Serrated Edge for Hunting?

[Kels73]

I just received my Stretch 2 XL Salt serrated from GP Knives, and I'm loving it. I can't help but think that it would be a near perfect folding hunter. It has:

1) Excellent ergonomics for a secure, comfortable grip.
2) Grippy texturing, which also promotes a secure grip, especially when coated with animal blood and fat.
3) No liners for easy cleaning.
4) A lock-back design that is strong and also difficult to accidentally depress while cleaning game.
5) A hollow-ground blade with good belly and an acute tip, which I find beneficial for piercing hide.
6) Blade steel that would be unaffected by the high salt content of animal blood, even if I don't clean it right away.

Design preferences will vary from one hunter to the next, but those are some of the features that make the Stretch 2 XL Salt a near perfect folding hunter for me.

But what about serrations? Conventional wisdom suggests that I should add the plain-edge version to my collection if I intend to take a Stretch 2 XL hunting this fall. However, I've learned that real-world testing sometimes yields surprising results, turning conventional wisdom on its ear.

So, to all our hunters out there, have you ever used a serrated edge to process game? If so, what specific tasks did you accomplish (e.g. gutting, quartering, butchering, boning, skinning), and how did the serrated edge perform?

I plan to test it this fall for myself, but I'd love to hear from others. Actual experience is preferred, but educated speculation is welcome too.

[sal]

Hi Kels,

It will certainly be an interesting discussion, but your experience in the "Real-World-Testing" will also yield much information.

I have been told by many hunters that used serrated edges in game prep, that it worked well. I have also been told that it doesn't. FYI, the design is the result of more than 40 years of refinement that began with a folding hunter model in 1983.

I would suggest reading the sticky thread on sharpening teeth and bring your "stock" edge to the "tuned" edge that the Sharpmaker can provide, before your test. Please share your thoughts and experience with the rest of us.

sal

[Wandering_About]

I tried serrations for hunting and personally didn't like them. But I also don't like serrations in general.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

I’ve never tried serrations for processing game but am curious what you’re findings will be

[jmj3esq]

I feel a plain edge cuts thru muscle much cleaner. The serrated edge leaves a rough cut on meat. IMO, muscle meat is soft enough to not require a serrated edge. I use a plain edge Shaman in S90V for my game management.

[Kels73]

I would suggest reading the sticky thread on sharpening teeth and bring your "stock" edge to the "tuned" edge that the Sharpmaker can provide, before your test. Please share your thoughts and experience with the rest of us.

sal

Hi Sal,

I discovered that thread last year and used my Sharpmaker to reprofile the serrated edge on my Pacific Salt. It radically altered the cutting performance. I think it will be interesting to try both knives, one stock and the other modified. My guess is that a stock serrated edge will prove adequate for basic field dressing (e.g. removal of entrails), but beyond that I don't know.

I'm continually surprised by how many hunters swear by box cutters for field dressing, butchering and boning. I never would have guessed that, but it supports my initial point that I won't know how a particular knife performs until I test it.

The major limitation is that I have to harvest a big game animal this fall. That doesn't always happen, especially for guys like me who hunt with traditional archery tackle. But if I do, I'll be sure to report back.

Kels

[Coastal]

I consider the Stretch 2 XL Salt PE to be the best folding hunter available for exactly the reasons you listed. It wouldn't occur to me to choose the SE over the PE for hunting, but I'm very interested in the results of your testing. My educated guess is that it'll work okay, but not as well as the PE. Two reasons: my own experience with combo edges, and the fact that purpose-designed hunting knives have, as far as I know, plain edges.

I've never used a fully serrated edge for processing game, but I've used CEs a lot. The first was a Spyderco C15 Bob Terzuola that I bought circa 1990. For it's time it was a nice knife, revolutionary in a sense: a collaboration between top-flight makers, its then-new Walker liner lock, ATS-34, bead-blasted aluminum handle and, I believe, designed to be the smallest practical folding hunter. I bought the CE version, because I did a little ranch work and wanted an inch or so of serrations. But when I processed game I found myself avoiding the serrations because they made cutting a little less predictable compared to the PE, and left jagged edges on the meat. That knife isn't made for skinning anyway, but the serrations wouldn't have helped.

