Picked up my first SE knife... I don't get the hype.

[TkoK83Spy]

I'm glad we do have a handful of members here that praise and may even push people to try SE. As I said, it's not my ideal or favorite blade type but I'm certainly glad these people opened my eyes to it a few years ago. I'm not on any other form of social media besides this forum, so I likely would have never even tried SE had I not seen some of these threads and reviews with actual use in pictures and videos here on this forum.

I think anybody that's a true knife nut should be interested in SE and have at least one serrated knife. It's part of the fun of the hobby! A new learning curve in use as well as sharpening. Just adds to the fun in my opinion.

[James Y]

I’m neither more pro-SE or more pro-PE. I like ‘em both, for different reasons. I’ve gone for some periods where I’ve carried PE more and others where I’ve carried SE more. It depends on what I’m planning to do and/or how I feel. Sometimes I carry one of each, though I haven’t been doing that lately.

Sometimes people say that the people who like SE do so because they don’t want to (or can’t) sharpen their PE knives. That may be true of some non-knife afi’s with their kitchen knives, but I doubt it’s true of anyone around here. If you have a Sharpmaker or similar system, resharpening SE is pretty darned easy.

Jim

[Paraguy]

I’m neither more pro-SE or more pro-PE. I like ‘em both, for different reasons. I’ve gone for some periods where I’ve carried PE more and others where I’ve carried SE more. It depends on what I’m planning to do and/or how I feel. Sometimes I carry one of each, though I haven’t been doing that lately.

Sometimes people say that the people who like SE do so because they don’t want to (or can’t) sharpen their PE knives. That may be true of some non-knife afi’s with their kitchen knives, but I doubt it’s true of anyone around here. If you have a Sharpmaker or similar system, resharpening SE is pretty darned easy.

Jim

I own some Ever Sharp JA Heckles kitchen knives; they've proved themselves. For the last 13 years i have never sharpened them. I believe they're some kind of surgical steel with hard heat treat. I still prefer a vg 10 PE for most slicing in the kitchen though.

[Sumdumguy]

If you're choosin',

You're losin'. :D

[bearfacedkiller]

I strongly disliked serrations for years and I still prefer plain edges. That said, after EvilD’s thread on modding them I picked up a used SE Shaman for a good price and proceeded to sharpen it until all the points were rounded off real good. My main complaint with serrated edges was not that they didn’t cut or that I couldn’t sharpen them but rather that they snagged and then ripped and tore instead of cutting. It took a considerable amount of work to get it where I wanted it but it no longer snags at all and cuts extremely well.

I also have a heavily used and abused K04 Utility knife which came with less aggressive serrations in the first place and has been heavily sharpened since then. The performance of that knife also played into my goal.

I still haven’t completely joined the cult of serrations but I have learned a lot. I learned that I didn’t like serrations unless I could get them to perform more like a plain edge which sounds funny but if you find that sweet spot the performance is impressive. I think Spyderco should sell them with less aggressive serrations in the first place.

[ladybug93]

if i need to cut something precisely, a pocket knife probably isn't the right tool for the job. that said, i can cut just about anything as precisely as necessary with my spyderedge. i'm really confused about what people are cutting that requires a pe over a se. no one ever gives a satisfactory answer to that question.

that said, i still carry a pe with a se most of the time. but if i'm only carrying one knife, it'll be a se because i'd rather be prepared to rescue someone than to preform some dainty, clean cut on something i probably don't actually need a knife to cut in the first place.

[Wartstein]

I picked up a dfly in H1 with SE, and I just have to say, I don't get what people love about it. It's worse for cutting open packages, cutting tags off clothes, opening letters than my PE dfly in K390. It did seem a little better when I needed to break down a double-walled cardboard box, but it's not frequent that I have heavier-duty cutting tasks like that. For my EDC knives I'm definitely going to stick with PE.

(snark/rant alert; all who might be triggered, please set your safety now :) )


Let's face it... you're not allowed to think that SE does anything worse than PE...

