Serrated vs Plain Edge vs Combo Knives: The Answer to the Endless Debate
For a long time, we in the knife community have used “its personal preference” as a blanket term in response to the question of whether or not someone should obtain a blade whose edge is either plain, serrated, or a combo of those two. I think many people will agree when I say that this response isn’t very helpful, especially when someone hasn’t yet experienced all three options in real-world scenarios and thus lack the experience to even have a personal preference in the first place.
The truth is, personal preference certainly does play a role in what many knife owners choose to equip themselves with but it’s far deeper than that and that’s what we’re here to talk about today! In this guide, we’ll have a discussion talking about the actual differences between plain edge blades and serrated blades and when you might want the best of both worlds in a combo edge.
These edges have there pros and cons and ultimately, whether or not you should choose one over the other will come down to your actual use cases instead of simply “personal preference”, although I suppose you could make the argument that your use case factors into your preferences. What this guide will focus on is how you would use each type of blade edge and which would be the best fit for you and then we’ll talk about the versatility and tradeoffs of a combo edge.
The TLDR here is this: Choose a blade whose characteristics align with the actual use cases of your blade. Think about your job, your hobbies, your situations, and think about how your knife will be utilized across each of those. Make a list of materials and things you’ll need to be cutting and assign those materials with a tag describing the type of cut. Ask yourself questions like: Does it matter if it’s a clean and nice cut or can it be jagged and rough? What situations might I find myself in that I would need a (insert edge type)? Would I have access to another tool that would make one of these use cases moot?
No matter what your thoughts or purchasing decisions are, please remember that any knife is better than having no knife and that in most cases, you could probably get by with any edge solution (with some compromise) so long as its sharp and intact.
Plain Edge
What is it?
A blade with a plain edge is one of the most common and traditional styles you’re likely to come across. Plain edges are just as the name implies, they’re plain. They have no additional characteristics other than the fact that they are a sharp edge that extends the full length of the cutting surface of the blade.
How is it used?
A plain edge blade can pretty much be used with anything. The fact that you would want additional characteristics usually ends up being a situation where a plain edge would work fine but something else may be quicker or more efficient. Plain edge blades can be found across tons of different styles of knives such as EDC, self-defense, Combat knives, survival knives, etc.
A plain edge blade is one of the most versatile tools you can add to your arsenal. Plain edges generally provide the user a much cleaner cut than a serrated edge would. Say you need to open a box or envelope but you’d like to reuse it later, a plain edge would provide a nice and clean cut whereas a serrated edge would leave a rough and jagged tear-through like appearance and feel which may not be suitable for your use case.
Furthermore, plain edge blades generally perform well across pretty much all types of cutting, hacking, slashing, stabbing, etc. For example, most Tanto blades are plain edge because the Tanto was designed to penetrate body armor. In a self-defense or combat situation where your assailant has body armor, you wouldn’t want serrations getting caught on the material on the body armor and slowing down your action. A plain edged Tanto will slide right through most light materials with ease.
You might be cutting something where you only need to cut the surface or around something inside of that material. A serrated blade will “grab” the material you’re cutting, somewhat forcing the blade to dive into the material which may not be suitable for your use case.
Plain edged blades are generally easier to use with a firestriker as well. Of course, this will dull your blade and it’s better to use something designed to be used as a firestriker but if you don’t have that, you’d certainly be better off with a plain edge versus a serrated edge. Some serrations may even be so tight in spacing that the firestriker doesn’t ride inside the valley and thus makes striking very difficult. Serrated blades usually
What are the pros of this edge style?
A plain edge blade provides for a very versatile and overall clean cutting experience.
A plain edge is far easier to sharpen and maintain than a serrated or combo edge. Some warranty repairs from some brands may not even cover serrated portions of the blade.
Plain edge blades would likely be easier for a beginner to learn how to properly use a knife with.
Plain edge blades are generally better for combat and self-defense situations as they won’t snag or create unneeded friction upon thrusting/slashing.
What are the cons of this edge style?
Plain edge blades are not as versatile as a combo edge blade.
Plain edges can sometimes not be able to grip certain materials, like synthetic fibers, clothing, metalloid materials, rubber, etc.
Plain edge blades are often less sought after for survival knives where the owner has or will carry only one knife. It may be more advantageous to have a combo in this case.
Plain edge knives do not cut seatbelts as well as serrated knives and as such, are not the preferred edge type for emergency egress situations.
