Spyderco Forums

Got my new serrated para 3.
Going to do a month with only serrated carry. The salt one will be thrown in for variety.
Will give the serrated life a try.

That's a slippery slope. I've been thinking about selling a lot of PE lately but I'll probably just keep them for my son. Tastes change too, I may go back eventually but I don't think I've really used or carried a PE for over a year now more than just a random day here and there.

I’ve really been using a lot of SE lately. Weird, because I’m a PE guy. Sal’s fault, as I’ve said before (the SE part ). Keep them sharp and they’re enjoyable.

I'm in. I have a couple SE. I really want one in LC200N ffg. The problem is I'm not interested in the native or the bumble bee handle on the Caribbean.

Jazz wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 28, 2018 7:12 pm

I’ve really been using a lot of SE lately. Weird, because I’m a PE guy. Sal’s fault, as I’ve said before (the SE part ). Keep them sharp and they’re enjoyable.

They work well when blunt as well, that's what I love about SE.

Can't wait to get a bunch of SE knives a mate in the US has of mine, including a Pac Salt.

I overlooked SE for years. I didn’t even entertain the thought.

I got an SS SE Endura for Christmas and it’s definately growing on me but still find myself reaching for a plain edge for certain tasks.

So far I’e learned:

- SE blades sure are pretty

-The 30 degree slots of the sharpmaker won’t get right into the scallops for sharpening. 40 degrees gets right in there and will raise a bur pretty quick.

- Cutting yourself hurts wayyy more with SE than PE. Even at the same level of shaving sharpness. I cut myself the other day doing something I had done 1000 times with a PE. I was shocked at how much it hurt. It was humbling and I felt like a goose. SE definately behaves differently through a cut and I hadn’t expected it.

Evil D. I’ve seen your posts on stropping with a dremel and polishing wheel. Have you found the stropping produces an edge much sharper than the UF stones of the sharpmaker? I’m tempted to have at it but I don’t want to wash out those pretty serrations if I’m not gaining much. Do you power strop in place pf the sharpmaker or after the sharpmaker to refine the edge? Same for VG10 as H1?

Surprislingly seldom mentioned, but where Spyderco serrations really excell is in making feathersticks/shavings for firestarting. When I was more into some bushcraft - stuff, I really liked carrying my combo edge Delica for that purpose (it´s amount of serrated edge is enough for the task of making shavings and smaller feathersticks).
Nowadays it´s my go-to rock-climbing blade, the serrations come in handy for cordage cutting

Tims wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:19 pm

Evil D. I’ve seen your posts on stropping with a dremel and polishing wheel. Have you found the stropping produces an edge much sharper than the UF stones of the sharpmaker? I’m tempted to have at it but I don’t want to wash out those pretty serrations if I’m not gaining much. Do you power strop in place pf the sharpmaker or after the sharpmaker to refine the edge? Same for VG10 as H1?

It was something I did more when I was a novice with the Sharpmaker, so I find it less necessary now but I do still feel it takes the edge up a notch. It works much the same as stropping any other edge type, it just has the advantage of fitting into the serrations nicely and doing the work much quicker. Some people have reported similar results with leather boots laces loaded with polishing compound but I've never tried that. I wouldn't be tempted to rely on stropping to get a sharp edge if you aren't getting one off the Sharpmaker, only because I feel you'd be cheating yourself in the end because the Sharpmaker absolutely can get the edge there with practice and patience. For me it helps to make alternating passes moving the blade from heel to tip and then from tip to heel, this helps me to get the entire curve of the serrations. Others like Vivi have reported they don't have that issue so a lot of it is in your technique. I also like to round mine off just a bit with the brown rods and then go to the fine and then ultra fine rods. If I can't cleanly push cut phone book paper after that, then I strop.

I am spyderedge guy and I allways have some teeth on me. I allways said that a spyderedge can do what a plain edge does but not the other way around.

elena86 wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 7:51 am

I am spyderedge guy and I allways have some teeth on me. I allways said that a spyderedge can do what a plain edge does but not the other way around.

Agree with you. Maybe not quite as nice/fine but it does it.

