SE performance is more than simply teeth vs no teeth.

[mongo1958]

Any way, if I were to get a SE Spydie, what would the SE experts recommend? I'm looking though the catalog as I type this.

I'm by no means an expert. In fact, I only have one Spydie Edge. I've found it to be a great tool for hacking through a lot of stubborn materials. When I'm doing a lot of hacking, I want a big blade. For that reason, the Police 4 is what comes to my mind.

On the other end of the spectrum, tiny knives to me are something you press into service when there's nothing better available. For that reason, sometimes I think that I'd like something like a Ladybug with a Spydie Edge for when I'm in a bind and need to hack my way through a problem. I'm tempted, but haven't gone down the Micro Spydiehole yet.

Because a bigger knife is something you're more likely to use and to be able to utilize the strength of the Spydie Edge, I'd suggest getting something on the bigger side.

The Ladybug straight spine SE VG10 is a teeny pocket chainsaw. Handy as all get out.

Hmm, I'll take a look at them thanks.

[mongo1958]

OK, this guy is on the way. It was $50 with a liner lock.

[Bill1170]

OK, this guy is on the way. It was $50 with a liner lock.

That’s a perfect entry to the Spyderedge world. Excellent value for money. Come back and tell us how you like it after some use.

[Wartstein]

[img]https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-efe0x2h ... 7125/24294

Nice, and I figure 8CR is a pretty good steel for SE - but, tbh, the serrations are a bit on the aggressive side as far as I can recall (had an SE Tenacious for not too long). Hope you´ll still like it!

[R100]

[img]https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-efe0x2h ... 7125/24294

Nice, and I figure 8CR is a pretty good steel for SE - but, tbh, the serrations are a bit on the aggressive side as far as I can recall (had an SE Tenacious for not too long). Hope you´ll still like it!

I wonder whether the pattern has changed since the one you tried Gernot? The photo makes it look quite non-agressive and if that were so this could be a pretty great SE knife.

I bought my wife (a very keen gardener) a Cara Cara rescue a while ago and she likes it better than the LC200N SE Pacific Salt she was using previously. Milder serrations and the 8CR performs really well in SE. It seems just as good as LC200N to be honest. I reprofiled the Pac Salt to 15° on the ground side and then applied a small 20° bevel for durability. This is a lot of work and literally thousands of passes on the CBN rods. The Cara Cara with the standard serrations and its thin hollow grind seems at least equal in cutting performance, edge stability and edge retention straight out of the box. And it cost $39. Serve me right for being a steel snob!

Dan

[mongo1958]

That’s a perfect entry to the Spyderedge world. Excellent value for money. Come back and tell us how you like it after some use.

Thanks Bill.

[mongo1958]

[img]https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-efe0x2h ... 7125/24294

Nice, and I figure 8CR is a pretty good steel for SE - but, tbh, the serrations are a bit on the aggressive side as far as I can recall (had an SE Tenacious for not too long). Hope you´ll still like it!

Dan beat me to it, the photo shows a mild SE. That being said, it was only $50.

[Wartstein]

Nice, and I figure 8CR is a pretty good steel for SE - but, tbh, the serrations are a bit on the aggressive side as far as I can recall (had an SE Tenacious for not too long). Hope you´ll still like it!

I wonder whether the pattern has changed since the one you tried Gernot? The photo makes it look quite non-agressive and if that were so this could be a pretty great SE knife.

.....

Dan beat me to it, the photo shows a mild SE. That being said, it was only $50.

First and foremost: @Mongo: I did not mean to spoil your joy about getting your first SE, my apologies if I came across lie this!
Rather the opposite is the case :Since I always and also in your case suggest to people to try out SE, I want you to have the best experience and first impression, that´s why I recommended Endela or Stretch XL SE
And so I am just honest: The Tenacious SE certainly is good, but at least on the one I had the serrations where clearly more aggressive and "snaggy" than on for example my Endela SE or Stretch XL SE.

And may I ask, Mongo: What do you mean by "the photo shows a mild SE"? Honest question! (Also because this is your first SE knife)

The depictions on the Spyderco page also show that the Tenacious serrations are more aggressive than the Endlea serrations (see below)

Anyway: The Tenacious SE is certainly still a great cutter, but more "ripping" and "snaggy", so not AS good for "regular knife tasks" than for example the Endela SE in my experience, but I am sure you still made a great purchase!

/ And yes, I do think 8CR must be pretty good for SE! Just like VG10 is decent in PE, but great in SE imo

[R100]

[
And so I am just honest: The Tenacious SE certainly is good, but at least on the one I had the serrations where clearly more aggressive and "snaggy" than on for example my Endela SE or Stretch XL SE.

And may I ask, Mongo: What do you mean by "the photo shows a mild SE"? Honest question! (Also because this is your first SE knife)

The depictions on the Spyderco page also show that the Tenacious serrations are more aggressive than the Endlea serrations (see below)

Anyway: The Tenacious SE is certainly still a great cutter, but more "ripping" and "snaggy", so not AS good for "regular knife tasks" than for example the Endela SE in my experience, but I am sure you still made a great purchase!