Cutting something metal, like metal wire or fencing will significantly dull and perhaps even damage a plain edge. Plain edges are not made to cut metal for the most part and as such do not perform nearly as well as a serrated edge might.
Is this edge style right for you?
A blade with a plain edge is probably right for you if you’re a beginner or if your situation doesn’t warrant cutting materials and fibers that a plain edge simply slips from. A plain edge offers a lot of versatility and will be useful in almost all situations even when the preferred blade type is something else. Furthermore, if you don’t know how to sharpen or maintain a serrated blade, you’ll need a plain edge blade or you’ll need to replace your serrated blades often which probably isn’t ideal. If you’re a beginner looking for a knife with a lot of versatility, I recommend a plain edge drop point blade. The drop point blade is extremely versatile and this combo will serve you well. If you’re interested, you can learn more about all the knife blade types here.
Serrated Edge
What is it?
A serrated edge on a blade simply means the edge has a pattern like a saw. There are many types of serrations where the “teeth” may be closer or further apart, where there may be a pattern of different angles or shapes of the teeth, or where the teeth are even facing backward for special use cases.
How is it used?
Serrated edges are meant to be used in a traditional sawing motion instead of slicing like you would with a plain edge. There are many reasons to use a serrated edge, for example, cutting a seatbelt when you need to immediately egress a traffic accident victim. The teeth will dig into the belt and help guide the blade into a nice but quick sawing motion, quickly removing material and essentially pushing through the belt in a more forceful manner than a plain edge would.
Serrated edges are excellent for cutting things that are a bit too “slippery” for a plain edge. Where a plain edge may fail to hold friction on a material, like on a synthetic cable, for example, a sawtooth-like serration will help grab the material and remain on course for cutting.
What are the pros of this edge style?
Serrated blades are by far the best for cutting through seatbelts, rubber, dense wood, synthetic materials, jeans among other thick clothing, and really anywhere that a sawing motion is applicable.
Serrated blades often aid in blade grip where a plain edge would slide off and be too slippery to maintain its cutting motion while a serrated blade holds on tight and even sometimes help push or pull the blade deeper into the material it’s being used on.
Serrated blades have a slight advantage in one-handed cutting in some instances, like quickly cutting thick fishing line where your other hand is occupied with something else. A plain edge will likely just slide off the fishing line while a quick slash from a serrated edge will likely grab the line and force it into the sharp teeth on the blade.
As far as emergency egress tools go, serrated edges are likely the best candidate.
Serrated blades are generally better than plain edges for cutting metal wire, fencing, electrical wire, etc.
What are the cons of this edge style?
In terms of self-defense, a serrated edge might look more ominous and terrifying to an assailant but at the end of the day, the serrations are more of a distraction and added friction than they are useful. For example, serrations may tug on clothing or other materials making you slower to recover or maneuver.
Serrated blades often give a very nasty and unsightly jagged-like cut. If you need to cut something cleanly and perhaps reuse it, serrated blades will usually ruin that.
Serrations will often fray the end of the materials you are cutting. If you’re cutting a woven string or rope that you’ll later use to tie something with, you might need to burn the edges to ensure the fibers in the rope don’t unravel. Plain edges can sometimes do this too but serrated edges are far worse.
Sawteeth on serrations come in different shapes, sizes, spacings, and some even have different portions of the tooth sharpened so for a beginner, it may be difficult to choose the right serrated blade for your needs. It might even be difficult for an experienced knife user to choose for that matter since there are so many different plays on sawteeth designs across many different brands and styles.
Not all serrated edges are created equally and not all serrated blades work the same and are meant to be used on the same materials. This may be a pro too, though, as you might find the perfect serration style for your use case that performs better than others.
Is this edge style right for you?
Deciding whether or not a serrated blade is right for you really comes down to how you’ll use them. Think of these as more of a saw than an actual knife in terms of user experience despite the form factor still being a “knife”. These are not nearly as versatile as a plain or combo edge and as such, owning a blade that is completely serrated may warrant ownership of another knife in case you need to make a clean cut. Everyone I know that owns fully serrated blades also has other plain or combo edges at the ready but this isn’t to say you shouldn’t buy one. If you’re cutting synthetic rope, thick fibrous material, or heavy fishing line all day and that’s all you use it for, you’ll be just fine!
Combo Edge
What is it?
