What do lefties think about serrations?

[Sonorum]

I'm trying to get a lefty friend over to the serrated camp but I want to know more from the lefties here if it is worth the while. I try to act as ambidextrous as I can but as has been discussed before, in most situations the grind of the serrated blades favor a right handed user. My question is if there are left handed SE fans and how you perceive and maybe work around the right handed bias of how the serrations are ground?

[pantagana23]

Had only one serrated knife a long time ago, I don't see the serrations as a minus.

The fact that the flat side gives you a nice sliding motion in your left hand could be even considered a plus.

However, I trust there are many lefty users here who use their serrated blades often.

[The Deacon]

FWIW, in theory, the serrations on "right handed" Spyderco knives favor left handed use, and visa versa. I practice, when both are used left handed they cut about the same. Same goes for when both are used right handed. I can use a knife equally well with either hand, just find I can open and close one a lot easier and quicker left handed. In my opinion, the only knives where grind is definitely linked to handedness are true chisel ground blades where the "presentation side" has to be the side that's dead flat and vertical.

[Evil D]

Not a lefty, but I was told once that I was probably born a lefty by a physical therapist who thought it was unusual how much stronger my left arm/hand is being a righty. My mother was a lefty.

Anyway, I regularly use and test my knives with both hands. I like to see how I'd use them in my off hand if I had no choice but to. I was just out whittling with my Jumpmaster 2 the other day and what you'll immediately notice with serrations in your left hand is that they bite into wood much harder, and they can carve much cleaner/smoother than when you make the same cuts using your right hand because it puts the flat side of the blade against the wood. It's a difference that's probably not there in most uses though.

[Josh Crutchley]

FWIW, in theory, the serrations on "right handed" Spyderco knives favor left handed use, and visa versa. I practice, when both are used left handed they cut about the same. Same goes for when both are used right handed. I can use a knife equally well with either hand, just find I can open and close one a lot easier and quicker left handed. In my opinion, the only knives where grind is definitely linked to handedness are true chisel ground blades where the "presentation side" has to be the side that's dead flat and vertical.

I'm left handed and I don't like the right hand serrations(RHS) but I've never tried the left hand serrations(LHS) to know if they're better. When I cut things with my left hand using RHS the knife digs into the material and that's what I dislike. Why would Spyderco bother making RH and LH serrations if they perform the same?

Not a lefty, but I was told once that I was probably born a lefty by a physical therapist who thought it was unusual how much stronger my left arm/hand is being a righty. My mother was a lefty.

Anyway, I regularly use and test my knives with both hands. I like to see how I'd use them in my off hand if I had no choice but to. I was just out whittling with my Jumpmaster 2 the other day and what you'll immediately notice with serrations in your left hand is that they bite into wood much harder, and they can carve much cleaner/smoother than when you make the same cuts using your right hand because it puts the flat side of the blade against the wood. It's a difference that's probably not there in most uses though.

That's what I notice but I dislike how it digs into the cut.

[Josh1973]

I like fully serrated and plain edge both. The only thing I don't like is combo edges. Serrations in my opinion get crapped on too often due to the perceived difficulty in sharpening. I am no professional knife sharpener. But I have never had a problem maintaining an edge with a good honing steel.

Serrated knives are great and so are straight edges.

[The Deacon]

I'm left handed and I don't like the right hand serrations(RHS) but I've never tried the left hand serrations(LHS) to know if they're better. When I cut things with my left hand using RHS the knife digs into the material and that's what I dislike. Why would Spyderco bother making RH and LH serrations if they perform the same?

For the same reason many other companies make chisel ground folders with the grind on the presentation side instead of the other side, the knives look better that way. As for your observation that RHS dig into the material, am guessing that might be a function of what you use a serrated knife to cut. I could see that happening if you were using the knife to scrape a gasket, or perform other "shaving" type functions. My biggest beefs with serrations are that they tend to produce little bits of chaff, for want of a better term, when cutting thin material like a plastic bag, and tend to snag when cutting woven material. For me,at least, both of those happen regardless of which side the serrations are on.

