October 19, 2020

Spyderco Tenacious Plain Edge Knife

When choosing the best pocket knife for your everyday carry, one of the decisions you'll need to make is what type of blade edge you should choose.

The common recommendation is to go with a plain edge (for reasons we'll get into later), but you might notice two other types of edges: serrated and combo edges. Instead of an unbroken edge on the blade, these two alternatives add some “teeth” to the knife.

Well today we will, and our goal is to compare each type of edge in the context of EDC tasks so you can make the right choice when picking one.

Plain Edge Knives

First let's talk about the most common knife type—plain edge knives. They have a continuous edge that make them the most versatile, with many different blade shapes to best make the use of a straight edge.

Since your main cutting action is to apply steady pressure to perform cuts, a long, unbroken edge lets you perform general cutting tasks cleanly and with minimal resistance.

Plain edges are also much easier to maintain since the unbroken edge is easier to sharpen or reprofile. A solid, plain edge knife with a general-purpose shape is sure to serve you many years over with maintenance you can perform yourself.

Pros:

Versatile and useful for most tasks
Easy to sharpen
Cleaner cuts through most materials

Cons:

Tougher materials will give a plain edge more trouble

Plain edge knives we recommend: Ontario RAT II, Kershaw Skyline, Spyderco Roadie

Serrated Edge Knives

Specialized serrations on the Leatherman Skeletool RX help first responders and EMTs cut tough fabrics like clothing and seatbelt webbing.

So what exactly are serrations? They're the teeth-like edge ground into a knife's blade, creating a long series of small edges. If you've ever handled a saw or bread knife, then you've probably seen them before.

These mini edges make it easier to cut into hardier or uneven materials where you can't apply steady pressure and have to resort to different angles of approach to cut through. Think rope, tree branches, or even a thick piece of bread—with a plain edge it would take you forever to cut through, but a serrated edge's teeth keeps your cutting momentum going once the teeth “bite” into the material.

The big drawback to serrated edges is maintenance. Lots of small edges means lots of work to sharpen all of them when they eventually start to dull down. Even though a serrated blade stays useful for longer than a plain edge knife, when it does get dull you're looking at either specialty sharpeners or a professional to get it back to factory sharpness. This makes a serrated knife a more specific-purpose type of knife compared to a general-purpose plain edge one.

Makes short work of tougher materials
Keeps its edge(s) and bite for longer than a plain edge

Does not make a clean cut because of its teeth
Harder to maintain
Useful in fewer situations overall

Serrated edge knives we recommend: Spyderco Native 5, Cold Steel Tuff Lite Serrated, Victorinox One-Handed Trekker

Combo Edge Knives

Combo edge as seen on the Benchmade Mini Griptilian.

Sometimes you just can't choose which edge you'll need for the day's tasks, or you don't want to carry two different knives with you. This is where a combo edge comes in handy, because as its name suggests, it brings both types of serration onto one edge. While this gives you the best of both worlds of utility, it also gives you twice the work of maintaining both edges on your knife.

A combo knife gives you both a plain edge and serrations, but you get less cutting length to work with on each. For the more common combo edge knives, most of the edge is a plain edge, giving you the ability to still make long and clean cuts. The plain edge is often closer to the tip than the handles to give you better leverage and precision. The serrated portion is usually nearer to the handles and your hand, giving you a better grip to push and pull when putting the serrations to use on tougher cuts.