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Abe Elias

How to Sharpen a Serrated Knife

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How to sharpen a serrated knife
The broad cone of the GATCO Scepter 2.0 comes in handy when working on the wide serrations of the CRKT Fossil.

How to Sharpen a Serrated Knife: Quick Tips

  • Use a small sharpening rod
  • Lock the rod into a “gullet,” the groove of the serration
  • Work the rod with slow, smooth motions away from the knife, applying light pressure
  • Work the rod in one direction; don’t rub it back and forth
  • Don’t sharpen wider than the serration

Sharpening Rods are Musts for Sharpening Serrated Knives

No matter what edge style of knife you carry, it must be sharpened. In the case of serrated blades, you need specialized tools, called sharpening rods.

Some rods, like the ones you’ll typically find in a kitchen, are large. Those won’t be helpful for working with small serrations. You need to find a small rod that will lock into place inside the serration. Don’t worry about sizing, though. Most small sharpening rods are tapered so that you’ll have the right fit no matter what.

Practice Makes Perfect

Learning how to sharpen serrated knives is like any other technique—you need practice to get good at it. I recommend buying some cheap knives and practicing before you move on to your $200 Spyderco. Also, remember that not all diamond sharpeners are created equal. Diamonds are manufactured and certain diamonds are more durable than others—then again, that’s a topic for a different time.

Know Your Geometry

There are a couple of key points about geometry for learning how to sharpen a knife with serrations.

As with a plain edge, you are polishing a surface. In the case of serrated blades, there are two geometries to work.

One is the gullet. The gullet is the internal section that normally has a curved shape between the points of a serrated edge. Since sharp gullets are necessary, many people mistakenly focus too much on the gullets and not enough on the teeth of the pattern. The teeth do the initial entry into the material and begin the cut.

Hence, when sharpening serrated blades you not only polish the gullet of the serration but also re-point the teeth at the same time. Much like sharpening a saw, you reform the teeth and restore the geometry of the teeth along with the geometry of the gullet.

Four Sharpeners for Sharpening Serrated Rods

How to sharpen serrated knives
From left, with manufacturer’s suggested retail prices in parentheses: Accusharp Diamond Compact Sharpener ($11.99); Smith’s Diamond Retractable Sharpener ($7.99); GATCO Scepter 2.0 ($25.95); and DMT Diafold Serrated Sharpener ($32.99). The knife is the author’s Spyderco Civilian.
Serrated knife sharpeners
The foursome in the closed position, from left: GATCO Scepter 2.0, DMT Diafold Serrated Sharpener, Smith’s Diamond
Retractable Sharpener and Accusharp Diamond Compact Sharpener.

Here’s a good place to start. Our lineup of four sharpeners consists of the GATCO Scepter 2.0, Smith’s Diamond Retractable Sharpener, DMT Diafold serrated sharpener and Accusharp Diamond Compact Sharpener.

GATCO Scepter 2.0

Serrated knife sharpening tips
The GATCO is a bit of a multi-tool with, from
right, a carbide sharpener, diamond cone and a ferrocerium rod all in one.

Of the four, the GATCO Scepter 2.0 is more multi-tool than sharpener only.

If you are into gadgets that serve more than one purpose, the Scepter 2.0 is for you. It has two tungsten-carbide blades for sharpening, a ferrocerium rod and a diamond cone sharpener. All are in a compact package that resembles a tactical pen. The diamond rod has a groove for sharpening fishhooks.

The cone has a medium-grade texture and a broad taper. The cone is 3.75 inches long and tapers from .113 to .392 of an inch in diameter. Why does the taper matter? If the taper is steep, during sharpening you will have a shorter cut as the cone will get too wide too quickly for some smaller serrations. Overall length: 6.125 inches.

If you’re looking for a sharpener as an everyday carry tool, the Scepter 2.0 is a good choice. The cone is a bit chunky but works fine for all but the smallest serrations. I am not a big fan of carbide sharpening blades because they hog off a lot of metal, though I don’t mind them on rough cutting tools. I haven’t had the Scepter long enough to testify to the durability of the diamond cone but so far it is holding up well.

Smith’s Diamond Retractable Sharpener

Sharpen a serrated knife
The Smith’s rod has three surfaces—flat, conical and round (inset)—to tackle any number of sharpening jobs. The flat surface in combination with the diamond cone makes it easy to sharpen combo-edge blades.