If you have any difficulty sharpening them let us know. That is what kept me from enjoying SE for a long time.

One tip is to sharpen them like they're wharncliffes. Look at the serrations and notice how they all run in the same direction. So you don't follow the curve of the blade like you do when sharpening a PE knife because the serrations don't follow it.

The 15 degree slots match up nicely with most of their SE models in my experience, but using the 40 degree slots will be quicker as you'll form a microbevel rather than grind the entire bevel. Either option works.

For field sharpening you can fold a piece of sandpaper over the corner of a desk, a ruler, etc., and use edge trailing strokes.

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 5:40 am

Surprislingly seldom mentioned, but where Spyderco serrations really excell is in making feathersticks/shavings for firestarting. When I was more into some bushcraft - stuff, I really liked carrying my combo edge Delica for that purpose (it´s amount of serrated edge is enough for the task of making shavings and smaller feathersticks).
Nowadays it´s my go-to rock-climbing blade, the serrations come in handy for cordage cutting

Funny thing is most folks think serrations are useless for cutting wood. My experience matches yours though. Serrated Spydercos come ground thin, and you can often get 2-3 curls to form with every push cut.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 12:52 pm

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 5:40 am

Surprislingly seldom mentioned, but where Spyderco serrations really excell is in making feathersticks/shavings for firestarting. When I was more into some bushcraft - stuff, I really liked carrying my combo edge Delica for that purpose (it´s amount of serrated edge is enough for the task of making shavings and smaller feathersticks).
Nowadays it´s my go-to rock-climbing blade, the serrations come in handy for cordage cutting

Funny thing is most folks think serrations are useless for cutting wood. My experience matches yours though. Serrated Spydercos come ground thin, and you can often get 2-3 curls to form with every push cut.

Exactly! And on top of that the curls are very thin and catch a spark like nothing else!

Vivi wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 12:52 pm

If you have any difficulty sharpening them let us know. That is what kept me from enjoying SE for a long time.

One tip is to sharpen them like they're wharncliffes. Look at the serrations and notice how they all run in the same direction. So you don't follow the curve of the blade like you do when sharpening a PE knife because the serrations don't follow it.

The 15 degree slots match up nicely with most of their SE models in my experience, but using the 40 degree slots will be quicker as you'll form a microbevel rather than grind the entire bevel. Either option works.

For field sharpening you can fold a piece of sandpaper over the corner of a desk, a ruler, etc., and use edge trailing strokes.

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 5:40 am

Surprislingly seldom mentioned, but where Spyderco serrations really excell is in making feathersticks/shavings for firestarting. When I was more into some bushcraft - stuff, I really liked carrying my combo edge Delica for that purpose (it´s amount of serrated edge is enough for the task of making shavings and smaller feathersticks).
Nowadays it´s my go-to rock-climbing blade, the serrations come in handy for cordage cutting

Funny thing is most folks think serrations are useless for cutting wood. My experience matches yours though. Serrated Spydercos come ground thin, and you can often get 2-3 curls to form with every push cut.

Thanks Vivi. I’m sure I will be back with questions.
Taking a full month so I will give it a real shot and need to sharpen, etc. much of this inspiration comes from evil d and sal saying we should give designs some time.

SF Native wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 1:56 pm

Vivi wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 12:52 pm

If you have any difficulty sharpening them let us know. That is what kept me from enjoying SE for a long time.

One tip is to sharpen them like they're wharncliffes. Look at the serrations and notice how they all run in the same direction. So you don't follow the curve of the blade like you do when sharpening a PE knife because the serrations don't follow it.

The 15 degree slots match up nicely with most of their SE models in my experience, but using the 40 degree slots will be quicker as you'll form a microbevel rather than grind the entire bevel. Either option works.

For field sharpening you can fold a piece of sandpaper over the corner of a desk, a ruler, etc., and use edge trailing strokes.

