Serrated or smooth wheel?

Bill Coye

Bill Coye

Knife Maker
Okay guys, which one do you use and when?

I've spoken to quite a few knife makers about this subject. Some say "the serrated wheel is just for hogging off material...use the smooth wheel for finish work".

Another school of thought has been one or the other - a smooth or serrated wheel is used for all aspects of the build including handle shaping.

I've used a smooth wheel for all four months of my knife making career...whew, long time, huh?

However there is now a 8" serrated wheel on it's way to my shop via Rob Frink.




What say you?
 
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I make 95% of my knives using a 5" and 2" smooth wheel. I use the 8" for really big blades and for fine tuning my profiles.
-John
 
I used a serated and a smooth wheel for 14 years but now I just use the smooth.... I haven't noticed any difference.
 
Smooth wheels for me. but chris reeves use's serrated for all his knives. and my friend gondon use's a serrated wheel. I know you said newt use's serrated wheels. his stuff is awesome. so there must be something to it...it just dosn't make sense to me. smooth seems like it would give a better finish...
 
Jeff Pearce said:
Smooth wheels for me. but chris reeves use's serrated for all his knives. and my friend gondon use's a serrated wheel. I know you said newt use's serrated wheels. his stuff is awesome. so there must be something to it...it just dosn't make sense to me. smooth seems like it would give a better finish...
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Thanks for the input guys -

Yes, Newt Martin does indeed use a serrated wheel for everything, as does his father Ed.

I guess it's like anything else. My Paramedic partner handed me a #4 MacIntosh laryngoscope blade to manage a trauma patients airway one night back in 1990. That's what I used for the next 17 years even though there were good, solid arguments for other types of equipment.

Whatever works best for the individual.

BC
 
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I really like the 8" serrated wheel on my square wheel grinder. it grinds a lot cooler and give's a great finish...

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Sereated for fast removal and smooth for finish work. The Wilton will eat the steel up but change to a smooth at that speed you will burn. IF it was variable speed then would work nice. I did the hollow grind demo at my house and used a sereated 8 inch wheel to cut fast then went to a 800 rpm 10 inch to define the hollow. I do all the rest of the finish on the 10 inch slow speed.
 
One maker, whose name escapes me, told me that the serrated wheel runs cooler especially on courser grit belts. He said that serrated wheels with the gator belts was hard to beat for really moving metal. I imagine it would be great for production type work.

I have only used one one time and there was no extra bump to it. I couldn't really tell any difference between it and a smooth one that I could feel.

Carey
 
I started on serrated wheels back in the 80's, I never even knew (or thought about it) that there were smooth wheels except my small wheels for a few years. I now have a few of each and the only differences I did notice was that I can lay over(the edge) heavey grit belts better on a serrated wheel and push harder. I never noticed any difference in finish. If you don't know any better, you make what you have work I guess.

Rudy
 
Gil Hibben taught me to make knives and he uses serrated for everything so I've used serrated for everything until just recently getting a smooth. The only difference I can tell is the smooth gets the blade hot quick. If I could only have one it would be serrated for sure.
 
Cliff Fendley said:
I've used serrated for everything until just recently getting a smooth. The only difference I can tell is the smooth gets the blade hot quick. If I could only have one it would be serrated for sure.
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Same here I used serrated for years . Sent my 10 inch to be redone as a smooth and I don't like it near as well. My 8 inch is serrated and if I get it redone it will go back the same.
 
I have a 8"& 10" smooth and a 8" serrated I have to say i like the serrated better .I can grind longer with out heating up and i would have to say i get as good if not better quality grinds .I like the radius grinds at the plunge with the serrated.
 
In my experience the following holds true:

Serrated wheel: Removes material at a higher rate, but leaves an overall rougher finish compared to the same grit belt on a smooth wheel.

Smooth wheel: Removes material at a lesser rate than a serrated, but leaves an overall smoother finish, compared to the same grit belt on a serrated wheel.

I always try to get new makers to start out with a smooth wheel. I do this because it removes material less aggressively, and leaves a smoother finish, it allows a less experienced maker to realize more early successes, by forcing them to go a little slower.

I have both types in the shop, and find that serrated wheels are generally what I use when I want to remove material quickly, no matter what grit belt is being used. My platens and small wheels are all smooth....which forces me to go slower, and in turn, will usually make me pay more attention to what I'm doing.
 
In all of my 10 (ten) months of knife making experience, I've found I do 90% of my work on a serrated wheel: profile, rough grind, finish grind and run my scotch brite belts on it too.

I have a 10", 8", 4" and 2" smooth wheels and one 8" serrated.

Although one wheel may be designed for a specific, stated purpose it still boils down to what works best for you. This isn't a square peg/round hole scenario.

BC
 
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