To be clear, I *do* see a need for SE and believe that some users really will benefit from SE blades in their use case (and many will see a benefit for certain tasks), but the *constant* implication on this forum that all PE adherents are a bit slow in the head and just haven't come around to the One True Way of SE *yet* gets old after a while :rolleyes:

No offense, but that's a pretty weird statement (like some others before too):

Can't recall any "SE guy" stating that SE must be better for everyone.

In my case I just describe my own, true experience and even make clear that I did not expect SE to work better for me at all.
It just happened to turn out that way, and I think I include "just for me" "in my use" or "imho" rather too often than too seldom
Then there are some objective facts:
For example that SE normally just stays sharp longer than PE all things else equal.

Thing is: I have extensive experience both with PE and SE, but still don't generalize my findings on everyone.
While many (not all!) who state things like "SE hard to sharpen" or "just good for a limited range of certain materials" obviously never tried well sharpened, mellowed SE for a longer period of time.

And the differences in SE patterns (more/less pointy and so on) can make a difference in performance like 50 incl. vs 30 incl. edge angle on PE...
But sometimes people who don't even know things like that state "facts" about SE.
Would be like saying "PE is crap" based on trying one single 50incl. PE edge...

Long story short: FOR ME SE works better in almost every task than PE, this is just what I honestly found in my use and all I ever said...

[ladybug93]

and i don't think it's better for everything. se just happens to be way better at the things that matter most to me and perfectly adequate for everything else.

[Bill1170]

Thanx Connor,

Probably should be pinned.

sal

I agree. What a helpful thread that is.

[tonijedi]

SE :confused:
PE :confused:


Get a grip, folks, the truthfully truthful truth is the mighty CE... :D

[JD Spydo]

Sorry to hear of your disappointment with your first full SE Spyderco knife. Serrated edges are a different animal for sure. And there are cutting jobs that SE blades excel at and there are cutting jobs I won't use anything but a plain edge. But I carry both on a daily basis and there are very few days that go by where I don't use both the SE and the PE blades both.

Another thing to consider is that D-Fly is a rather small unit by comparison. Try your cutting jobs with one of the RESCUE or POLICE models in full SE and I bet your results will be a lot better. Small knives irrespective of the edge type just don't do the work that a larger blade is capable of.

Try a serrated blade in a larger Spyderco model and I'm certain you'll attain better results.

[PeaceInOurTime]

SE :confused:
PE :confused:


Get a grip, folks, the truthfully truthful truth is the mighty CE... :D

Haha! You know, depending on the design/blade length, CE can be appealing. A more dramatic recurve with a CE helps delineate the two edge types.

[ladybug93]

my first serious edc knife was a combo edge. i knew back then that serrations were useful. i think most standard knives were ce for a long time unless they were for hunting. i'm pretty sure the deep hatred for serrations that we're just starting to overcome stems from a youtuber that was insanely popular and spoke at unnecessary length with unearned authority about his own opinions.

[Tgmr05]

My first Spyderco was a se dragonfly in the 90s. Took more than a couple days to truly realize how great se is. Now I will always have a se spyderco. I will always have a pe Spyderco, too.

A leatherman and a lot of other multi-tools have both se and pe. As seen in photos earlier in this thread, so does Spyderco. They both serve a purpose and understanding their strengths/weaknesses help with choosing the best tool for the job at hand. Is one better than the other? -Depends on the task at hand. I like both, but probably carry pe more in my pocket. I use se more with outdoor tasks and more heavy cutting like thick rope. I really like Spyderco se. I also really like razor sharp pe, especially when it holds the edge like zdp-189.

[awa54]

...i'm really confused about what people are cutting that requires a pe over a se. no one ever gives a satisfactory answer to that question.

1) Precise cuts through cardboard gift packaging that allow items to be mounted/displayed in the boxes: the cuts must have clean ends/edges and leave the flocking on the surface of the cardboard inserts with no cosmetic damage. I do this almost every day at work, sometimes 5 or more times/day.

2) Carving hard and soft wood to shape, while leaving a smooth finish. Maybe twice a week averaged over a year (and more with wood carving knives, this is just EDC cutting).

3) Any cut that needs to be straight, or have clean edges, not all cutting is done on items that are being disposed of!

