Spyderco knife question

[Ole Joe Clark]

First off, I'm not sure I even know how to spell Spyderco. And the only thing I know about knives is if they are dull or sharp.

I saw some new old stock Spyderco knives the other day, but they had the serrated blade. What is the deal with the serrated blade? I have a couple of cheapo knives with it, but never had a use for it.

I would like to have a spyderco, but with a regular blade.

Thanks in advance for any input you want to share.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[ronnie gore]

blade

the serrated blade is good for cutting rope or throats but not much else.

 

[Erich]

They make lots of Spydercos without serrated blades. You'll have a fun time researching and determining what you're looking for, but none of us can tell you that.


Good knives: I've owned several and the worst thing I can say about them is their early plastic-handled knives had issues where the plastic clips would break off when mistreated. As do many knife makers, Spyderco is happy to re-sharpen your knives when you send them back, which is good with those that have serrations. (I've abused the heck out of a serrated Harpy and they've restored it to great function.)


Have fun!

 

[steveno]

I have a all sst police model that I keep it my range bag that has a straight edge. it has a 4 inch blade which makes it kind of iffy for carrying purposes in Nebraska. a good knife

 

[kwselke]

Spyderco's most popular models come with all sorts of blade grinds, edges, shapes, steels, and coatings. Photos of my humble assortment of models attached.

A serrated edge increases the cutting surface, will continue to cut (saw) even when dull, and are flat out amazing when extremely sharp. If you are cutting through rope or vegetation they work great. I carry my full serrated Endura on my morning walks because I occasionally have to clear palm fronds from my path. The serrations make short work of the job where a plain edge sinks in and gets stuck. A plain edge will make a cleaner cut or slice. The combination edge is a compromise between the two.

I find either easy to sharpen on a Spyderco Sharpmaker. There is a different technique for serrated and plain edges. Before I bought a Sharpmaker I had sent my first combo edge Delica to Spyderco for sharpening once. I believe the full flat grind plain edge Deica and Endura are their most popular models.

 

[squidsix]

My only complaint about Spyderco (I have many of them and have gone in harm's way many times with a spyderco knife on my kit) is that the three little screws that hold the pocket clip in place are prone to stripping out the threads on the non-steel knives. I solved that by adding a machine screw and nut. See the pic to see what I mean.
Look at the Byrd series for the best value around, in my opinion.

 

[k22fan]

For me serrated edges are good for cutting bread but nothing else. I'll admit they might be better than a dull straight edge at getting a cut started in something like a sausage skin but why not just sharpen the straight edge?

To be sharpened at home one side of a serrated edge has to be flat so it can be rubbed on a stone. If the serrations are ground into both sides you are **** out of luck.

Now you know why when I see serrated edges for sale, no matter how low the price, I turn my back and leave them for buyers who like them. A bargain on an item that you will not be happy with is no bargain.

Edit to respond to kwslke's reply: If I think I might have any need for a saw I take one of my knives that has a saw as one of its blades. While the saws on inexpensive Swiss Army Knives are very effective cutting wood longer folding knives are better because they provide a longer saw stroke. Knives with the one hand opening lock blades you like can be found with additional saw blades if you hunt for them. When I spliced eyes into my ship's new 4 inch nylon mooring lines my Case Folding Hunter's straight edge easily cut through them. While I do not try to show off cutting dangling ropes with a saber like slash I do not understand the often posted need for a serrated edge to cut rope.

 

[chaparrito]

I don't own a SpyderCo I don't believe, but I associate serrated edges with bread knives and those bendy steak knives you get at the dollar store. In all my years in the outdoors I never wished I had a serrated knife for some task.

 

[white cloud]

Kwselki, that is a great collection of very practical knives. I switch between Tasman Salts and Delicas depending on what I am doing. Do you know why they named the Delica "Delica"? In my experience they are not delicate at all.

One other great thing about serrated edges is they cut through zip ties like lightning.

 

[Spawndn72]

I hate a serrated edge but I do like Spyderco's.
I carry a Spyderco Military every day. Here in TN we have very loose knife laws, and by loose, I mean great.

 

[CA Escapee]

As everyone above has said the SpyderEdge (serrated) works well on rope, loaves of bread, and palm trees. (or anything else fibrous for that matter)

They do make what they call a CombinationEdge. It's partially the PlainEdge and partially the SpyderEdge. I have several Spyderco's with the PlainEdge, and a couple with the CombinationEdge, but only one with the SpyderEdge, and it doesn't get used much. It's one of the ones I take hiking or camping.

Here's the page from their website showing the different grinds.

Edge Grinds – Spyderco, Inc.

I'm off to Spyderco when I'm done writing this. I dropped off my ~25 year old Delica a couple of weeks ago with a broken plastic clip. They're milling the rest of the clip off and screwing a metal clip on it.

Bill

 

[kwselke]

For me serrated edges are good for cutting bread but nothing else. I'll admit they might be better than a dull straight edge at getting a cut started in something like a sausage skin but why not just sharpen the straight edge?

