Where oh Where have all the high end PS blades gone?

[BeggarSo]

While recently cataloging my Spyderco Knives in the gun safe (A WIP) I finally took out and put to use my Spyderco Military PS in S30V.

This is one I obtained on EBAY BACK IN 2017. The previous owner sold it dull and I was not in the mood to fool with it back then as I had too many other projects going and was finalizing a divorce.

So anyway out it came and I put it on the Gauntlet with CBN rods followed by the ceramic rods and sure enough it slices thermal receipt paper like a champ serrations and PE alike. FYI This is what I consider sharp enough.

I admit I purchased this knife to add to the collection not knowing if I would ever use it but realized they were hard to find so it was best to get it After all I loved the military so why would I not like this as well.

There are only two militaries I never warmed up to the S440V SE which was impossible to sharpen to the degree I like and a SE DLC which had much more aggressive Serrations that were good for ripping only. I sold both of those and never regretted seeing them go till this day.

That 440V was a hellish nightmare far worse than Maxemet ever thought of being to sharpen.

It is only after using it the last 4 days or so that I realize wow this S30V combo blade is actually a terrific idea. I mean I can take a piece of cardboard that is bent over and power through it with the serrations on a pull cut and then the PE takes over and slices like a champ.

So I wonder just why we no longer see this in the top end knives but mostly in the budget folders? The last PM2 that I saw that was PS was in 52100 steel which is too prone to rust for me, and I am not sure it is a good idea in a PAra3 due to the short blade.

Near as I can tell this went out of style in 2013 along with this model of Military and that is a real shame, I would buy a Manix XL in PS without even batting an eye after using this knife.

I wish it would come back.

[ladybug93]

i blame nutnfancy. that dude is responsible for a lot of nonsense. but, to be fair, he's also responsible for a lot of sales.

[TheGiant80]

Today I learned Combo Edge (CE) is also referred to as Partially Serrated (PS).

Cool!

[Danke]

[prndltech]

i blame nutnfancy. that dude is responsible for a lot of nonsense. but, to be fair, he's also responsible for a lot of sales.

Haven’t watched him in years now, but back around 2012 when I was more of a gun guy, nutn’ was the reason why I bought a tenacious and then a FFG delica and FFG endura.
I didn’t know he did a S35vn exclusive and when I saw the endura pop up on the exchange a while back I had to snag it just because. Guess he’s kinda responsible for me showing up here years later.


Also, to stay on topic: I like combo edges as well… however, I do think the majority of knife enthusiasts prefer one or the other.

[Coastal]

I don’t have one, and it’s not truly high-end, but I bet the Resilience S35VN LW is a heck of a good knife for the CE aficionado. I have the PE, and it’s really nice.

[aicolainen]

PS..? My initial decoding of that abbreviation had me thinking about powdered steels, but it didn't compute, hahaha

Regarding high end CE blades though, it doesn't really matter how good they are if they don't sell.

[aicolainen]

To be honest, I haven't been thinking very highly about them myself, but I came to realize it was solely based on what other's have said about them, and absolutely no personal experience.

My knee jerk response was to look for a Spyderco Salt with CE blade, so I could test this for myself and make up my own opinion. Well, there I run into my biggest surprise as far as CE availability goes. There are no salts with CE.
Not sure why that is, seems like a good match of features to me, but then again - it has to sell.
I ended up getting a CE from the thin line series. And maybe there's no coincidence Spyderco chose the models they did for this series, and to offer most of them in CE only. They know their customers best.
It's not hard to imagine that first responders can benefit from CE. They don't know in advance what they might run up against, and they also can't be weighed down by a dedicated knife for every possible use case. A well built, easy to operate, easy to carry and reasonably affordable CE knife isn't such a bad proposition from that point of view.
As soon as you go high end, your target audience shrinks to mere fractions, and those who remains are picky.

[WilliamMunny]

I was never a huge fan of them but I have not had one in over fifteen years. You would think that it would be the best of both worlds but on a blade shorter than 3.5" or maybe even 4" there just is not enough size for the plain edge. This is especially true when the choil eats into the cutting edge length to start.

I probably should try one again as like I have said its be years since I carried one.

[araneae]

I have a couple PS blades, but would rather carry an SE and PE combo.

[zhyla]

CE is a poor compromise on all but the largest blades. Most of us SE guys prefer just a short plain edge at the tip, we don’t like giving up teeth.

[carrot]

I recently ran into the same issue. Unless I'm doing food prep, my usual knife needs don't require a whole lot of PE, and I like having at least a few teeth for more aggressive cutting tasks when they come up.

I definitely understand how low end users would gravitate towards PS blades but I find it a little strange how much dislike for PS afis seem to have, especially with how popular full SE has become.

I feel the tiny bit of plain edge on an SE knife is often enough for any precision cutting tasks I come across, but true PS would be even better as chisel grinds tend to drift in cutting thicker materials. And in imprecise matter separation, SE definitely rules.

I would really like to see a handful more Spydies offered in PS than the value oriented ones, maybe the Military 2 and PM2 can get some PS love.

[Evil D]

You may want to check out the 52100 Para 2, it did come in combo edge. Not sure if you consider carbon fiber and 52100 "high end".

[JRinFL]

Some us would use them more if the serrated portion was where it belongs, out on the belly, leaving the plain edge near the handle where I usually need plain edge.

[Mushroom]

You may want to check out the 52100 Para 2, it did come in combo edge. Not sure if you consider carbon fiber and 52100 "high end".

Fun fact - The 52100 PM2 is the only PM2 model that has ever featured a combo edge.

[Rinzler]

I view combo edge the same as I view gold speckled mirrors and mustard brown shag carpet. Someone somewhere sometime in the past liked it and luckily now nobody wants it anymore.

[BeggarSo]

I view combo edge the same as I view gold speckled mirrors and mustard brown shag carpet. Someone somewhere sometime in the past liked it and luckily now nobody wants it anymore.

Hay pal what are you doing in my house

[wrdwrght]

Judging by Bolster’s recent survey, Spyderedged models comprised an average 13% of the total number of Spydies in collections of 381 respondents.

At first glance, this edge treatment (full or partial) is not popular at the moment.

If, however, you regard SE as meant for nasty ripping, that’s a special application. Purpose-built knives are, of course, not general-purpose ones. If you have just one SE Spydie in your collection, say a Pacific Salt, that would actually make the knife a popular choice in the restricted context of its application…

I have a few older PS (partially-serrated) or CE (combination-edge) Spydies (Goddard; Ti Bob Lum).

They add a complexity to normal cutting that I could probably do without. I do wonder, though, whether putting the SE section pointward and the PE one pivotward would make PS/CE more appealing to me.

[jwbnyc]

My long time work knives were combo edges. It’s a compromise, but one worth making if you’re needing one or the other right now.

That Tenacious combo edge is a great design for work sites imo.

TKJ had a full SE Shaman DLC in CPM CRU-WEAR a while back. Kinda wish I’d grabbed one of those.

[Mr_Whiskerz]

Today I learned Combo Edge (CE) is also referred to as Partially Serrated (PS).

Cool!

It also used to be called a '50/50 edge'