Obviously a straight edge is the traditional way to make a sword, however, we now have serrated blades that last much longer than a straight edge. Is there anyone out there that makes a serrated sword?

Chen

How large/big large a series of serrations??

I hadnt put much thought into that part. I would guess a tight grouping would be better, like a ginsu.

Chen

Reason I ask is that depending on what you were planning on cutting----small--as in "micro serrations" might (MIGHT) be better.

Depending on what I want to cut huh? Well, I want the sharpest and strongest blade possible. I want to be able to cut through anything. i know that isnt possible, but I want to get as close as i can anyways.

might as well just use a saw blade for something like that.

there are some knives that are forged with all kinds of wavy edges which do a number on whatever they're cutting.

serrated swords look very ugly and untraditional though. i'm not sure there's many places in the world where serrated swords were very common at any point in history.

I think it would be a thing of destructive beauty

Depends on the type of sword you are seeking. As far as Katana I have only seen serrated blades on some cheap "fantasy" swords. Suitable only for hanging on a wall in the garage or sale at the local flea market. Serrated swords are nothing new. The ancient greeks used them. There are several types of medieval long swords with serrated edges, actually more saw like then closely serrated. They were just big can openers designed for use on chain mail and light plate armor. The British War Museum and the Austrian War Museum have some lovely examples.As far as swords made in Japan and China, I am not aware of any either ancient or modern.

Chen

That's kinda the problem, most blades are crafted for specifc use---a serrated edge would be very good vs some targets, much less effective vs others.

Not being a metal craft I'm assueming here--but I would think that a serrated edge would be really good vs flesh/soft targets.

Much less effective vs armor or hard target.

Nobody wears armor in "old" sense anymore--but then again, nobody carries swords around either.

Carbides in the steel (especially those from overhardened sections such as from folding or wootz) give an "aggressive" edge which has microserrations making cuts easier. However, if you mean actual serrations on a blade, there are some problems:

1: Sharpening. How the heck do you do it? To get an effective cut (instead of a saw), you need not only the teeth to pierce, but the blade as well. That means every tooth would have to be sharpened not only on the tip, but on the edge as well. That would take an enormous amount of time.

2: Chipping/breaking. If you use a hacksaw, you will see that the teeth start breaking off after a while, especially when cutting steel. This is due to the fact that you have hard points with very little support. With a hacksaw, you can replace the blade. With a sword, that'll cost you ten grand. Ever wonder why kitchen knives aren't serrated? If you lose a tooth in your meat by levering on a bone, that's a real pain to get out and you may have to sacrifice your steak. Your bread knife, however, is serrated so you can saw through the loaf.

3: Serrations are difficult and expensive to make. The bread knife is the most expensive out of a set of knives for a reason. Now, try doing this over a two foot region on top of all the requirements for a normal sword. You are looking at a master smith to do this even partially well, and even using stock removal, it would take an inordinate amount of the smith's time.