/ And yes, I do think 8CR must be pretty good for SE! Just like VG10 is decent in PE, but great in SE imo

The photo you show here Gernot is a G10 version and it does look different to Mongo's photo of the frn one. Maybe one of the images has been Photoshopped for a stock photo. It would be interesting to hear from someone who owns an frn SE Tenacious.

When I think of aggressive serrations I think of something like the Native 5 or this:


One interesting variable in all this is the angle of the edge. The Stretch 2 XL appears to be quite obtuse which makes the teeth shallower compared with the UKPK Salt which is very acutely ground, less than 15°. Despite the pointiness of the teeth it is an amazing cutter.

If you look at a stock photo of a SE Lil Temperance 3 you will see the serrations are much smaller and milder even than the Stretch 2 XL. However they are obtusely ground and I found the performance a bit disappointing. The teeth increased dramatically in size when reprofiled to 15° as shown below:

This is now my best cutter amongst my "conventionally" serrated knives.

This is the best of all serrations I have tried though:

I got lucky here and the Ayoob came at around 15° from the factory. Others weren't so lucky.

Dan

[mongo1958]

First and foremost: @Mongo: I did not mean to spoil your joy about getting your first SE, my apologies if I came across lie this!

And may I ask, Mongo: What do you mean by "the photo shows a mild SE"? Honest question! (Also because this is your first SE knife)

No worries. It's all good.
I read E.D.'s post, especially the part where he compares the serrations of two knives.
Based on the photos and the explanation provided, I, perhaps mistakenly, concluded that aggressive serrations are longer teeth spaced closer together.
The Knife I chose resembled the blade that had the wider and smother teeth in E.D.'s photos.
Perhaps it was just a stock photo and the serration are more aggressive than what I saw in the photo.
I was going by what I read and comparing the photos. With out holding the knife in my hand, it is at best an educated guess.
If it works out, great. If it doesn't I still have another Spydie . That is a win, win, scenario.

[mongo1958]

Look at the photo here and compare it to the one that I ordered. The SE are very similar don't you think?

[Bill1170]

When I reprofiled several of my SE Spyderco knives to attain a lower bevel angle, this also reduced the “rip and tear” pointy points to more rounded points. This was done on a Sharpmaker with CBN rods. It required patience, but resulted in superior performance.

[Jurmuscle]

The Magnacut Native 5. Loving it. Needed a good field knife. The FRN latches to my pocket nice. Water resistant metal. Serrations so can cut longer. And high vis color. And price ain't too bad.

[mongo1958]

The Magnacut Native 5. Loving it. Needed a good field knife. The FRN latches to my pocket nice. Water resistant metal. Serrations so can cut longer. And high vis color. And price ain't too bad.

That Native 5 Looks a lot like my Sage 5 but with a back lock, SE, bright yellow, and no top choil.
I like it.

[mongo1958]

My overall impressions of the Tenacious are favorable. The blade is freak'n sharp.
In comparison to my Parra 3, the Tenacious is a bit heavier. The blade of the Tenacious is a bit longer than the Para 3 with the handle being close to the same size.
The handle has screw hardware, steal liners with cut outs.
The scales are thin (FRN) handle scales with a bidirectional textured surface that work pretty well.
The Clip had some loose mounting screws, I ended up changing the orientation of the clip anyway. The clip screws are all tight now.
The action is very smooth but a bit stiff, I'm sure it will loosen up a bit after it breaks in.
For a China made knife, it is well made and looks good too.
Good Job Spyderco.

[Bill1170]

My overall impressions of the Tenacious are favorable. The blade is freak'n sharp.
In comparison to my Parra 3, the Tenacious is a bit heavier. The blade of the Tenacious is a bit longer than the Para 3 with the handle being close to the same size.
The handle has screw hardware, steal liners with cut outs.
The scales are thin (FRN) handle scales with a bidirectional textured surface that work pretty well.
The Clip had some loose mounting screws, I ended up changing the orientation of the clip anyway. The clip screws are all tight now.
The action is very smooth but a bit stiff, I'm sure it will loosen up a bit after it breaks in.
For a China made knife, it is well made and looks good too.
Good Job Spyderco.

Glad you’re liking your Tenacious! I don’t know if you did this, but applying blue threadlocker is a good idea on clip screws for any knife.

[mongo1958]

My first attempt at a photo of the serrations

[Bill1170]

My first attempt at a photo of the serrations

Those aren’t too spiky. The bevel angle at the edge looks larger than what I’m used to, but this is hard to judge from a photo.

[mongo1958]

My first attempt at a photo of the serrations

Those aren’t too spiky. The bevel angle at the edge looks larger than what I’m used to, but this is hard to judge from a photo.

I don't thing so but I'm not an expert, I'm happy with its performance. This thing slices paper very well. It goes through cardboard like crazy. Small sticks don't stand a chance either.

[mongo1958]

The Magnacut Native 5. Loving it. Needed a good field knife. The FRN latches to my pocket nice. Water resistant metal. Serrations so can cut longer. And high vis color. And price ain't too bad.

The Native 5 is very nice, I wonder if it was the inspiration for the Shaman.
A black Native 5 LW SE S35VN is on the way.