Spyderco Forums

Sorry. I just can't stand them. Main reason is side to side motion isn't very secure. Also, wear marks on the handle from use are very prevalent.

I also find they catch and bend easier. Not my favorites either, but not a deal breaker or anything.

My experience with bent clips is minimal, only a couple. Both have been stamped vs the wire clips but I do own more with stamped clips tho.

I like the wire clips. Mine all have good retention and I've never had a problem with side to side movement. I find they have a good balance of retention and ease of putting in pocket.

I like both clip ! :p
Both have something for the knife they are on.

I like them on small light knives, I like hourglass on medium sized and up. Weight is the deciding factor for me. I had absolutely no problem with my Manix 2 LW having a wire clip but I wouldn't want it on my G10 Manix 2. I think they definitely have their place though. I wouldn't want an hourglass clip on a Dragonfly.

Evil D wrote:I like them on small light knives, I like hourglass on medium sized and up. Weight is the deciding factor for me. I had absolutely no problem with my Manix 2 LW having a wire clip but I wouldn't want it on my G10 Manix 2. I think they definitely have their place though. I wouldn't want an hourglass clip on a Dragonfly.

+1 to everything ED said.

I also really enjoy the wire clip on my S110V Manix LW but couldn't imagine having one on something like my Military or even a Pacific Salt.

No problems here with the wire clips. They're great on the Manix LW.

I have no problem with any of my knives with wire clips, even heavier ones like the SuperLeaf.
I really have come to appreciate the Spyderco clips.

But, I do agree that it's unfortunate that these clips do rub the handle material

To me the wire clips are a lot more ergonomic if you actually do cutting with your knives. The hourglass clips aren't rounded enough on the edges and hot spot my hands on anything but light cutting. I wish they used wire clips on more knives. To solve the side to side movement I'm sure a heavier gauge wire would solve that.

gunmike1 wrote:To me the wire clips are a lot more ergonomic if you actually do cutting with your knives. The hourglass clips aren't rounded enough on the edges and hot spot my hands on anything but light cutting. I wish they used wire clips on more knives. To solve the side to side movement I'm sure a heavier gauge wire would solve that.

Yeah, I got into a short phase at one point where I thought a lot of these "custom" aftermarket deep carry clips were the best mod you could do, and I was temporarily disappointed I couldn't put some on my wire clip equipped knives.
Then, after spending all the money on them and installing on various knives, I realized the hard way that they all just kill the ergos when in use! Really only a vanity modification that sacrifices function.

The stock Spyderco clips really are the best, whether wire or hourglass.

Evil D wrote:I like them on small light knives, I like hourglass on medium sized and up. Weight is the deciding factor for me. I had absolutely no problem with my Manix 2 LW having a wire clip but I wouldn't want it on my G10 Manix 2. I think they definitely have their place though. I wouldn't want an hourglass clip on a Dragonfly.

Yeah...I'm changing my answer to this one. ^

Agree with Evil D. Could not imagine my Caly 3.5 without the wire clip. Love it. And I like the hourglass on the endura and para 2. I've had more bent hourglass clips but they may also be due to the kind of environments those knives are in.

Evil D wrote:I like them on small light knives, I like hourglass on medium sized and up. Weight is the deciding factor for me. I had absolutely no problem with my Manix 2 LW having a wire clip but I wouldn't want it on my G10 Manix 2. I think they definitely have their place though. I wouldn't want an hourglass clip on a Dragonfly.

That's hitting the nail on the head. I couldn't agree more.

low riding wire clips are the best. I can only wish that all my Natives had them.

Exactly....I agree, they are great for lighter knives.
I've carried 2-LW Manix 2s and a Cat quite a bit. No problems. I have not carried my Sages a lot, but so far so good.
Also, the wire clip doesn't seem like it would work well with a longer handled knives even if fairly light.

I think 99% of the problems people have with them would be solved if they could be bent so that they sat closer down to the handle scale, but I'm not sure if the wire can be bent to that tight of a radius. I wouldn't even mind if the hourglass clips were 1/16 or so lower to the clip.

I've replaced all of my clips with Casey Lynch clips :-) Love them.

Also don't care much for the wire clips, prefer stamped. I do have have few with the wire clip and carry them but they just seem a little flimsy to me.

Another +1 for Evil's first comment...

For the knifes I carry most, I greatly prefer the wire clips. So much so, that it is actually a big influence on whether or not I want to purchase a new knife at this point. I just find that they are generally far more comfortable / less noticeable when the knife is in hand. I've also had no issues with bending or durability because in my experience, they actually tend to hang up less on stuff I'm walking past than the stamped clips do. When they do hang on stuff, they also tend to do less damage. I've scratched the **** out of a few things by snagging with a stamped steel clip. Plus, I just think the wire clips look nicer on most knives.

But as Evil said, it really does depend on the size and weight and general design of the knife. No question the stamped clips feel sturdier, but I just don't think they're necessary for smaller, lighter, or "gentleman" style knives.