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 5:40 am

Surprislingly seldom mentioned, but where Spyderco serrations really excell is in making feathersticks/shavings for firestarting. When I was more into some bushcraft - stuff, I really liked carrying my combo edge Delica for that purpose (it´s amount of serrated edge is enough for the task of making shavings and smaller feathersticks).
Nowadays it´s my go-to rock-climbing blade, the serrations come in handy for cordage cutting

Funny thing is most folks think serrations are useless for cutting wood. My experience matches yours though. Serrated Spydercos come ground thin, and you can often get 2-3 curls to form with every push cut.

Thanks Vivi. I’m sure I will be back with questions.
Taking a full month so I will give it a real shot and need to sharpen, etc. much of this inspiration comes from evil d and sal saying we should give designs some time.

I traded for a SE Pacific Salt a few years back, intending to "force" myself to carry it for two weeks as an experiment. Expected to go back to my PE Pacific Salt after those two weeks.

A few days in, it stopped being a challenge, and started being a preference. My PE Pacific Salt sees very little use these days, while the SE is among my most carried knives.

The big hurdle for me was learning how to get the SE blade just as sharp as a PE blade. The only SE knives I had owned weren't maintained very well, and cut poorly as a result. Once I learned how to get my Pacific Salt sharp enough to push cut receipts and pop off arm hairs without touching the skin, my eyes were opened to the benefits of SE.

I love Spyderco serrations. They are excellent.

Funny this thread would come up at this time because for the past 2 days I've been only carrying my trusty ATS-55 era, full SE, stainless RESCUE model along with an old ATS-55, full SE Merlin model. One's obviously a Hawkbill and one is a Spyderedged Sheepsfoot blade. And believe it or not I got by rather well the past 2 to 3 days with only those two full Spyderedged blades.

I can't wait to get my hands on this new LC200N Native because the two other full SE Native models I have also have about a half of a inch of plain edge on the very end of the blade. And sometimes that is all the plain edge I really need on most days.

This thread kind of reminds me of one that EVIL D did a year or two ago on this very same subject matter and we got some most interesting responses on that one too. I'm just wishing that Spyderco would eventually look into newer serration patterns to try out on different full SE models.

[quote="JD Spydo" post_id=1294104 time=1546121629 user_id=301
I'm just wishing that Spyderco would eventually look into newer serration patterns to try out on different full SE models.
[/quote]


What were you thinking ?


In view of the fact that I think Sal? admitted some SE patterns are better than others (of the one's Spyderco have released),
I haven't looked at the modern knives much but I'm hoping they have standardised on the one that is better.

Can't wait to get my Pac Salt and others to compare to old trusty Endura.

500Nitro wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 7:22 pm

[quote="JD Spydo" post_id=1294104 time=1546121629 user_id=301
I'm just wishing that Spyderco would eventually look into newer serration patterns to try out on different full SE models.

What were you thinking ?


In view of the fact that I think Sal? admitted some SE patterns are better than others (of the one's Spyderco have released),
I haven't looked at the modern knives much but I'm hoping they have standardised on the one that is better.
[/quote]

The rounded/wavy type serration pattern that Spyderco used on their model K-04 & K-05 models would be nice for starters. In some jobs I tend to like a more rounded/wavy serration pattern that doesn't snag up like some of the serrations on several of the Japan made Spyders. There are jobs that I do like the "spikey" type pattern but there are also several jobs where a more rounded/wavy pattern seems to work better.

Now the one rather simple serration pattern that Victorinox uses on several of their Multi-tools does a lot better than you would expect. Also with all of those culinary blades I found last summer at local thrift stores the pattern on two of the J. A. Henckel blades had nice, aggressive patterns. Also I noticed on two other German made culinary knives the serration patterns are most interesting.

Evil D wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 28, 2018 7:09 pm

That's a slippery slope. I've been thinking about selling a lot of PE lately but I'll probably just keep them for my son. Tastes change too, I may go back eventually but I don't think I've really used or carried a PE for over a year now more than just a random day here and there.

Looking at what my daily cutting chores consist of, I could probably get rid of the majority of my plain edge knives and not miss them. It doesn't take much plain edge to open a box or a letter, and even breaking down cardboard isn't too bad. About the only thing I'd miss is a nice clean slice on a block of cheese.

You guys almost get me wanting to try a SE Spyderco!