A combo edge is simply a blade that encompasses both a plain edge and a serrated edge. In almost all cases you’ll find a combo edge blade where the cutting surface near the point or tip of the blade is plain and as you come down towards the handle that plain edge turns into a serrated edge.
There are many different types of combo edged blades. When shopping around you might see something like “⅓ serration”. This means that for the ⅔ of the blade near the tip, you’ll be getting a plain edge and for the last third of the blade close to the handle, you’ll be getting serrations. This can come in all different kinds of ratios like ½, ¼, ⅕, etc. Some manufacturers might just say it has a 4” blade with a 2” serration or something like that.
You can find blades where serrations are on the spine of the blade and the actual edge has a plain, serrated, or combo edge as well. Spine serrations are usually on large knives and although they eliminate your ability to control the knife with a finger or thumb on the spine, they give you the ability to turn the blade over and use it as a saw. We won’t break this down any further in this guide but just know that they exist and they might be helpful for your specific use case! Generally speaking, this style is not considered a combo edge unless the edge consists of both plain and serrations along with serrations on the spine.
Another thing you might come across is a spear point blade where both edges on each side of the blade are sharpened and perhaps on one side, the edge is completely plain and on the other, the edge has some combination of serration and plain cutting surface or both sides have a combo edge.
How is it used?
Combo edges are generally referred to as highly versatile and for good reason. If you need to make a clean cut, perhaps you’re cutting open a box that will later be reused, you simply choke up on the handle and only use the portion of the blade that is plain. If you need to saw through something like a really thick synthetic rope, you can pull your grip back a little and use the sawteeth to tear through it.
What are the pros of this edge style?
The pro’s here really encompass the pros of both of the aforementioned edges. You get the best of both worlds, however, there is some compromise that we’ll talk about in the cons section.
Obviously, these blades are a fond go-to choice for those who will only own or carry a single knife with them. If you know you’ll need both a plain edge and serrated edge but you don’t have space in your pack or can’t add the additional weight of another blade, a combo edge blade is an obvious choice. This is why a lot of survival, camping, or backpacking knives encompass combo edge blades.
If your day consists of cutting multiple different materials constantly, a combo edge may be a necessity, otherwise, you’ll find yourself using a lot of time switching between knives.
Having a serrated portion on your knife may allow you to “abuse” the serrated portion without harming your razor-sharp plain edge. Perhaps you have to cut through some wire or metal material and you don’t want to ruin the sharpness of your plain edge that you’ll later use for something else, you simply abuse the serrations on tearing through the metal materials and leave the plain edge for softer materials so that it remains sharper for longer.
What are the cons of this edge style?
The cons here are mostly a give and take of compromise.
When using a plain edge blade, you get to use the full cutting surface while on a combo, you are limited to only a portion of the blade that will perform as such.
On the contrary, when using a serrated blade, you will be limited to only the serrated part of the blade which is often quite small and can be difficult to use on tough materials.
A combo edge may be difficult for a beginner to learn how to use because it takes precise control and experience to avoid accidentally cut the material with the wrong portion of the blade.
Using the plain edge section of a combo blade may require you to choke up on the grip in an uncomfortably high grip position and depending on the style of knife, it may not even be possible to get a firm and controllable grip. Choking up your grip so high that you can precisely use the plain edge to maneuver may increase your chance of slipping and accidentally harming yourself or dropping the knife.
That serrated part of the combo blade may snag on something you didn’t intend for and thus slowing you down or causing you to reset your cutting motion.
Combo edges can be difficult to maintain. Sharpening a plain edge and a serrated edge requires two different methods and often different tools to sharpen so putting them both along the same axis in such close proximity may make it difficult to sharpen either of them for a beginner.
Some companies offer warranty repairs but most of them will only repair and/or resharpen the plain edge portion while not being willing to pay any attention to the serrated section. If the serrated section gets heavily damaged, in most cases, you’ll have to replace the entire knife despite the plain edge being in a workable condition so long as you still want the benefits of a combo edge.
Is this edge style right for you?
This edge style is right for a lot of people. Of course, if you know you’ll only be cutting something very specific, I’d recommend choosing a blade whose full edge encompasses the attributes that you need, but if you don’t know, a combo edge gives you options and versatility that you’d never get from a full plain or full serrated knife.
Most of the time, I carry a plain edge blade as an EDC, however, if I were to go on a long hiking trip or I plan to set up camp somewhere and my bag is already heavy, I’ll leave my plain edge at home and bring a combo edge in efforts to keep my pack out weight lower.