Smith’s Diamond Retractable Sharpener is the trimmest of the group and looks like a pen when collapsed. It is possible to use the cone shape to sharpen a plain edge, but with the Smith’s model the diamond coated sharpener has two ends.

One end has a flat section and the other is tapered for serrated edges. Of the group the Smith’s hone has the most aggressive grit. The body of the holder is aluminum and has a pen clip. (The GATCO Scepter could use a pen clip to complete it.) Closed length: 5.187 inches.

Again, I could see this tool in someone’s EDC kit, a tackle box or camping gear. At the tip the cone measures .06 inch and at the widest point .256 inch in diameter. With such a fine tip expanding in size over its 2.375-inch length, the Smith’s hone sharpens a wide range of serration styles. At a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $7.99, it does not have to last a lifetime to pay for itself.

DMT Diafold

Serrated knife sharpening tips
A sharpener with a fine tip like the DMT Diafold is needed to get small serration patterns back to sharp again.

The DMT Diafold serrated sharpener comes in three color-coded grits: coarse (blue) 325 mesh or 45 micron, fine (red) 600 mesh or 25 micron, and X fine (green) 1200 mesh or 9 micron. I used the red.

Of the quartet it was the longest, finest-grit tapered cone. Overall length: 4.5 inches. It tapers in diameter from .62 inch at the tip to .25 inch at the base.

To store the sharpening cone DMT uses a folding handle system similar to a butterfly knife. The handle is a clear polycarbonate. At 5 inches closed and as with the others the Diafold is compact enough to be EDC’d.

I’ve had a number of DMT Diafolds over the years and they are still in working order. You have to use some of the diamond sharpeners a lot before they will wear out. I will say when open, the very appearance of the Diafold can send shivers down your spine as it resembles an icepick. It works well and if you like something with a fuller handle to it, a Diafold might be your shtick.

Accusharp Diamond Compact Sharpener

Accusharp serrated knife sharpener
Accusharp uses a friction fit to hold the Diamond Compact Sharpener open and closed.

The Accusharp Diamond Compact Sharpener is 3.125 inches long with inch diameters of .06 at the tip and .305 at the base. A plastic body with a rubberized coating houses the unit—definitely low tech and follows the K.I.S.S. principle. A friction fit holds the sharpener open and closed. The fit is tight and you don’t have to worry about the two sides separating accidentally. An integral pen clip is on the main body’s housing. The clip doesn’t seem robust and I can see it eventually snapping off.

The sharpener has a medium-grit diamond coating and functioned well during testing. Accusharp includes a hook groove I find rather large. Maybe it’s for big fish. The closed length is the shortest of the group: 4.75 inches.

I like the design because as with the Smith’s sharpener it appears to be a standard pen as opposed to the GATCO model’s large-tactical-pen look. If you want to carry a sharpener and not let anyone know you have one so you aren’t constantly loaning it out, the Smith’s might be the ticket. As far as feel, the handle diameter is nice and comfortable.

 

Know Your Knives: What is a Recurve Blade?

A blade’s profile geometry has a considerable effect on how well the knife works for an intended use. A blade with a substantial curve facilitates slicing cuts along the length of the edge, as on skinners and some butcher knives, such as steak scimitars. Straighter blades work well for tip control and power cutting.

A recurve combines features of a couple of blade styles. Depending on the size of the knife and its intended use, the recurve provides certain benefits. The edge line is “S”-like in shape. The overall form leaves the front part of the blade with a sweeping curve. Such a curve provides the edge with belly for slicing and plow/furrow-like cuts, along with the ability to do detailed cuts using a reverse pinch grip.

Are Recurve Blades Better?

Recurve edge definition
You can see how material being cut can get locked in the pocket of a recurve blade, here with the Ronin Shinto.

As to which cuts work best with which knife, it depends on the other characteristics mentioned in the story. On large knives such as choppers, the use of a recurve gives the blade a weight-forward advantage.

Simply adding length to a blade does make it heavier by default, but, to actually have a weight-forward design, the front half of the blade needs to have more weight than the back. The idea is to look at the weight of the blade and not the whole knife to classify it as “weight-forward.”

Near the handle the recurve forms a pocket, which tends to lock material in. The subsequent curve formed by the pocket provides a leading edge to a cut, depending on the curve’s circumference. A leading edge is an edge angle that leads into the work, as opposed to approaching the cut at 90 degrees to the material. You can also generate a leading edge by angling a straight blade while cutting. On a recurve, the arch formed by the pocket provides a leading edge.