[Supacede]

Here's a recent thread concerning LH serrations that might interest you:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89691&p=1535282#p1535282

[DougC-3]

As a lefty, I've always thought of Spyderco serrations as being left handed. For example, when you hold a piece of cheese, summer sausage, etc, with your right hand and cut off a slice with your left hand, the remaining piece has a clean cut, as mentioned by Evil D. I don't usually use a serrated knife on food unless it happens to be what I have on me, but they work fine, maybe not as great for peeling apples, etc. More often, I use them to cut vines and small branches, up to an inch-and-half or so, usually fairly soft wood like privet, etc, which can be lopped off with one slicing cut, so I like the way the blade digs in with the serrations up. The big serrations of the original D'Allara and Pacific Salt work well for branches. Wish I had the original Jumpmaster, which would be even better.

I've always assumed that they put the serrations on the presentation side because that looks much more impressive than the backs of the serrations.

[DougC-3]

FWIW, in theory, the serrations on "right handed" Spyderco knives favor left handed use, and visa versa. I practice, when both are used left handed they cut about the same. Same goes for when both are used right handed. I can use a knife equally well with either hand, just find I can open and close one a lot easier and quicker left handed. In my opinion, the only knives where grind is definitely linked to handedness are true chisel ground blades where the "presentation side" has to be the side that's dead flat and vertical.

I'm left handed and I don't like the right hand serrations(RHS) but I've never tried the left hand serrations(LHS) to know if they're better. When I cut things with my left hand using RHS the knife digs into the material and that's what I dislike. Why would Spyderco bother making RH and LH serrations if they perform the same?

Not a lefty, but I was told once that I was probably born a lefty by a physical therapist who thought it was unusual how much stronger my left arm/hand is being a righty. My mother was a lefty.

Anyway, I regularly use and test my knives with both hands. I like to see how I'd use them in my off hand if I had no choice but to. I was just out whittling with my Jumpmaster 2 the other day and what you'll immediately notice with serrations in your left hand is that they bite into wood much harder, and they can carve much cleaner/smoother than when you make the same cuts using your right hand because it puts the flat side of the blade against the wood. It's a difference that's probably not there in most uses though.

That's what I notice but I dislike how it digs into the cut.

(Excuse me for butting in, but I'll try to answer since I'm here.) If they made the same SE knife model with left or right serrations, that would have probably just been because they were making a left handed version of the knife. When they do that they reverse every detail, making it a total mirror image. (I think it's really an unnecessary nicety to reverse the presentation side in order for the lefty to see it every time they open the blade.) The Deacon didn't say they were the same model though, could have been talking about kitchen knives or whatever.

[StuntZombie]

I'm a liberal, and I like serrations.

Oh wait, not what you meant by leftie.. :p

I'm partially ambidextrous, and I can't say that I've noticed a big difference between using serrated edges either right or left handed. I guess it might be different if you're trying to whittle or slice through paper, but for stuff like cutting food, rope, zip ties, etc, it doesn't seem to matter which hand I use.

[T.J.]

Lefty here. No idea there was any difference for folks like me.

[cody6268]

Southpaw here. Most of my Spydercos are serrated, and I find them really easy to use. Now, PE chisel ground edges I can't stand (ironically, both of them floral knives). And the only "lefty flip" versions that I have seen are high-priced budding/grafting knives aimed at the horticultural industry.

[Mr Blonde]

As a lefty, I find the serrated edge works great, but I never give it much thought on which side of the blade the serrations are ground. Perhaps I do appreciate being precisely able to 'eye' where the serrated edge cuts though. My main use for the spyderedge is in the kitchen.

[Cambertree]

The existing ‘righty’ serrations actually seem optimised for left hand use - at least for the kind of cutting I use my SE knives for.