Help me decide on a fully serrated?

[benben]

Hey guys, want to give a fully serrated blade a try, I always carry a plain edge Spyderco and I have two combo edged knives that were gifted to me. I've narrowed it down to a Pacific Salt with a satin blade or an Endura. I live in NC right outside of Charlotte so really no issues of salty air or crazy humidity to cause a corrosion problem. This knife will be used for any and everything, but mainly a yard knife, I don't hunt so no issues with blood staining.

I've read all the accolades of the serrated PS and the H1 blade steel, and truth be known that's the one I'll probably buy. BUT, just wanted to get some opinions comparing serrated H1 against VG10, and honestly I like the FRN scales on the Endura over the old style Pacific Salt scales. Sorry if this has been discussed before. I just looked at the 2017 catalog, the new PS still has the Volcano grip texture, any opinions on that grip texture vs. the FRN grip on the Endura 4?

Thanks

[Surfingringo]

If you are going with se, it's hard to come up with a good case for the Endura. Pacific Salt is lighter, thinner, plenty rigid/strong even without liners, edge performance is best in class and (Even if you don't need it) it's fully corrosion proof. On top of all that, many folks (myself included) prefer the ergonomics of the old Endura 3/Pacific Salt handle to the Endura 4. So basically unless you have a color other than black or yellow, I think the Pacific Salt is a no brainer.

[benben]

Thanks Gringo, I knew you'd be around shortly. All great points, was just on the Cutlery Shoppe site and noticed the PS is lighter....3.0 oz vs. 3.6 oz for the Endura. Thanks again!

[zeroed4x]

H1 is slightly softer than VG-10 and depending upon your usage, your mileage may vary. H1 is about the same as AUS6 in comparison of performance but has magnificent corrosion resistance. There is a lot of speculation regarding work hardening the edge of this steel and taking the HRC level from around 57/58 to 65 plus by simply using the knife and sharpening it. ( Pure Bovine Scatology ) I think that if you're not sawing tree branches with your new serrated bundle of joy, you'll be o.k. with either. I've owned both H1 and VG10 and I'll attest that VG-10 holds a better edge for my particular usage. Again, you're circumstance will most likely be different than mine. If you opt for H1 you might have to touch up the edge slightly more often than the VG-10 but that should not be regarded as a negative. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this as well as the grips. I prefer G10 over FRN any day of the week.

[benben]

Thanks zero, when you said you've owned both H1 and VG10 and VG10 holds an edge longer, were you comparing serrated edges or plain edges to each other?

[Surfingringo]

Thanks zero, when you said you've owned both H1 and VG10 and VG10 holds an edge longer, were you comparing serrated edges or plain edges to each other?

Plain edge I would wager. Most all of what zeroed said holds true for comparing pe vg10 and h1, but not so much with se. Serrated H1 outperforms any steel Spyderco uses in Catra testing. In real world use, it's not magic or anything but it meets or exceeds the performance of serrated vg10. You definitely are not giving up any performance by going with H1 over vg10 in serrated edge. In plain edge yes.

[benben]

Thanks again Gringo.

[benben]

Well I guess I'm going to order me a Pacific Salt! Thanks again.

[zeroed4x]

Thanks zero, when you said you've owned both H1 and VG10 and VG10 holds an edge longer, were you comparing serrated edges or plain edges to each other?

I've owned both but I prefer plain edge. Serrated VG-10 vs H1 with regards to edge retention is similar to the plain edge from what I personally experienced. The H1 seems to require some light touch up slightly more often. If you use your knife mostly for lite duty, you probably won't notice much of a difference. My younger brother made the observation that if you cut a lot of cardboard boxes down you will see that the H1 will start to snag before the VG-10. He now owns both my a Delica VG-10 Serrated and a Pacific Salt serrated which have similar blade geometries. This is just a casual observation and of no real consequence, both of us love to sharpen our knives. My Tasman Salt in H1 Plain Edge performs well and I have no serious issues, if I hard use this knife I simply need to give the edge attention a little more often. Seriously I don't think you will make a bad choice with either steel, its not that big of a difference unless you're cutting rope or cardboard boxes all day everyday.

[SG89]

The discontinued fully serrated stretch is really nice. Ffg se.

[holeshot]

If you are going with se, it's hard to come up with a good case for the Endura. Pacific Salt is lighter, thinner, plenty rigid/strong even without liners, edge performance is best in class and (Even if you don't need it) it's fully corrosion proof. On top of all that, many folks (myself included) prefer the ergonomics of the old Endura 3/Pacific Salt handle to the Endura 4. So basically unless you have a color other than black or yellow, I think the Pacific Salt is a no brainer.

Listen, the thread Surfingringo posted a while back convinced me to get a Pacific Salt and I'm glad I did. It has become my EDC hands down. Buy one you will not be disappointed.

[bearfacedkiller]

The vg10 does come in ffg if that matters to you.

My advice is to get the new serrated wharncliffe Delica4 that is about to drop. It looks like a solid performer to me.

[Surfingringo]

Thanks zero, when you said you've owned both H1 and VG10 and VG10 holds an edge longer, were you comparing serrated edges or plain edges to each other?