I've also used the excellent SOG Northwest Ranger, a 5-inch partially serrated fixie. That worked better, first because it was bigger overall, but also because it had a lot more plain edge than the Terzuola. Every other knife I've used on game has been plain-edged and, if ever hunt again, I'll carry my Stretch 2 XL Salt PE. That is, unless your testing convinces me to try my Stretch Salt SE instead.

[Kels73]

I consider the Stretch 2 XL Salt PE to be the best folding hunter available for exactly the reasons you listed. It wouldn't occur to me to choose the SE over the PE for hunting, but I'm very interested in the results of your testing. My educated guess is that it'll work okay, but not as well as the PE. Two reasons: my own experience with combo edges, and the fact that purpose-designed hunting knives have, as far as I know, plain edges.

I've never used a fully serrated edge for processing game, but I've used CEs a lot. The first was a Spyderco C15 Bob Terzuola that I bought circa 1990. For it's time it was a nice knife, revolutionary in a sense: a collaboration between top-flight makers, its then-new Walker liner lock, ATS-34, bead-blasted aluminum handle and, I believe, designed to be the smallest practical folding hunter. I bought the CE version, because I did a little ranch work and wanted an inch or so of serrations. But when I processed game I found myself avoiding the serrations because they made cutting a little less predictable compared to the PE, and left jagged edges on the meat. That knife isn't made for skinning anyway, but the serrations wouldn't have helped.

I've also used the excellent SOG Northwest Ranger, a 5-inch partially serrated fixie. That worked better, first because it was bigger overall, but also because it had a lot more plain edge than the Terzuola. Every other knife I've used on game has been plain-edged and, if ever hunt again, I'll carry my Stretch 2 XL Salt PE. That is, unless your testing convinces me to try my Stretch Salt SE instead.

Coastal, thanks for the practical insights. I bought my Stretch 2 XL Salt SE for general use. But as soon as I unboxed it, I knew I was holding a hunting knife, the serrations being the only questionable feature.

I like the knife so much that I'll probably buy a PE version too. But my curiosity has been piqued, so I am determined to test the SE. Hopefully, hunting season is good to me.

[sal]

Hey Kels,

Keep us up on it?

sal

[Doc Dan]

I used a serrated edge knife years ago. It wasn't a Spyderco. Here are my thoughts, based upon that experience (they may be just gas). Think serrated steak knife. It will go through flesh very easily and quickly. However, for the hide, it wasn't so good. A plain edge was better for me when skinning. Maybe if the teeth were worn down a bit it would have been better. The teeth tended to poke into the hide while scraping (again, this was not a Spyderco) and I had difficulty getting a clean scrap on the hide. However, peeling the hide and being careful how I sliced the meat away worked out okay. When it came to cutting the actual meat, there was nothing better.

[aicolainen]

SE wouldn’t be my first choice, but I haven’t tried it on a hunting knife, so it will be interesting to read your findings.

If I were to go down that path, I think I’d want a wavy, rounded serration pattern over a pointy pattern, and I’d want CE over full SE. Unfortunately CE salts are hard to come by.

Unless I’m very far into the mountains where I have to carry all my gear, I only use my carry blade for gutting and keep a “kill kit” with suitable implements in base camp/my car or wherever we do the finishing steps of the processing. For that type of use I’ve found my Native 5 salt PE to strike the perfect balance. It has many of the same benefits you mention, while having the benefit (IMO) of being even a bit smaller. Making it even more comfortable to carry and gives me better tip control when working inside the animal when gutting.
Last hunting season I actually carried a 1. gen Stretch PE, which is a really nice knife. Unfortunately it wasn’t my best season, so I only got to process a couple of hares and birds with it. It shares much DNA with the S2XL, but the size suits me better. The only downside compared to the native is the non salt construction.

[JD Spydo]

I tried serrations for hunting and personally didn't like them. But I also don't like serrations in general.

I've heard this type of comment from a lot of outdoorsmen over the years. And to some extent I can see why they come to this conclusion. But do keep in mind that the serration pattern on a blade design is virtually everything when it comes to overall performance.

