Ditto on the Tip Up.
Recently, I got a flurry of knives in (and my CC is really hurtin' because of it) and it seems that almost all of them are configured as tip-up only, or tip-up out of the factory. The only ones that weren't was the micarta Calypso Jr (which is tip-down only) and the trailing-point Lil' Temperance, which I quickly reconfigured for tip-up carry. Even the Salsa is tip-up only.
Your Preference: Tip Up vs. Tip Down
Tip down is the only way to go. This is purely a safety issue with me.
Years ago I had a tip up liner lock (production, not custom and NOT a Spyderco) come open in my pocket and when I put on my pants it felt like a grassburr scratched my leg. It was a scratch that took seven stitches to close!
The liner lock failed to provide enough tension to keep the blade closed. So with liner locks, compression locks, etc. I will stay with tip down.
Lockbacks OTOH have sufficent pressure on the blade to prevent unintentional opening and I will carry those tip up.
GD
I just thought of something....what if this thing can read minds? He's gonna be real mad when he gets to me.
Years ago I had a tip up liner lock (production, not custom and NOT a Spyderco) come open in my pocket and when I put on my pants it felt like a grassburr scratched my leg. It was a scratch that took seven stitches to close!
The liner lock failed to provide enough tension to keep the blade closed. So with liner locks, compression locks, etc. I will stay with tip down.
Lockbacks OTOH have sufficent pressure on the blade to prevent unintentional opening and I will carry those tip up.
GD
I just thought of something....what if this thing can read minds? He's gonna be real mad when he gets to me.
Tip up. That's the way my Native carries, and that's the way I learned to draw it.
However, Tip-down can be just as fast, depending on how you grab the knife. In the following, I'm assuming that wrist-flick opening means grabbing the blade and flicking the handle open, ending in the same position as the thumb open. For handle wrist-flicking to hold the blade like a dagger, tip-up is definitely best, with the knife carried blade toward the center of your body.
Tip-up, wrist-flick open: knife rotates relative to your hand as you draw. Some shifting is required to move your hand from handle to blade.
Tip-down, wrist-flick: knife moves with your hand, but again a little shifting is necessary to move your fingers from handle to blade.
Tip-up, thumb open: Knife is very secure in your hand from the moment you grab it. Little or no shifting is necessary to open the blade.
Tip-down, thumb open: knife rotates in your hand, some shifting necessary to position the knife to open.
So, going strictly by security of your grip on the knife, tip-up is best for thumbing open, tip down works better for wrist-flick opening, because in both of these, the knife moves and rotates with your hand. However, with practice, any of these can be done quickly. Tip-up is best overall because it requires the least shifting for either opening method. What I'd like to see would be a clip system that allows you to position the knife tip up or down. Maybe a combination of the three-screw tip-down carry and the barrel-screw tip-up carry put into one clip. There are a couple Spydies that allow both tip-up and tip-down carry, but it would be great to have more, especially on some of the larger models.
However, Tip-down can be just as fast, depending on how you grab the knife. In the following, I'm assuming that wrist-flick opening means grabbing the blade and flicking the handle open, ending in the same position as the thumb open. For handle wrist-flicking to hold the blade like a dagger, tip-up is definitely best, with the knife carried blade toward the center of your body.
Tip-up, wrist-flick open: knife rotates relative to your hand as you draw. Some shifting is required to move your hand from handle to blade.
Tip-down, wrist-flick: knife moves with your hand, but again a little shifting is necessary to move your fingers from handle to blade.
Tip-up, thumb open: Knife is very secure in your hand from the moment you grab it. Little or no shifting is necessary to open the blade.
Tip-down, thumb open: knife rotates in your hand, some shifting necessary to position the knife to open.
So, going strictly by security of your grip on the knife, tip-up is best for thumbing open, tip down works better for wrist-flick opening, because in both of these, the knife moves and rotates with your hand. However, with practice, any of these can be done quickly. Tip-up is best overall because it requires the least shifting for either opening method. What I'd like to see would be a clip system that allows you to position the knife tip up or down. Maybe a combination of the three-screw tip-down carry and the barrel-screw tip-up carry put into one clip. There are a couple Spydies that allow both tip-up and tip-down carry, but it would be great to have more, especially on some of the larger models.
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minimarc123
- Member
- Posts: 115
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
My first spydie was a calypso jr. FRN, and I would twist my wrist, so that when I took the knife out of my pocket, and held it naturally, it was positioned so that the tip faced up... then I did I quick flick, while holding on to the blade.
But I found the tip down a little fussy when thumb opening, which is what I normally do, so my next desent sized knife will probably be a tip up native, for smooth tip up opening. Plus, if it turns out to be harder, even better! something new to learn
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But I found the tip down a little fussy when thumb opening, which is what I normally do, so my next desent sized knife will probably be a tip up native, for smooth tip up opening. Plus, if it turns out to be harder, even better! something new to learn
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