Native 5 fully serrated vs. plain edege

[holeshot]

I'm going to buy a Native 5 with FRN handles. I can't decide on a serrated edege or plain. I don't want the partially serrated edege. What are your thoughts on both and help convince me on one or the other.
Thanks :)

[SpyderNut]

I guess a lot will depend on what you intend to cut. PE is perhaps more user-friendly for most daily tasks, but the full SE is an absolute champ for cutting through items such as rope, etc. I generally prefer the N5 in PE, but then again my daily cutting purposes are mainly things like mundane letter-opening.

[holeshot]

My plan is to work the knife into my EDC rotation which consists mainly of plain edege Spydercos except for my Pacific Salt. I like the idea of having a smaller fully serrated edege for when I'm working in the wood shop at school.

[Surfingringo]

If you've already got plenty of plain edge options I think it's nice to have at least one small serrated edge edc knife.

[holeshot]

If you've already got plenty of plain edge options I think it's nice to have at least one small serrated edge edc knife.

My thoughts as well.
Thanks

[bh49]

I like the idea of having a smaller fully serrated edege for when I'm working in the wood shop at school.

Just wondering why do you need SE, when you are working in the wood shop?

[holeshot]

Yes it comes in handy when cutting straps off various things.

[Brock O Lee]

The nice thing about the Native 5 SE is that it is a full flat grind, unlike most other of Spyderco's serrated offerings, which are saber ground... I like FFG for its slicing ability.

[Joris Mo]

Finally some more FFG with SE coming up!
The PM2 with SE and I think it was mentioned that the Para3 would be offered in SE in the future as well, now hoping the Military is finally coming back in SE! I really like a big SE with smaller PE blade, usually SE Pacific Salt with a Para3.
(or with Strider SnG CC but I'm sure around here people will consider me crazy for that )

[zhyla]

SE hands down. I don't own many PE Spyderco any longer. Got a few CE. In my EDC use I have never really come across something where I wished I'd carried PE that day. So that's my general thought. Only downside is sharpening is a more specialized operation. However, I carried a GIN-1 SE Native for a good 8 or 10 years without sharpening (didn't know better at the time) and it still got the job done.

On top of that the Native 5 is FFG. FFG + SE is a fantastic combo. For general day to day use like opening boxes this cannot be beat.

[bh49]

Yes it comes in handy when cutting straps off various things.

Put toothy edge on PE and it will cut better than SE. I really like S35Vn and S110V toothy.
Frankly I am not a fan of SE at all. About 10 years ago I carried SE Delica for a while and didn't find any benefits in my use. Sharpening wasn't a fun either. It takes just couple minutes to sharpen PE on Sharpmaker.

[ZrowsN1s]

Mostly when I use my SE's I always wish they were as sharp as my PE's are. I should note I do not own a sharp maker, I have a guided rod system with a round tapered diamond rod for sharpening serrations, I've heard the sharpmaker is good for sharpening serrations so maybe I'm missing out. Is it fair for me to claim your average PE is going to be sharper than your average SE? :confused: Can folks get SE hair popping sharp easily? (hard to strop SE too isn't it?)

[Surfingringo]

Yes it comes in handy when cutting straps off various things.

Put toothy edge on PE and it will cut better than SE. I really like S35Vn and S110V toothy.
Frankly I am not a fan of SE at all. About 10 years ago I carried SE Delica for a while and didn't find any benefits in my use. Sharpening wasn't a fun either. It takes just couple minutes to sharpen PE on Sharpmaker.

Hi Roman, I reckon that's a pretty broad statement that does not hold true in all cases (though I would agree that it holds true in many). I prefer a plain edge to a SE 95% of the time. Even though I keep a very aggressive finish on my edges, there are certain tasks where a serrated edge will outperform a plain edge with any finish...and it will outperform it by a wide margin. Like I said though, the list is short enough that I rarely carry a serrated edge for my day to day work.

