Those darn serrations

[Jazz]

So, you probably know I dislike serrations. I think they're only good factory fresh with that new knife smell still on them.

Since Sal was saying he was using the Delica wharnie SE, I thought I really should give them another go. He's obviously not a dummie. So, I sharpened up my Salt 1 SE that I used extensively at work years ago. I tried it out and it was still crappy cutting. I thought, after listening to various of y'all's SE accounts, maybe it's just not sharp. I know I don't know it all, and can always learn something new, so I patiently went to sharpening. I discovered I can make it actually sharp, and if I strop on the corner of my strop, it gets shaving sharp.

I'm going to carry SE for a few days to see if I like them, know how to sharpen them, and find them useful or not. I also didn't realize I have 5 or 6 SE Spydies. I sharpened them all. I'll use this and a Cricket first...



Does the blade shape look familiar?

[Evil D]

In my experience they perform best at peak sharpness. That seems like an obvious observation but once they start getting dull they start getting snaggy and that's when the fun stops. They do continue to cut, and or rip, but the real magic is with a scary sharp edge.

[Jazz]

In my experience they perform best at peak sharpness. That seems like an obvious observation but once they start getting dull they start getting snaggy and that's when the fun stops. They do continue to cut, and or rip, but the real magic is with a scary sharp edge.

Exactly - the fun stops. I know you buff yours. I might try that. I hope I can enjoy them more. I still think plain edge rules, but there was something cool about getting these things sharp.

[vivi]

Agreed with Evil D.

I've never enjoyed serrations, always disliked them. Part of the problem, I recently realized, was I never took the time to try and sharpen them well. For me my only SE knife, a Tasman Salt, was a beater I used to cut rough stuff I wouldn't want to use a thin reprofiled PE knife on.

I bought a serrated Pacific Salt and have been carrying it every day since. Usually its my only Spyderco for the day, sometimes I have a PE too. Either way I've been making a point to try to use it as much as I can. Its really grown on me.

I've been using the PE and SE versions of the knife back to back on different tasks head to head as well, its been fun. I've been using them for things I never would, just to see how they do. Opening mail, dicing an onion, carving some basic traps and tools etc.

I never thought I'd be someone that could get by with just a SE pocket knife, but I've found out as long as its nice and sharp its no problem at all. The only issue was me falling into the mindset of "Well since SE keeps cutting even when dull I don't have to sharpen it as often..." While it does keep cutting when dull better than dulled PE's do, a sharp SE is still better across the board at any cutting task.

The Pacific Salt is one of my favorite knives, and the exciting thing about the SE version of it is the edge retention. I think that's part of why I'm enjoying this SE knife more than recent ones...no rust concerns obviously, but it also has much better edge retention, and H1 is an incredibly tough steel. Its already held up better than the 154CM, VG10 and ATS55 SE Spydercos I tried in the past. I've chipped teeth cutting through stuff the Pacific Salt chews up no problem.

SE-H1 really does strike me as the ultimate blade steel. I'll still prefer PE knives for certain tasks like most food prep and whittling, but SE H1 is rust PROOF, tougher than any stainless I know of and even some carbon steels, and has the best edge holding of anything I've tried. Pretty impressive package for being under 80$ and 3oz! I'm tempted to get another SE Pacific Salt and have someone regrind it to FFG PE for me, then see what the edge retention is like compared to the stock PE.



I'm jealous of the narrow tip on your knife though. I plan to grind this one thinner, but the coating is going to look kind of silly when I do. Oh well.

[Jazz]

It was a 93 mm until I shortened and wharnied it. A little more manageable now. I'm going to give them an honest try.

Where did this grey line come from? How do I do these things?

[Donut]

It doesn't look like a Saver _Salt_ at all with the VG-10 stamp on the blade.

I'm going on vacation in a couple of weeks and I'm thinking that I'm going to only carry SE for that week.

[anagarika]

I mostly am with Jazz. Got Atlantic Salt SE to try. Haven't been able to really like it. My PE serves me well. Perhaps my use case?

Will continue testing.

[Doc Dan]

What is the best way to sharpen the serrations?

[DougC-3]

I haven't really widely used my SEs like some SE fanatics, but for me there's one way they are truly superior to PEs and they don't have to be super sharp for this, but it would help. I've raved about this before so it won't hurt my feelings if you scroll on by. I'm talking about serious brush cutting. You can quickly clear large areas of underbrush by bending the limbs, stems, etc, and slicing into the bend. With a Pac Salt or, better yet, a D'Allara Rescue (essentially the same serrations as the PS but with a full handle that allows you to make powerful cuts without bruising your hand) you can lop limbs up to 3/4" with one slice, depending on the type of wood, but much better than PEs with any type. I'm not talking about sawing but slicing.

This and general vine cutting, etc, are the main things I use my SEs for. Lately I've been carrying a newly acquired Rescue 3 as a backup to a PE and it's a great little knife, very similar to Jazz's 93mm (pre-mod) but bigger. I love the choil, and even with the choil, its serrations are nearly the same as the Pac Salt and D'Allara. I need to follow Jazz and Vivi's example and keep them sharp and use them for more tasks, and for solo carry.

