Any love for combo edges?

[Jerome Howard]

It seems that most people like fully serrated and plain edged Spydercos.

I'm thinking of maybe getting something with a combo edge.

What are the pros and cons?

[Wartstein]

In my experience in many cutting tasks it does not really matter or hurt when a cut is initiated with the serrated- , and finished with the plain part of a combo edge.
Works just as well as pure PE or SE would.

Plus one actually can get the "best of both worlds" in certain tasks.

So really not opposed to CE, despite right now I have only one Spydie in that edge configuration.

[Evil D]

I just haven't felt a need for more plain edge than most "full" SE come with at the tip. The Autonomy 1 for example has about 5/8 inch plain edge at the tip and it does pretty much everything I've needed a PE for. I wouldn't be opposed to a true combo edge but it needs to be on a longer edge length knife so you get a decent amount of both edge types.



Aaaaaand because I will never stop trying to make this a reality...this is the optimal way to do a combo edge.



You can make hard carving cuts with the PE at the heel, you'll never have material slip off the edge before the SE grabs it, and you can make detailed scalpel cuts with the PE at the tip. It's the best of both worlds and would cover most of the best uses each edge types has for me.

[bgcameron]

^ I like this idea.

I just got this one and I have not used it much yet. The serrations are cut nice and deep.

[ladybug93]

i don't really like combo edges because i prefer to carry one of each at all times. if i were to only carry one, it would be full se. that said, i really like how spyderco gives us about 1/4" of pe at the end of the se blades.

[ZrowsN1s]

The flatground combo edge Native 5 I have is nice.

[prndltech]

A combo edge endura is a very useful tool to have in your pocket. I often think if I was going to only carry one pocket knife, that one would be hard to beat (or easy to beat on)

I like the Wayne Goddard too…

IMO the SE endela covers both nicely… there’s a pretty generous amount of PE at the tip

[WilliamMunny]

It seems that most people like fully serrated and plain edged Spydercos.

I'm thinking of maybe getting something with a combo edge.

What are the pros and cons?

Needs to be a bigger knife blade, 3.5”+ like a PM2 at least. Otherwise a sub 3” blade makes each section too small to be very useable.

[zuludelta]

It seems that most people like fully serrated and plain edged Spydercos.

I'm thinking of maybe getting something with a combo edge.

What are the pros and cons?

I prefer plain-edged knives these days, but I carried a combo edge Native 5 for years as my primary work knife. A combo edge blade is a decent choice if you regularly cut a variety of materials (a lot of the cutting I did at work at the time involved cardboard, pallet straps, nylon rope, and plastic netting). When breaking down large cardboard panels, I especially like how I can easily initiate a long cut using the plain edge portion and then transition seamlessly to using the mechanical advantages offered by the serrations as I lose leverage through the arc of motion. Plus, combo edge blades just look cool :)

Not exactly the best choice if you need to make super clean cuts, though, and I would sometimes catch on or bind up on material in the transition area between the 2 edge types when making long cutting motions where I start with the heel of the blade (i.e., when I start cutting with the serrated edge and pull the blade towards me). This is probably because the chisel/single bevel grind serrations tend to "steer into the cut" whereas the "v-grind" plain edge performs normally. This is something you will probably never notice on a longer combo edge blade, though (the Endura 4, Stretch 2 XL, and Resilience spring to mind), where each portion has enough length to cover most cutting motion arcs by themselves. And it's something you will eventually compensate for subconsciously if you use a shorter-bladed combo edge knife like the Native 5 long enough.

The main drawback I found with combo edge knives was in the edge maintenance, because of the two different grinds: a "v-grind" in the plain edge portion and a chisel/single bevel grind in the serrated portion means that you have to use two separate motions on the Sharpmaker if you want to sharpen/touch up the entire blade in one session. It's not a huge inconvenience and in practice you'll be sharpening/touching up the plain edge portion much more frequently than the serrated portion. Still, it's something to consider.

I fully endorse getting a combo edge knife if you've got your eyes set on one and understand how the compound grind & edge type can potentially affect work cutting performance (in ways both positive & negative) & the edge maintenance process. In fact, I still use that Native as an occasional EDC knife & it still finds its way into my work knife rotation every now & then.

That said, the fully serrated versions of Spyderco's 3"+ models such as the PM2, Endura, Endela, Stretch 2 XL, Manix, Shaman, Caribbean, and Tenacious have enough of a plain edge portion in the tip that they are practically combo edges, with the added advantage of being chisel/single bevel-ground all through the length of the cutting edge, thus being a lot more simple to touch up/maintain.

[z1r]

^ I like this idea.

I just got this one and I have not used it much yet. The serrations are cut nice and deep.

That's nice, which is it?

[Ferruginous]

The reason I prefer a fully serrated edge over a combo is because when I'm carrying a SE knife (like my UKPK Salt) 99% of the cutting I do is with the 3/8" of plain edge at the tip. It's easy to sharpen just that section as well.

[bgcameron]

^ I like this idea.

I just got this one and I have not used it much yet. The serrations are cut nice and deep.

That's nice, which is it?

C13 Pro Grip

[vivi]

I like them about as much as I like any edge with serrations, which these days isn't a ton.

I have a CE C95 Manix and a CE G10 Resilience.

Both are nice knives with very sharp edges.

Both are models I own in PE too, sharpened to a low grit finish of course.

Cutting cardboard with them side by side, the PE ones cut smoother, and cut smoothly for much longer.

