what is the PE hype all about?

[gmand16]

After being an active reader of this forum, it appears majority of the population tends to purchase pe spyders for edc. I was wondering what the hype for pe is all about. It seems to me that a ce would be more suitable for everyday needs. I currently have the ce military (the version where the serrations cover a little under half the blade). The pe portion has never been too short for any task, and the serrations perfect for whatever I need. I could be more inclined towards a blade being one or another for food handling or a specific task, but for edc the ce seems more logical.

[ChrisR]

I think a lot of the decision is aesthetics ... PE to me looks nicer ... and it is certainly easier to sharpen a PE blade ... and I don't have any tasks in my EDC jobs that would really benefit much from having serrations ... so I prefer PE :)

[chuck_roxas45]

It would be hard to get a mirror edge on an SE. :D

[dj moonbat]

A truly sharp plain edge will do well for most tasks. For the remaining tasks, only one person is equipped to determine whether serrations are required.

I just don't have any occasion to cut rope. And it sure seems to me like serrations are harder to sharpen. So a plain edge is much, much better for my purposes.

[v8r]

After being an active reader of this forum, it appears majority of the population tends to purchase pe spyders for edc. I was wondering what the hype for pe is all about. It seems to me that a ce would be more suitable for everyday needs. I currently have the ce military (the version where the serrations cover a little under half the blade). The pe portion has never been too short for any task, and the serrations perfect for whatever I need. I could be more inclined towards a blade being one or another for food handling or a specific task, but for edc the ce seems more logical.

I think the main reason is ease of maintenence for those of us that use our knives regularly, I also like a Combo edge knife myself. Ce would be awesome on a Millie due to the longer blade length. :)

[jzmtl]

Not really a hype, many people just have little to no need for serrations.

[Lucentdawn]

I find combo edge much more frustrating to sharpen.

[gmand16]

Right I understand not having a need on a daily basis. My point in carrying a ce is the off chance that I may need it. Many emergency situations would be more suitably handled with serrations, for instance, cutting a seat belt. Also, many of the tasks that I do with the pe portion of the blade, could be done with the serrations as well. When I think of edc, I think of tasks that I run into on a continual basis as well as those that I seldom encounter, but without a doubt want to be prepared for. Personally, I would not want to avoid carrying a ce due to the fact that it is more difficult to sharpen. If I took the next step in that, I would not carry a knife at all due to the maintenance associated with it. Like many of you said, you rarely have a need for serrations, therefore, the need to sharpen them would be rare as well. Sorry if this sounds like a bashing, I was merely curious as to whether there was some particular reason.

[v8r]

Right I understand not having a need on a daily basis. My point in carrying a ce is the off chance that I may need it. Many emergency situations would be more suitably handled with serrations, for instance, cutting a seat belt. Also, many of the tasks that I do with the pe portion of the blade, could be done with the serrations as well. When I think of edc, I think of tasks that I run into on a continual basis as well as those that I seldom encounter, but without a doubt want to be prepared for. Personally, I would not want to avoid carrying a ce due to the fact that it is more difficult to sharpen. If I took the next step in that, I would not carry a knife at all due to the maintenance associated with it. Like many of you said, you rarely have a need for serrations, therefore, the need to sharpen them would be rare as well. Sorry if this sounds like a bashing, I was merely curious as to whether there was some particular reason.

I would be careful cutting a seat belt with a Millie, You might poke something you didn't mean to. :eek: Especially in a panic situation.

[gmand16]

I would be careful cutting a seat belt with a Millie, You might poke something you didn't mean to. :eek: Especially in a panic situation.

The individual whose seat belt was cut with a military had no complaints or extra lacerations.

[v8r]

The individual whose seat belt was cut with a military had no complaints or extra lacerations.

good to hear :D

[2cha]

From what I've seen, the collector market (me included) also prefers plain edge. Aesthetically, I think the serrations make the knife look too busy and and I prefer the clean lines of a traditional blade.
I often use a SE UK rescue for handyman tasks and find the serrations very effective, and even preferable, for all tasks that don't require a super clean slice. Not hard to sharpen on a sharpmaker.

[jzmtl]

Right I understand not having a need on a daily basis. My point in carrying a ce is the off chance that I may need it. Many emergency situations would be more suitably handled with serrations, for instance, cutting a seat belt. Also, many of the tasks that I do with the pe portion of the blade, could be done with the serrations as well.

Per your last point, many tasks that done with SE can be done with PE as well. While SE may do things quicker there isn't really anything that absolutely need it either. At least for me I'd rather not give up half the real estate so I can do something that I may encounter only few times in my life time a couple of seconds faster.

[The Mentaculous]

As sharp as I like to keep my knives, I wouldn't expect there to be many if any tasks I couldn't accomplish with my plain edge that could be with SE. To each his own, but I think that serrations are fairly unnecessary for MY use of knives. I could easily cut through a seatbelt or some rope with a well-sharpened PE, maybe not as well as SE, but then again when I'm doing 99% of my tasks like opening letter/packages, peeling fruit etc, I feel no need for a SE.

[gmand16]

Per your last point, many tasks that done with SE can be done with PE as well. While SE may do things quicker there isn't really anything that absolutely need it either. At least for me I'd rather not give up half the real estate so I can do something that I may encounter only few times in my life time a couple of seconds faster.

I respectfully understand your point. It really boils down to preference. After the situation where a military was used to cut a seat belt, had that been a few seconds slower, it may have been at the cost of the gentleman's life. From that point on, I decided I would always carry a ce. Also, due to the size of the military, anything that needs a straight cut can easily be accomplished.

[dj moonbat]

When I think of edc, I think of tasks that I run into on a continual basis as well as those that I seldom encounter, but without a doubt want to be prepared for. Personally, I would not want to avoid carrying a ce due to the fact that it is more difficult to sharpen. If I took the next step in that, I would not carry a knife at all due to the maintenance associated with it.

Yeah, if I do need to cut a seat belt, I will definitely be carrying something ill suited for the task. My EDC is based on my own personal usage patterns: boxes, bandages, and fruit. If you need a CE or SE blade, then choose one of those.

[peacefuljeffrey]

I used to buy combo-edged knives, because I liked the idea of having either-or available.

But I found that I really didn't have a need for the serrated edge, and a good, sharp plain-edged knife can do what I need it to do, with ease.

I am quite good at sharpening plain edges, but no good at sharpening serrations.
I stick to plain edges now, exclusively. I might buy a serrated knife if I wanted it to be a non-user. But any knife I plan to use has to be plain edge, because that's what I want to sharpen.

[DMgangl]

I always carry a PE and SE blade. This provides me with what ever edge type I may need. I use both on a daily basis and unlike a CE I have to full edge at my disposal.

DM

[bada61265]

i like the looks of a plain edge better. like Jeffery i am good at sharpening plain edge blade but wouldnt want to even try to sharpen a se knife.. i keep a cheapo se knife with glass breaker and seatbelt cutter in my truck as a stricktly emergency only blade. personally im quite baffeld by how many seem to prefer se or ce blades. i dont know what they number as a percentage of knife owners and edc use is. But if you go by what you see being sold i gotta assume its a high number, go figure.
if i was to make a guess id think maybe its just because a large number of folks want a knife that doesnt need much sharpening anyway, and a se can saw threw alot of crap before dulling to uselessness. and that would be my other point, its a saw.

[Jazz]

Maybe because PE rules!

- best wishes, Jazz.