[Evil D]

I did quite a bit of experimenting with SE a while back. Most of it was a very positive experience. One thing I learned that seemed to go against the typical opinion of SE was the way SE will still cut when "dull" by most knife nut standards. What I found was that for ME and what I cut, SE is only enjoyable when it is screaming sharp. Once they start snagging things, I just wanna throw the knife. If it won't sail through something like a cotton shirt without ripping and snagging, it frustrates the crap out of me. Yes, it will still chew it's way through, but that snagging really bothers me.

But, when SE is equally as sharp as your sharpest PE blade, you most likely won't notice a difference between the two until you cut something like rope that would slip off a PE blade, and that's where the teeth step with with authority.

So, my taste is a bit contradictory to the norm, because a dullish SE blade is most likely going to be more useful than a dullish PE blade, but the enjoyment factor for me seemed like I spent way more time touching up my SE blades than I did my PE blades just because they perform so well when at peak sharpness. When you're using steels like S110V that will still manage to cut well past what you'd call dull, by comparison it felt to me like a moderately dull SE knife was just about useless.

I dunno if that makes any sense, kinda felt like I just contradicted myself into circles lol.

[holeshot]

Well, since I've gotten good at sharpening my Pacific Salt with full serrations I'm going with the fully serrated Native. Love the blade steel on it.

[bh49]

Hi Roman, I reckon that's a pretty broad statement that does not hold true in all cases (though I would agree that it holds true in many). I prefer a plain edge to a SE 95% of the time. Even though I keep a very aggressive finish on my edges, there are certain tasks where a serrated edge will outperform a plain edge with any finish...and it will outperform it by a wide margin. Like I said though, the list is short enough that I rarely carry a serrated edge for my day to day work.

Without of doubt there are tasks, where SE outperform PE. I wouldn't want to cut my loaf of bread with PE. As well as rope or any fibrous materials. But in my daily life I do not use my folders for any of this. Packages, cardboard, lunch all fine with PE. As well as yard work in spring, summer and fall.

[Surfingringo]

Hi Roman, I reckon that's a pretty broad statement that does not hold true in all cases (though I would agree that it holds true in many). I prefer a plain edge to a SE 95% of the time. Even though I keep a very aggressive finish on my edges, there are certain tasks where a serrated edge will outperform a plain edge with any finish...and it will outperform it by a wide margin. Like I said though, the list is short enough that I rarely carry a serrated edge for my day to day work.

Without of doubt there are tasks, where SE outperform PE. I wouldn't want to cut my loaf of bread with PE. As well as rope or any fibrous materials. But in my daily life I do not use my folders for any of this. Packages, cardboard, lunch all fine with PE. As well as yard work in spring, summer and fall.

Yes, my normal work is mostly the same and that's why I almost always carry pe. There are a few fishing chores where SE works exceptionally well but even fishing if I could only have one knife I would choose a pe with an aggressive edge for its greater versatility. Luckily there's no law against carrying more than one so I usually have both on me. :D

[holeshot]

Thank you all for your input! This fourm rocks! :)

[Surfingringo]

Thank you all for your input! This fourm rocks! :)

Enjoy the Native. I think that knife is a great platform for SE. You really don't need a lot of cutting edge to gain the advantage of serrations...a few serrations go a long way.

[zhyla]

Without of doubt there are tasks, where SE outperform PE. I wouldn't want to cut my loaf of bread with PE. As well as rope or any fibrous materials. But in my daily life I do not use my folders for any of this. Packages, cardboard, lunch all fine with PE. As well as yard work in spring, summer and fall.

Actually, PE kitchen knives that are properly sharpened (toothy) blow away serrated bread knives for bread. It's such a surprising thing since "bread knife" usually means serrated.

Even when identically sharp SE still has a length of edge advantage. I should measure/estimate this some day but I wouldn't be surprised if the SE blade has twice as much edge.