To be sharpened at home one side of a serrated edge has to be flat so it can be rubbed on a stone. If the serrations are ground into both sides you are **** out of luck.

Now you know why when I see serrated edges for sale, no matter how low the price, I turn my back and leave them for buyers who like them. A bargain on an item that you will not be happy with is no bargain.

Edit to respond to kwslke's reply: If I think I might have any need for a saw I take one of my knives that has a saw as one of its blades. While the saws on inexpensive Swiss Army Knives are very effective cutting wood longer folding knives are better because they provide a longer saw stroke. Knives with the one hand opening lock blades you like can be found with additional saw blades if you hunt for them. When I spliced eyes into my ship's new 4 inch nylon mooring lines my Case Folding Hunter's straight edge easily cut through them. While I do not try to show off cutting dangling ropes with a saber like slash I do not understand the often posted need for a serrated edge to cut rope.

Spyderco's serrations are ground on one side. The technique is to use the edge of a fine stone at ~ 20 degrees (40 degree Sharpmaker setting) on the serrations then a few strokes on the flat side at 0 degrees (hand alignment). Attached are pictures of my Spyderedge Endura'a blade. By the way, most of the time I carry a knife with a plain edge full flat grind and I'd only use a serrated knife to field dress game if that was all I had.

 

[kwselke]

Kwselki, that is a great collection of very practical knives. I switch between Tasman Salts and Delicas depending on what I am doing. Do you know why they named the Delica "Delica"? In my experience they are not delicate at all.

One other great thing about serrated edges is they cut through zip ties like lightning.

Sal Glesser, founder of Spyderco and designer of the Delica, explained the naming of the Delica and Endura recently. The Endura was designed first and marketed to males... the name implies endurance. He then designed a smaller version and marketed to females by calling it Delica... signifying delicate. I believe his market was bikers at first. I was first introduced to Spyderco knives in the late 1980s when I was teaching scuba and Sal was targeting the dive market. Serrated blades are great for cutting mono-filament line, a prime reason for having a knife while diving. Third picture, upper right, hawkbill, serrated blade, black handle is a Tasman Salt 2 with rust proof H-1 steel blade.

 

[Donn]

Guess I'm the exception to the rule here. I've got five Spydercos, (Police, Endura, Tenacious, 2 Delicas), all of which are fully serrated. That's why I bought them. I don't have to worry whether they'll do the job, regardless of material.

 

[C J]

I have a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 and it is the sharpest knife I've ever owned. That is it will take a sharper edge which is pretty good considering how sharp a Buck knife can get.

Mine is made with a modern steel that holds an edge for a very long time. There are other knives that hold an edge longer but they tend to rust more. Mine will never rust.

The modern steels used can be hard to sharpen but I use the Spyderco sharpening system and I can put an edge on the S110V steel Spyderco and the S30V knife I have too. I have a hard time doing that with a stone. Most knives are no problem with a stone but they don't hold an edge nearly as long. It takes about 30 seconds to put a working edge on my PM2. If you want a hair splitting edge that takes longer but I don't find that I need that much sharpness. Still if you do you can get it with a Spyderco.

BTW I don't have much use for serrated knives except for cutting steak I guess.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3tN9-Rqd50[/ame]

 

[forindooruseonly]

I've posted about my experiences with Spyderco here:

Impressed with Spyderco.

Needless to say, I'm a fan. My father carries an identical one to mine, except with a normal, non-serrated blade. Also a great knife.

 

[jwk]

Wal-Mart carries a nonserated Spyderco knife that is reasonably priced. It is a fairly big folder. Bought one for my son when he was 11. I thought good knife for a boy who to be charitable is a bit hard on gear (Bo could break an anvil w a rubber hammer if he didn't lose it first). In other words pretty good knife but I wouldn't cry if he broke it. (He hasn't so yeah) I used it a time or two and next visit to wallyworld I bought one for me. It lives in my truck console along w a basic Leatherman tool. Gets used more than you would think. Ive grabbed it many a time when i forgot a good folder. Wood rope nylon webbing bamboo fishing line cut bait cardboard camp kitchen chores and my dinner when in hunting camp. Cuts well sharpens easily and feels pretty good in my hand. I still prefer a Buck 110 or a Puma Gamewarden but that model Spyderco is a lot of knife for the money. Bad thing it is one of Spyderco's made in China knifes. While it is great gear for the price I hate sending money to China.

 

[Frank46]

Was given a Spyderco Mariner many years ago, actually two of them. One I kept for daily use as I was on our companies oil spill response team. Found it extremely useful when deploying oil booms and having to cut the ropes which were then tied to the booms to collect the spilled oil.The other Mariner never got used so basically same as new. Frank

 

[Rangerpat]

Spyderco knives have served me well for many years, an Endura with a 50/50 edge at work as a firefighter, and now that I'm retired my EDC is a Delica.

My boating knife is a fully-serrated Pacific Salt in H1 steel, great around saltwater, cuts rope and fishing-line like they are butter.

 

[billwill]

Great knives with many different combinations of blade, steel and scales. I would opt for anyone of them made in the US. Those are actually marked...Golden Colorado USA Earth