After brush cutting, I think I noticed some edge rolling on the PS's H-1 but never on the VG-10. I think it might have come from an artifact of the factory grinding and haven't noticed it after sharpening. So far I've only sharpened the serrations on the corners of my SM rods. The other day I found a brand new tiny Smith's diamond-coated pocket rod I forgot I had and may give it a try, also maybe the edge of my strop block.

[elena86]

What is the best way to sharpen the serrations?

Sharpmaker does a good job on spyderedges.I have a different aproach, it's time consuming but the results are great: I sharpen scallop by scallop using the corner of a SM white rod.My SE Pac Salt is a terrific cutting machine.What can I say, I'm a spyderedge fanatic,I own like 50 serrated spydies and they keep coming :D

Marius

[Joris Mo]

I fell for SE about 1,5 year ago when staying with friends living off the grid in the mountains in N-Portugal for 5 weeks and bringing a few new knives. (being a city boy my knives often see their hardest use abroad)
I mainly used my SE Pacific Salt and an ARK for a PE, my first introduction to H1, and got some good practice sharpening since these blades saw a lot of use including some they definitely weren't meant for but withstood perfectly like batoning with a Pacific Salt.
Great hard use blades!
Planning to order my first Jazz Delica this week, will probably start with a SE version. :D
(won't use it for batoning )

[Evil D]

A while back I went on a 6 months EDC of nothing but SE and it didn't take me half that long to start liking them. My preference tends to lean towards the shallower cut and more rounded teeth style of serrations, which seemed to snag less. What I've found is kind of a weird irony...the idea that SE will hold an edge longer than PE and keep cutting even when dull is somewhat true, but I found that my enjoyment in using them quickly dropped as sharpness faded so it seemed like a moot point. My biggest reason for avoiding them in the past was not being able to sharpen them.

The other thing I learned, and I think this is a big one most people don't realize, is nobody is forcing you to choose one edge type over the other and nobody is stopping you from using both. People seem to have a sort of absolute opinion on this subject to the point of almost seeming close minded about it. Use them, don't use them, it's your choice but lots of people like them for good reason and they're fun to experiment with. Sharpening is absolutely the key IMO.

[Joris Mo]

For me it also really helped to finally understand how to sharpen them.
I am since quite often carrying both a SE and a PE.

[Jazz]

I'd like to hear how more people sharpen them too. I do what Sal says, a few passes on the scalloped side, then one or two on the flat side. I also go backwards to make sure I get the whole scallop. I use a small Lansky triangle - same shape as the Sharpmaker, but wee and portable. Then, I strop on the corner of my strop ( on a block if wood) just like it was another stone. I'll see if I did good when I take it to work. My PE Delica wharnie will be in my back pocket where it always is though.

Excellent points, Dave. I know I'm on one side of the fence, but I'm open minded enough to give it another go and have some fun. And, they really aren't that hard to sharpen at all.

Also, I remember cutting a root of a big Poplar once that was poking through the pavement with my SE Dfly Salt. I was completely surprised at how easy it cut.

[elena86]

Lately, I rarely use the Sharpmaker just because it rounds the tips of the spyderedge.I like them as pointy and agressive as possible.I developed a special technique for H1 spyderedges.I discovered that it's easier to align the material than to remove the material when it comes to H1 so I use an "away-from-the-edge" motion.Only after the first 3-4 sharpening sessions I start to remove material inside the scallops using an "against-the-edge" motion.It works great for me.

Marius

[JD Spydo]

What is the best way to sharpen the serrations?

Now most of the Brethren here use the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker to sharpen their Spyderedged models. And it will do a really decent job>> I just used my 204 Sharpmaker to fine tune one of my Spyderco K-04 kitchen knives this weekend and it did a really nice quick job and with good edge results as well. But definitely use all grits in succession for best results on the Sharpmaker i.e. diamond, medium, fine & ultra-fine.

Albeit my personal favorite sharpening tool for Spyderedges is the discontinued Spyderco 701 Profile kit. Now recently I've heard that Spyderco is going to do a Sprint Run of them soon. It takes considerably longer to sharpen them with the 701 Profile kit but I really love the results I get with it.

Another thing to consider is the serration pattern itself. Not even all of Spyderco's serration patterns are created equal. But even if you use the Sharpmaker you absolutely must deburr the back side after using the Sharpmaker. I usually accomplish that by taking the corner of one of the stones from the 204 Sharpmaker and swiping it two brisk strokes on the backside of the serrated edge. and it doesn't hurt to strop the backside as well.

[Leadsled]

What is the best way to sharpen the serrations?

I use a Lansky tapered diamond rod one scallop at a time until I feel a burr on the opposite side. Then I do three passes on the Lansky round ceramic rod on the 20° setting to get rid of the burr. Only takes a few minutes.

The H1 loves the diamond rod or vice versa.

I tried the same technique on my old Mariner in G2.and the rod didn't seem to bite into the steel like it did the H1.

[Doc Dan]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I appreciate it. I am going to finally give in to Surfingringo and buy a Salt.

[SG89]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I appreciate it. I am going to finally give in to Surfingringo and buy a Salt.

Will you hold out for the salt 2?

[Doc Dan]

Maayyybe, maybe not. Probably not. Though I love the Delica 4 handle. I may get one later, though.


Here is what I have been looking at.
http://www.knifeworks.com/images/produc ... SBBK.1.jpg