some words of wisdom...

[AllenETreat]

Here's a copy of an e-mail I got from 888 Knives R Us, I thought some
of the content interesting, some humorous ( "..I do not collect knives.." (!))
and should be of interest to the PE crowd here. ( personally I'm for SE &
CE ) Enjoy!

Considering a new knife? If you are there is a great possibility that the knife you settle on may be offered in plain edge, partially serrated, or even fully serrated. Which version will you choose? Why does it matter?

As one of the owners of 888 Knives R Us, I could carry just about anything that I want, but I do not collect knives. I do have at least one knife on me at any time. I personally do not own any serrated knives, except some of those inexpensive steak knives that come in any cheap to moderately expensive kitchen set. I also own fine set of non serrated steak knives that I would not think of handing to anyone without first briefing them on how not to destroy the edge or cut themselves.

The job your new knife will do, your budget for the knife and the quality of the steel should be enough factors to help you select your edge type. I personally carry clip point knives, or modified clip point knives and they mostly cut straps and open boxes but can serve about any purpose. They are all very good steel that is properly heat treated such as Crucible 154CM or better. I keep them sharp. Since I choose knives with high grade steel I don't prefer serrations as I like the clean lines of a non-serrated knife. Also sharp steel cuts, teeth rip and tear, which can be very effecient for certain tasks.

That being said, there are reasons for serrations on a blade and should I change jobs or perhaps find my self doing a long job that required such cutting tasks that are more easily performed with serrations, I would choose an appropriately serrated knife. Firemen, fishermen, mechanics, EMT's and military and law enforcement personnel that find themselves cutting rope, line, seatbelts, hose and such will often find that serrations are very useful and perform these cutting tasks quickly, even if they haven't sharpened the serrations recently. Were I such a person, or should I end up doing a lot of any such cutting for any reason, I would probably choose a relatively inexpensive knife with a fully serrated blade, such as some by Cold Steel, and Spyderco and carry that in addition to my daily carry knife.

Did you know that most knife manufacturers do not re-sharpen their own serrations? Even the ones that offer lifetime sharpening services. Sharpening a fully or partially serrated knife can be quite a task and it just depends on how you prefer to spend your time. If I had a inexpensive serrated knife that served me well for a year or two before the serrations needed sharpening I could always choose to give the knife to someone that didn't mind sharpening it and buy another instead of spending the time to sharpen it. We offer some tapered diamond coated rods that will sharpen serrations fairly quickly and effectively, but you do have to sharpen each scallop one a time, much like the fashion of sharpening a chainsaw. Some of the sharpening systems such as ones by Spyderco and Lansky also allow for the sharpening of most serration paterns. There are also a few knives with laser cut notches in the blade that allow the knife to cut similar to a serrated edge, but can be sharpened on a standard flat stone.

Whichever type of edge you prefer, you can find it at our store. We even offer custom serrations on many knives which we apply to the edge of models that are not offered with this option from their manufacturer.


If I didn't already plan on some spydies this month, this article make's
me want to go out and buy a sharpmaker!

AET

[MANIXWORLD]

I most likely prefer a plainedge for most of my cutting tasks,but i do find a combo edge can be real useful too,where you dont always want to carry 2 or more knives on you.there's also less serrations to sharpen on a combo edge.
Combo edge knives do benefit more for me with a longer blade though.

[Simple Man]

I was surprised at how well the Sharpmaker worked the first time I used it. Each knife should come with a coupon or at least some form of ad for the Sharpmaker as it really increases the value of any Spydie to be able to return it to like new sharpness and better so easily.

[OuchThatsSharp]

The Sharpmaker was the only knife sharpener that actually allowed me to sharpen my knives to shaving sharp...consistently. One of my best purchases. I use it to keep all of the kitchen knives sharp too.