I've owned both but I prefer plain edge. Serrated VG-10 vs H1 with regards to edge retention is similar to the plain edge from what I personally experienced. The H1 seems to require some light touch up slightly more often. If you use your knife mostly for lite duty, you probably won't notice much of a difference. My younger brother made the observation that if you cut a lot of cardboard boxes down you will see that the H1 will start to snag before the VG-10. He now owns both my a Delica VG-10 Serrated and a Pacific Salt serrated which have similar blade geometries. This is just a casual observation and of no real consequence, both of us love to sharpen our knives. My Tasman Salt in H1 Plain Edge performs well and I have no serious issues, if I hard use this knife I simply need to give the edge attention a little more often. Seriously I don't think you will make a bad choice with either steel, its not that big of a difference unless you're cutting rope or cardboard boxes all day everyday.

Thanks for the data/observations zeroed. Good point about what we are cutting affecting how we perceive edge performance. The type of material we are cutting can have a huge effect on edge performance and can make one steel or another look like the better performer. When comparing SE performance, I'd give a slight nod to H1 in my use but the difference isn't anything crazy. I could certainly imagine serrated vg10 (or another steel) outperforming on some materials/uses. The point I would make is not that H1 is immensely better than vg10 in serrated edge performance, but rather that whatever gap might exist between the two is smaller than the fairly wide performance gap between plain edge H1 and vg10.

[Joris Mo]

Like the Pacific much more than the Endura (which is a great knife), love the linerless version and it made me appreciate SE H1 a lot.

[Evil D]

Probably my favorite fully SE knife is the Stretch 2, which is unfortunately out of production. Otherwise I'd stick with H1. I'm a big fan of the Dragonfly Salt if you want something smaller. I prefer my SE blades to be FFG just like my PE blades. The same slicing rules also apply to SE.

[JD Spydo]

H1 is slightly softer than VG-10 and depending upon your usage, your mileage may vary. H1 is about the same as AUS6 in comparison of performance but has magnificent corrosion resistance. There is a lot of speculation regarding work hardening the edge of this steel and taking the HRC level from around 57/58 to 65 plus by simply using the knife and sharpening it. ( Pure Bovine Scatology ) I think that if you're not sawing tree branches with your new serrated bundle of joy, you'll be o.k. with either. I've owned both H1 and VG10 and I'll attest that VG-10 holds a better edge for my particular usage. Again, you're circumstance will most likely be different than mine. If you opt for H1 you might have to touch up the edge slightly more often than the VG-10 but that should not be regarded as a negative. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this as well as the grips. I prefer G10 over FRN any day of the week.

I tend to agree with most everything that "zerod4x" said. As much as I like my H-1 fully serrated folders I can also say that VG-10 has a lot to offer in Spyderedge as well. It's one of the few blade steels that I can honestly say that it performs just as well in PE as it does in SE. I've had VG-10 and ATS-55 Endura models and both of them did me right.

I guess what I'm saying is that it depends on what type of environment you'll be working in. If you're working in a salt water environment or just a very corrosive environment of any type then I would go with the H-1 folder. But in most normal, temperate environments you won't have any corrosion issues with VG-10 IMO.

[jdw]

Just my two cents but I have found that VG10 is a great all round steel and
my favorite steel for any SE blade. I live in a pretty arid place but I have used
mine for gardening for years with no problems of corrosion. My uncle lives
on the outskirts of the Raleigh/Durham area and he uses a VG10 SE with no
corrosion problems. Edit: Just wanted to add that if you can pick up a SE
Stretch on the secondary market I completely agree with a couple of other
replies. It's my favorite SE hands down.

[Bill1170]

Here's a thing I wonder. H-1 is only offered by Spyderco in hollow ground patterns for a valid reason. That reason is that the work hardening response of H-1 makes the second side a devil to grind if grinding one side at a time, as is the case with FFG geometry. Hollow grinding happens on both sides simultaneously, eliminating this problem.

So, the thing I wonder is this: does FFG H-1 end up with an overall hardness that is different from the hollow ground product? I know that the Pacific Salt I own is much softer at the spine than at the edge, while my VG-10 Endura is very hard everywhere on the blade. I figure this is due to the difference between heat treatment and work hardening.

It would be great to have an H-1 Salt in FFG PE that matched the hardness at the edge of their SE versions.

[Jazz]

I'm going to highly recommend the serrated Delica wharnie when it's out. Here's a preview pic...



Nice shallow serrations with a nice amount of plain edge at the tip.

[DansGunBlog]

@Surfingringo Indeed, Pacific Salt is an absolute no brainer. Thanks for pushing me in that direction... I think I've bought a half dozen of them by now, last one just earlier today lol.

The Pacific Salt serrated went from a "wth, let's try it as a possible companion to the Military" to become the knife i always grab first, ie the primary EDC. for the gym or running, light weight make such a difference. the significant blade size, solid build, thinness, light weight, ergonomics, and reasonable price for what you get altogether make it a total no brainer.

Getting ready to publish a full review on it after a year of carry... will share when it's up in a few days.

Cheers!