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Trend Watch: 3 Knives with Pistol Grips

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Pistol grip knife handles
Pistol-grip knives from left, with manufacturer’s suggested retail prices in parentheses: Outdoor Edge Game Skinner ($88.95), ESEE Tertiary ($103.99) and TOPS Knives ATAX ($225).

Pistol grips aren’t only for firearms; they’re functional designs for knives, too. Here is a review of three examples.

Solid Build: ESEE Tertiary

ESEE Tertiary Push Dagger
The ESEE Tertiary was super sharp out of the box. The author used the knife to make aggressive slashes on a work jersey suspended from a hanger. A good test for an edge is not necessarily cutting something hard but something loose that could easily recoil from the edge when cutting. If the edge is sharp enough not to push the material but sever it, then the edge is truly sharp.

The ESEE Tertiary is a standard push dagger design. According to ESEE, SWAT officer Lee Smith designed the knife and named it “Tertiary” because of its place in a person’s weapons system. That is, first there’s your primary firearm, then your back up and then the Tertiary, which is for hand-to-hand.

It is a double-edged knife with top blade grinds. The top grind extends a third of the blade length only. The blade profile is that of a drop point. It is important to remember that a double-edged knife is illegal in some states (one such state is Michigan). Check your local knife laws whenever you choose a knife for everyday carry (EDC).

ESEE Tertiary push dagger review
The Tertiary sheath’s clip can be changed to accommodate right- or left-handed carries and vertical or horizontal positioning. The large hole in the tip of the sheath allows you to rig the Tertiary as a neck knife as well.
ESEE Sheath push dagger edc
The Tertiary comes with a molded sheath that sports a steel belt clip for you to attach the knife on a waistband, boot or assorted gear.

The Tertiary is a full-tang design with the blade positioned between the index and middle fingers. It has a flat-ground blade of 1095 carbon steel with a textured powder coat and textured G-10 scales.

The knife works as expected as a push dagger. For an edge to get the job done it takes getting used to the grip, but you can do minor chores like the type you normally encounter.

After a while, though, the pressure of the post between the two fingers really starts a hot spot. For the most part, given the nature of ESEE’s push dagger, I would carry a folder to do my EDC work and leave the Tertiary concealed and out of sight.

Comfy Classic: Outdoor Edge Game Skinner

Outdoor Edge Game Skinner Knife Review
The author tested the Game Skinner gut hook on a number of materials, including pulling it through a jersey with only the weight of the shirt holding it in place. How razor sharp does an edge have to be to slice a loose material instead of dragging it?

When it won the BLADE Magazine 1988 Imported Design Of-The-Year Award, the Outdoor Edge Game Skinner took the world of hunting knives by storm. It remained an Outdoor Edge mainstay ever since, and appears to have been ahead of its time.

As the name implies, the knife is for skinning game. It combines a blade edge with a gut hook. It is a beefy specimen with a 3.25-inch blade that is 2 inches wide. A hollow grind forms the main edge. The blade is AUS-8 stainless steel. I have had plenty of good knives made of AUS-8. It all depends on the heat treat and grind.

The handle is a textured, molded Kraton. I was impressed with it. It is brawny yet still comfortable, and the textured grip along with the slight give of the rubber kept the knife steadfast in my hand no matter how slimy things got.

Outdoor Edge Pistol Grip Push Dagger
The molded grip of the Outdoor Edge Game Skinner is designed for a three-finger hold. The rounded spine makes it easier to use a pinch grip and enables you to put forward pressure on draw cuts while maintaining a comfortable position.

During testing on leather, meat and hair on hide pieces, the edge held up well. The blade belly makes slicing cuts easy to perform, helping you get in there and skin. As for the gut hook, you might as well have a zipper on the animal.

It comes with a well-built leather sheath with snap closure. Though I personally wouldn’t have much use for this knife on my belt, I would keep it with my gear until it was time to field dress game. If you see yourself using this style of knife for hunting, it is a good quality edged tool. Over the years, I have learned that many hunters have their own style of cutlery they like to use and their own way of handling it.

Multi-Functional Tool: TOPS Knives ATAX

TOPS Knife Reviews
The author extended the ATAX handle using a piece of dry wood to make an axe for light chopping. For heavier use he would have used green wood and lashed the top. The addition of a long handle creates an obvious physical advantage.

From the get-go the TOPS Knives ATAX is one of those knives that catches your eye and maybe inspires a little pupil dilation.