The CE ones start to snag much, much faster. Sure, serrations at peak sharpness do well, but after cutting cardboard with my S30V CE Manix for 15 minutes, the serrated part wants to snag while my PE versions cut smooth.

This isn't really a complaint against CE knives in particular. I'd rather carry one than full SE. I'm just not wild about serrations in general these days because for my uses I found an edge type that outcuts them (low grit pe).

The main drawback I found with combo edge knives was in the edge maintenance, because of the two different grinds: a "v-grind" in the plain edge portion and a chisel/single bevel grind in the serrated portion means that you have to use two separate motions on the Sharpmaker if you want to sharpen/touch up the entire blade in one session. It's not a huge inconvenience and in practice you'll be sharpening/touching up the plain edge portion much more frequently than the serrated portion. Still, it's something to consider.

You don't have to use different sharpening strokes for the different edge areas. You can touch up a CE knife with the corners of the sharpmaker rods and do the entire blade in one stroke. That's how I do mine. Of course you may need to reprofile, especially the thicker PE part, to be able to do this.

[BornIn1500]

I was hoping they'd do a combo edge Polestar just like they did the combo edge Tenacious. It would be nice if there were at least 1 or 2 exclusives in combo. There's a very real gap in the market for premium combo edge knives. We mostly have inexpensive China products to choose from.

[Wartstein]

...

Needs to be a bigger knife blade, 3.5”+ like a PM2 at least. Otherwise a sub 3” blade makes each section too small to be very useable.

This is what I hear very often, but it turned out not to be true for me. Combo edges are or can be useful even in shorter blades imo. And assumes, that one always / many times has to use the SE and PE section "separately" and not as a "unit".

- As said, in many tasks it does not really matter if a blade is PE, SE or CE (comboedge) - if one wants to separate cardboard, paracord, plastic or whatever and even uses the whole edge for this, it works perfectly well to start the cut with the SE part and finish with the PE part.

- There are tasks where it even is advantageous to "break" the surface first with the SE part before the PE part comes into play (try cutting a plastic bottle in half without penetrating it with the tip first, and you´ll see what I mean)

- For a long time a comboedge Delica (so short edge) was my main climbing knife, for a shorter time even my main EDC.
In a climbing scenario the short SE section is still way long enough for cutting Paracord or rope, while the PE section is useful for very fine tasks or eve things like scraping the resin of mountain dwarf pines from my palms.

- Even if one should prefer PE: In an "emergency" knife I think it is good to have an SE part, even if it is short!
It will still cut or at least separate long after PE has gone dull already, and SE will be able to even work its way through very tough stuff like wire (as said, we are talking "emergency" here! But I seem to recall the old story how a diver could cut himself free from wire he was entangled in with an SE Spydie).

[Wartstein]

... added to my post above:

Listening to myself I should actually have more CE Spydies than just one , but I just prefer "full" SE (with that short PE part towards the tip) overall.

If the choices would only be PE or CE (and no full SE) I´d have a LOT more comboedge Spydies!

Actually thinking about a CE ffg Endura... (which would have to be the thin red or blue line edition, actually an added bonus both by the cool looks and the idea / donation-aspect behind it)

[cabfrank]

Answering the question, OP, sorry, none. I can't think of any knife I'd prefer in CE, vs SE or PE. I would prefer Evil D's configuration though, if I had no choice.

[BornIn1500]

We had this topic back in January.... So I'll just copy my comment from that.

"When I worked on a farm, which did everything from growing crops and baling straw/hay to raising upland game birds, a combo edge was easily the best edge type. You get some dirty and gritty things to cut that serrated works better for, like wads of baler twine that got wrapped around the blades/shaft of a mower. But then you have tasks where you want the front part to be a plain edge. I have to assume that the people who look down on partially serrated edges just haven't worked in a dirty environment with a wide variety of tasks. I only carry a plain edge now that I left that line of work, but I'll always appreciate the combo edge for farm work."

It's disappointing that so many people have such animosity towards a combo edge. I haven't seen any other blade type get so much hate. But with how many inexpensive blades still have that edge, you can be sure that lots of blue collar workers who don't go on knife forums absolutely love the combo edge, so it'll continue to live on. And that's just fine by me.

[Wartstein]

....
It's disappointing that so many people have such animosity towards a combo edge. I haven't seen any other blade type get so much hate. But with how many inexpensive blades still have that edge, you can lots of blue collar workers who don't go on knife forums absolutely love the combo edge, so it'll continue to live on. And that's just fine by me.

You have a point here.

I think part of the "CE bashing" is the myth that "only real newbies find combo edges must be best, but experienced knife users come to prefer full PE or SE"...

....it might actually even have some truth to it that a beginner might think "having both edge types on a blade MUST be best" without having real experience

... but it can very well be, that one comes (back) through and actually BECAUSE OF real experience to seeing the advantages a combo edge can offer.

... not saying CE is best for everything and everyone (as a matter of fact I do prefer full SE myself), but it has a lot going for it, and, once more: In many day to day cutting tasks seeing and using the comboedge blade as a unit (and not as separated SE and PE) works perfectly well anyway.

[LeDe]

For me as a newbie, I was kind of scared it feels like 2 different knives on a single handle with the transition not being smooth.
It is great to hear that is not the case.

I may get a CE when the new pink Salt Stretch XL is available in Magnacut.

What do you think is the most useful combination?
I like the small PE at the tip on my Pacific. Would you then have SE then a larger PE near the handle? Or have the SE at the handle?

Best,