For outdoor hunting & fishing applications I've found two Spyderco models that I've had great success with over the years. The first model I found to be great for hunting and fishing was the original AUS-8, full SE Catcherman model. It has a different serration pattern that was less spikey and it worked great for processing fish and wild game. In more recent times we've been really super blessed with the Serrated version of the C-60 Cruwear Ayoob model ( Sprint Run).

The Cruwear Ayoob C-60 SE model has a nice belly design which is great for skinning and other processing jobs. And the serration pattern cuts like a laser with fish and wild game. I'm hoping that we'll see more of these types of serrated blades coming from Spyderco's product pipeline.

[Wartstein]

..... Think serrated steak knife. It will go through flesh very easily and quickly...
...The teeth tended to poke into the hide while scraping (again, this was not a Spyderco) ...
....When it came to cutting the actual meat, there was nothing better.

I can´t weigh in here as a hunter cause I ain´t one, and I have only assisted a few times in processing animals.

But I have cut a lot of meat with serrated Spydies, and I am with you Doc: This works very easy and effortless (as always: Probably not only due to the serrations, but also the steep (chisel) grind?).
For me better than with even a pretty sharp plain edge. Plus, that plain edge will loose its cutting power earlier and have to be touched up more frequently.

I don´t know though how clean that "SE cuts" are compared to "PE cuts" cause I never checked for it.
And I can totally see that of course the risk of poking hide or perhaps intestals or whatever is higher with SE.
Also, one of the few tasks where I generally find PE still (vastly in this case) superior to SE exactly is scraping.

[Wartstein]

....
Last hunting season I actually carried a 1. gen Stretch PE, which is a really nice knife. Unfortunately it wasn’t my best season, so I only got to process a couple of hares and birds with it. It shares much DNA with the S2XL, but the size suits me better. The only downside compared to the native is the non salt construction.

Great to see this model (which will always be in my top 3 folders of all times) come back to its "roots" (literally the Spyderco Hunter) - and good to hear you like it in that capacity!

Not meaning to go off topic to far, but a linerless Stretch 1 Salt would be amazing... and of course wil never happen
When it comes to the current Stretch 2 ("regular", not "XL") tbh I personally would prefer and Endela Salt over a Salt version of the Stretch 2 in that size range.

[Doc Dan]

What I never want to see, however, is my doctor wanting to do surgery with a serrated edge.

[JD Spydo]

What I never want to see, however, is my doctor wanting to do surgery with a serrated edge.

Or to shave with a straight razor with a serrated edge . Yeah let's hope we never see either one of these.

Serrated edges do indeed have their place for various cutting jobs to be sure. But again the type of serration pattern makes a lot of difference depending on what type of material you are cutting.

For hunting and fishing I'll take the low profile and more wavy type of serration pattern as I already mentioned.

[Kels73]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, everyone. It's making me eager for hunting season.

[Kels73]

Hey Kels,

Keep us up on it?

sal

Absolutely.

[Wartstein]

What I never want to see, however, is my doctor wanting to do surgery with a serrated edge.

True!

I figure for super-precise cuts into flesh a very sharp and keen plain V - edge with a really acute edge angle just has to be better than a serrated edge with its teeth and chisel grind.

The question though is: Would something like a surgical scalpel or at least sharpened like a surgical scalpel be practical in hunting? Would it hold up to the processing an animal? Would it chip/roll and/or have to be sharpened or replaced way to often?

I can´t tell.

[aicolainen]

What I never want to see, however, is my doctor wanting to do surgery with a serrated edge.

The question though is: Would something like a surgical scalpel or at least sharpened like a surgical scalpel be practical in hunting? Would it hold up to the processing an animal? Would it chip/roll and/or have to be sharpened or replaced way to often?

This is a thing.
I haven't tested myself, but it seems to be a popular choice among hunters.
Being a more of a knife nerd myself, the concept of disposable blades doesn't appeal to me, however practical it may be.

I've come across a few brands/models, but Havalon seems to be the preferred go-to for most
https://www.lamnia.com/no/p/15735/kniver/havalon-piranta-edge-quik-change-foldekniv