The knife is designed as a multifunction tool. I have to say, though, sometimes you end up with something that does many things but never any one of them exceptionally well. Looking at the overall design, I would be more apt to see the ATAX as an ulu variant over a push dagger.

TOPS has been selling the knife for years. It is the design of the late Ron Hood. There are so many different tools involved in it that it would take a while to review each one. I will try to hit the main functions for now. The blade is quarter-inch-thick 1095 carbon steel with a powder coating. The handle is a black Micarta® affixed with screws. A saber grind forms the cutting edge, which I found too chunky for doing standard chores easily. The edge runs parallel to the grip just like on an ulu, but the grind is so thick that manipulations of the edge are difficult—not impossible but difficult. The design could be a great meat processor with a higher grind.

TOPS Knives ATAX push dagger knife review
Use a rocking motion to remove the ATAX from the sheath. As the knife emerges the sharp tip presents itself, which the author stated he found a bit dangerous.

There are a number of ways to complete a cut with the knife, as the platform allows you a variety of holds. For instance, holding it upside down enabled me to better do things like whittling or shaving. The ATAX requires getting familiar with, and even then some using methods are more practical than others.

Taking a long period to set up your handholds and the material for cuts should be balanced with the practicality of effort toward the job being done. One of the design purposes for the knife is to attach it to a stick and use it as an axe. The thick edge serves the chopper feature well and allows the ATAX to take a beating. Still, as noted, the grind does many things but none exceptionally well.

Other tools designed into the ATAX are a range finder, clinometer, compass, bowl drill socket and wire cutter. A molded Kydex sheath with double steel clips provides Scout carry. The way the sheath operates gives me cause for concern as the method of drawing the knife from the sheath can easily result in injury if you are not paying close attention.

Unsheathing requires a rocking motion that leads with the pointed part of the curved edge. You will want to make sure everything is clear of the blade tip as it rocks free.

The design shows ingenuity and in a pinch serves as a backup tool. Would I want it as my primary knife? I would have to do some major changes to the edge geometry, as the ulu-style use is very serviceable.

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Knife Review: 3 Cleavers For Thanksgiving And Beyond

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Are These Hot Cleavers Any Good For Thanksgiving?

Cleaver knife review
Top down, with manufacturer’s suggested retail prices in parentheses: ESEE
Expat Cleaver ($276.50), TOPS El Chappo ($145) and Benchmade Nestucca ($155).
Sheaths for cleavers
The Expat has a break-free leather sheath (left). A bungee cord holds the El Chappo in its minimalist Kydex sheath (middle). The Nestucca’s leather sheath (right) is minimalist as well.

For this review, I tested three cleavers: the ESEE Expat Knives Cleaver, TOPS Knives El Chappo and Benchmade Nestucca. Are these popular models suitable for a Thanksgiving feast?

ESEE Expat Cleaver Review

ESEE Expat Cleaver knife test
Splitting the breastbone was child’s play with the heavy-duty ESEE Expat Cleaver. Even without a large cleaver, the easy technique is to line up your edge and place pressure on the spine of the blade with your other hand. The technique enables you to cut through without having to make a lot of sawing motions.

Verdict: To be truthful, I don’t think ESEE means for this cleaver to be popping in and out of a kitchen drawer.

  • Overall length: 11.5 inches
  • Full-tang construction of .187-inch-thick 1095 carbon steel
  • G-10 scales
  • Blade width: 3.25 inches
  • Grind: sabre
  • Weight: 25.5 ounces

The ESEE Expat Cleaver is the big brute out of the test group. Frankly, it comes across as a bit of a heavy chopping tool.

To be clear, though, even though I tested the cleaver on food, ESEE does not advertise it as a food-processing knife since the coating is not certified FDA approved. Consequently, just because I am testing it this way there is no official recommendation to use it on food.
For those of us from the land of the moose, I can see the Expat being a more precise tool than a chainsaw. (Yes, some use chainsaws to field dress moose up here.) I drove up and down the highway looking for a moose to no avail, so off to the chicken test to see if the cleaver couldn’t be tamed into a precision kitchen tool.

When brought under control, the shear mass of the Expat makes cutting easy. Overall length: 11.5 inches. It is a full-tang construction of .187-inch-thick 1095 carbon steel with G-10 scales. Having a blade 3.25 inches wide makes it a handful. Weight: 25.5 ounces. All the weight gives it more cutting power when chopping or making exacting cuts.

