. The problem is he lives most the year in Cali and brought the knife with him. He's mostly retired and just uses knives for opening things from Costco and little house tasks. I visited him and it was DULL to the nth degree.
Part of giving gifts that you are passionate about is to let them go. Like freeing a bird into the wild :p or maybe an insect in this case. Doing it again I think I would have bought him a SE version. Even when they get dull the functional advantage of having such a knife over your teeth, fingernails, keys, or any other improvised cutting tool is a blessing.
If the person you are shopping for knows what a sharpening stone is this might not be as important. For people who are more likely to lose the knife than to sharpen it, SE might just be a good investment for them.
Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Yep, have to agree. My best friend is not a knife guy whatsoever, and he's always telling me he wants combo edges because "even when the plain edge is dull, the serrations still cut". I think for people who aren't enthusiasts and don't spend time or know how to sharpen, serrations are the way to go.
Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Totally agreed. I was just thinking about combo-edges while carrying my Herbst CE over the holidays. I wouldn't say it's an epiphany but certainly de-vilifed them a bit .Evil D wrote:Yep, have to agree. My best friend is not a knife guy whatsoever, and he's always telling me he wants combo edges because "even when the plain edge is dull, the serrations still cut". I think for people who aren't enthusiasts and don't spend time or know how to sharpen, serrations are the way to go.
I still think a devoted edge (either way) is better for enthusiasts because it's rare we are far from a variety of edges. For most people though having a small section of the blade that's almost guaranteed to be functionally sharp makes perfect sense.
- SpyderNut
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Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Exellent point all around. Just recently, a female coworker of mine purchased a SE Dragonfly Salt after looking at a Spyderco catalog I'd given her. She said she chose the SE over PE because "I won't have to sharpen it as often" and it will "still cut like a buzz-saw." She really likes it and says she uses it nearly every day.
- GoldenSpydie
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Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
I concur. For people that don't know how to sharpen or don't bother to do it, serrations will provide a way to rip through materials long after a "knife nut" would consider it dull. This is one of the few areas where I can really appreciate SE: the points still tear even when it is well past dull.
- bearfacedkiller
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Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Most people don't know how to sharpen so giving them a SE saves you the trouble of sharpening their knives for them all the time. :D
-Darby
sal wrote:Knife afi's are pretty far out, steel junky's more so, but "edge junky's" are just nuts. :p
SpyderEdgeForever wrote: Also, do you think a kangaroo would eat a bowl of spagetti with sauce if someone offered it to them?
Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Yep, especially when they cut on marble countertops and cutting boards. The poor teeth lay down their lives for the scallops. :eek:bearfacedkiller wrote:Most people don't know how to sharpen so giving them a SE saves you the trouble of sharpening their knives for them all the time. :D
Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
^ I cringe and always want to buy them a nice wooden cutting board to reduce blade damage.
Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Hey Blerv & Evil there is one other aspect to all of this>> serrated knives are also good for anyone who has a rough-house type of job. Like for instance I got a pal who works for a major lumber yard. I turned him on to a Spyderedged Endura and he loves the **** out of it. And he told me that knife is good for most of the jobs he needs it on.
Also another factor about non-knife people dealing with serrated blades is that they are not "gun-shy" about using them like they normally would be with a plain edge. Because you can't really dull a serrated blade nearly as easy as you can a plain edge knife blade.
And for outdoor/sports minded people a serrated blade meets most of their needs as well. Every time I go into the woods or fishing I always have at least 2 full Spyderedged blades on me at all times. I love Spyderedged fixed blades for outdoor uses as well>> my original Temperance 1 SE model gets a lot of time in the outdoors.
Also another factor about non-knife people dealing with serrated blades is that they are not "gun-shy" about using them like they normally would be with a plain edge. Because you can't really dull a serrated blade nearly as easy as you can a plain edge knife blade.
And for outdoor/sports minded people a serrated blade meets most of their needs as well. Every time I go into the woods or fishing I always have at least 2 full Spyderedged blades on me at all times. I love Spyderedged fixed blades for outdoor uses as well>> my original Temperance 1 SE model gets a lot of time in the outdoors.
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Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Blerv, I have to agree with you. Great point and great post. And to this very moment, the best Spyderco memory I have, even more than finally getting one of my "grails" in hand...was when I gifted a Spyderco VG10 Rescue to a close friend who put it to use in everyday life and work chores, and told me he appreciates it.
Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Totally agree. I often gift serrated Salts since the immunity to corrosion is also great for many people who aren't that keen on looking after their knives (leave them in boats and backpacks for months without cleaning)
Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
It's funny you bring this up, Blerv... Just over the holidays I was thinking it would be cool for sal to offer us a set of steak knife blanks with the famous Spyderco serrations for us to dress up with some nice handles and be able to give as gifts. Would make a nice gift for even non-knife people... simple VG-10 would be ideal, I think?
- HarleyXJGuy
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Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Well now you did it.mattman wrote:It's funny you bring this up, Blerv... Just over the holidays I was thinking it would be cool for sal to offer us a set of steak knife blanks with the famous Spyderco serrations for us to dress up with some nice handles and be able to give as gifts. Would make a nice gift for even non-knife people... simple VG-10 would be ideal, I think?
I have visions of SE Mules running through my head.
On my radar: 110V Military, Police 4 and some sweet Rex 45 Military action.
Newest Spydies: S90v Ti Military, Pacific Salt and a special Kiwi.
Newest Spydies: S90v Ti Military, Pacific Salt and a special Kiwi.
- All-R-Crazy
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Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
I just received my salt one today and can fully appreciate the spyder edge after using it and giving it to coworkers who also needed a knife. by the way I love it now more than a my delica in SB now all I have to do is to learn how to sharpen serrations so it isn't dull. And I would gift people the salt 1 se to any one who needs a knife.
- SharpShooter901
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Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Never thought about that before, but it's a good idea. :cool:Blerv wrote:...If the person you are shopping for knows what a sharpening stone is this might not be as important. For people who are more likely to lose the knife than to sharpen it, SE might just be a good investment for them.....
I am a new collector! Finch, Dragonfly P&S, Cat, Robin P&S, Persistence, Delica, Tasman, Sage 1, Salt 1 P&S, Manix 2 Light.
Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
Probably this is a good idea for EDC knife, especially on a short run. I hope that manufacturer will sharpen knives for them. Much better for kitchen knives. One of my nephews bought a set of Chinese made serrated Henkels (steel certainly not the best) about ten years ago. His wife cooks a lot and still satisfied with sharpness.
- SharpShooter901
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Re: Serrated Spydies = IMHO, The knife to gift
View the Sal video on how to use the SharpMaker sharpener. He demonstrates how to sharper a SE, and it's not much more difficult than a regular PE. I have sharpened a couple of mine, and it does work.All-R-Crazy wrote:I just received my salt one today and can fully appreciate the spyder edge after using it and giving it to coworkers who also needed a knife. by the way I love it now more than a my delica in SB now all I have to do is to learn how to sharpen serrations so it isn't dull. And I would gift people the salt 1 se to any one who needs a knife.
I am a new collector! Finch, Dragonfly P&S, Cat, Robin P&S, Persistence, Delica, Tasman, Sage 1, Salt 1 P&S, Manix 2 Light.