Which direction should axle lock nuts face? After having my bike worked on recently at the LBS I noticed that my rear axle lock nuts are arranged so that the smooth/flat sides are contacting the dropouts. To clarify, I'm discussing the lock nuts that go outside the cones, not the axle/track nuts that secure everything to the frame.
I removed the wheel and loosened the lock nuts for the sake of some photos.


From observing photos of other people's axles, it seems like the rough/beveled/textured/grooved/serrated edge should face away from the center/wheel and towards the outside/frame. The opposite of how mine are installed.
As far as I can tell from my research, this is the common orientation. Rough side faces out, smooth side faces in.
             &lt;rough|smooth]             [smooth|rough&gt;

[etc] [frame] [lock nut] [etc. hub stuff] [lock nut] [frame] [etc]

The photos I've found all seem to imply the rough side touching the dropouts is the right way to do it, but I can't find any conclusive results for bike axle nut which way or bike axle nut which direction.
Is that a general rule for axle lock nuts that the rough side should always face the dropouts?
The rough side should face the frame dropout.
The roughness is designed to increase friction with the frame dropouts. This type of knurling works because the frame dropouts are un-hardened, either low-allow steel or aluminum. On the other hand the knurled washer is probably hardened (or at least harder) steel. Thus the knurling can 'bite' into the softer frame steel and increase friction.
The rough side facing against the other axle parts serves no purpose. Not only is the extra friction against the hub parts un-needed, but axle hardware like bearing races is often hardened, and such knurling will not work against other hardened parts.
That said, the knurling itself is unlikely to be critical for the function of the bike. If the axles are done up correctly, there will be plenty of friction even without the knurling against the frame. So I think it was assembled wrong, it shouldn't cause a problem.