A tradeoff for the weight can be control, and, don’t kid yourself, fatigue. After all, that’s close to 2 pounds of knife! As for its efficiency as a straight-out chopper, the answer is obvious.

Trying to choke up with a pinch grip at the top of the handle to gain control can be a bit difficult with so much metal. The final resting place for my hand to gain control for fine detail work was high up on the blade. Having a grip so high up means it is not easy to drop your hand back to grip the cleaver for chopping. Making clean, accurate cuts is possible, though the chunkiness of the grind made it harder.

As a woods tool, it was a brute chopping branches. The sabre grind is nice and sturdy—great for busting up kindling and small firewood. If you want to do detail carving with it, you will have to work out your holding technique.

TOPS Knives El Chappo Review

El Chappo knife test
The El Chappo by TOPS Knives has a good cutting edge and plenty of weight. Even if you are not dead on with the joint, you should have no problem cutting through cartilage. You want to try not to hit the cartilage but a heavy cleaver is forgiving that way.

Verdict: a stylized cleaver—a chopper with charm.

  • 11 inches overall with a 6-inch blade
  • Weight: 15.9 ounces
  • Grind: sabre
  • Blade thickness: .187 inches
  • Steel: 1095

Instead of just making a sheet of metal, TOPS went ahead and gave its cleaver style. It is made from .187-inch-thick 1095 carbon steel, so don’t think it’s going to see the inside of a dishwasher with any success.

It’s 11 inches overall with a 6-inch blade. As cleavers go it’s mid-size. Weight: 15.9 ounces. The balance for controlled cutting is just in front of the handle. To drop back to do some chopping, do so with a flick of the wrist. While the cleaver may be in the mid-size category, the use of .187-inch thick material makes it a bit heavy, even with a high sabre grind.

TOPS Knives cleaver review
The El Chappo has weight (15.9 ounces) but is not so heavy that accurate control is difficult.

Out of the box it was razor sharp. I think the El Chappo is totally targeted for the kitchen and did well with the chicken test. I must say, though, I am not overly excited with the handle design. The profile of the finger grooves does not lend itself to the nimble work of a kitchen tool.

For me at least, if the El Chappo had the handle design of the ESEE Expat it would be rocking. Still, it performed well in the kitchen. As a tool to prepare meals it works fine. It might not get the cutting time it should, however, because of the weight.

If you need a big chopper in your field dressing kit, here it is. TOPS provides a minimalist Kydex sheath held onto the blade with a bungee cord. It performs well, though I can see the cord needing replacement after a while.

Benchmade Nestucca Review

Benchmade Nestucca knife review
Most times you can line up on a joint by finding the fat line and cutting down. If you aren’t dead on you will be very close to one side or the other, as here with the Benchmade Nestucca.

Verdict: A versatile design limited by few things.

  • 6.5 inches overall
  • 4-inch blade
  • .140-inch-thick CPM S30V
  • G-10 scales

Knife names are getting tougher to find, though Benchmade must have dug deep to pull out Nestucca. It is named after a river in Benchmade’s home state of Oregon—or I at least assume it is named for the river and not Nestucca High School.

Once you see the Nestucca it’s obvious this chopper is a small skinner/utility knife. Built with the influence of an Alaskan ulu, the cutting action of the blade is mainly short curved strokes to optimize the use of the full edge. Unfortunately, this review came just before hunting season.

I can tell you, however, not every knife must be big to clean big game. It has a good, nimble grip and gimping to support multiple holds, including choking up on the blade. Measuring 6.5 inches overall it has a 4-inch blade of .140-inch-thick CPM S30V stainless steel.

Benchmade ulu knife test
To gain more control and make precision cuts, Benchmade has added gimping right behind the tip of the Nestucca, giving your index finger a solid platform.

Benchmade’s choice of thickness stumps me a bit, as 3/32 inch is .157 inch thick, and 1/8 inch is .125 inch thick. Talk about splitting hairs!

Quick in hand, the G-10 scales are textured to aid in gripping a wet handle. They work well. I can see the Nestucca being a great field cleaning tool. There is enough versatility to the design that it is the kind of knife limited by few things physical, and open to a keen eye and hand. The sheath is a simple, clean design with no loop for belt carry, so the tool will rest in the bottom of a bag or pack.

For kitchen use it would be useful, but I see it more as a trusty field knife waiting for mid-to-small-size game or even fish.

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