Essentially I view all of my knives as super-sized Exacto knives (3.75"+ and fixed blades excepted) but also expect them to be able to do stouter duty like breaking down lots of boxes, or yard work and I'm unwilling to EDC a second more aggressive blade, when I'm confident that I can cut everything I need to with my well sharpened PE blade.

When more concerted yard work or hike/camp is on the table, I can get some pretty heavy cutting chores done with a 3.5" or 4" PE folder, basically anything that falls below axe or machete level, with some crossover into machete territory. I don't expect 3" and under folders to do that.

[awa54]

SE :confused:
PE :confused:


Get a grip, folks, the truthfully truthful truth is the mighty CE... :D

I *do* actually strongly dislike (hate is too strong) CE... not enough SE to be truly effective and the PE is all the way out on the end where control is diminished, in every knife I've experienced it in it's been a poor compromise

[Jared]

This forum actually got me to give a full SE a try. Now I’ve got a few of them. I really love them for some tasks, prefer PE for other tasks, and even own a couple of CE models that I’ve had for quite a while.

Wartstein really was the one who sold me on the full SE setups, and I really appreciate his insight. Some of my experiences do differ, but that’s ok too.

I think I’ve said this before here, but there’s a popular saying on another forum I frequent “let the mission drive the gear train.” I’ve found “missions” where SE is superior, “missions” where PE works better, and a few times out there where I actually prefer a CE. They all work pretty good in their respective roles.

[ladybug93]

...i'm really confused about what people are cutting that requires a pe over a se. no one ever gives a satisfactory answer to that question.

1) Precise cuts through cardboard gift packaging that allow items to be mounted/displayed in the boxes: the cuts must have clean ends/edges and leave the flocking on the surface of the cardboard inserts with no cosmetic damage. I do this almost every day at work, sometimes 5 or more times/day.

2) Carving hard and soft wood to shape, while leaving a smooth finish. Maybe twice a week averaged over a year (and more with wood carving knives, this is just EDC cutting).

3) Any cut that needs to be straight, or have clean edges, not all cutting is done on items that are being disposed of!

Essentially I view all of my knives as super-sized Exacto knives (3.75"+ and fixed blades excepted) but also expect them to be able to do stouter duty like breaking down lots of boxes, or yard work and I'm unwilling to EDC a second more aggressive blade, when I'm confident that I can cut everything I need to with my well sharpened PE blade.

When more concerted yard work or hike/camp is on the table, I can get some pretty heavy cutting chores done with a 3.5" or 4" PE folder, basically anything that falls below axe or machete level, with some crossover into machete territory. I don't expect 3" and under folders to do that.

i'm not going to say there's never an occasion that pe is better. one of the things i love about the way spyderco does serrations is that they leave the tip plain edge on most models. that solves #s 1 and 3, although i'd still argue a good pair of scissors (or the craft knife you're trying to replace) is a better fit for either of those jobs than a pocket knife is. for #2, a carving knife obviously works better, and if i was carving something that had to look nice as often as you say you do, i would carry a carving knife in my bag and save my edc edge for other cutting.

it's all personal preference. carry what you like and i'll carry what i like. the lines between subjectivity and objectivity are a little blurred by our preferences. you think pe is better at cutting and good enough for emergency cutting. i think se is clearly better for emergency cutting and good enough for everything else. when it comes down to it, i just prioritize getting my five kids out of the van quickly in an emergency more than cutting their snacks open cleanly.

[DFD04]

I am a PE guy when I’m EDC’ing off duty...but for cutting anything fibrous such as rope, webbing, thick clothes, seat belts, carpeting, drywall I have always preferred the fully SE that Spyderco offers. I hate trauma sheers, especially when they get a bit dull. When cutting through a motorcycle padded jacket, leather or double front Carhartts, the Rescue gets my vote every time.

Duty use aside, these same properties translate into cardboard or anything else daily life demands...you just have to learn to drive the tool to use it effectively. Again, I like PE’s mainly because of their look, but the cutting power is amped up with SE.

I’m really excited to try K390 in the P4 SE...

[kobold]

Yard work is another area where a SE vastly outperforms PE. Especially a hawkbill or sheepfoot.