Show me how you carry your tips

[RLDubbya]

Last night was a bad night for the fatman, came extremely close to 911; finally took enough hydromorph to (according to my pain management doctor) kill a horse, and the pain was controlled, although I couldn't sleep. When one cannot sleep, one surfs.

I came across a thread in this forum in which various folks decried a new model knife for a couple reasons; one of the biggest, however, was that it was configured only for tip down carry. Adding insult to injury, the lanyard hole was located on what would be the bottom of the knife when it was clipped to a piece of clothing. I was surprised that so many people thought this clip orientation was a showstopper; I was more surprised only by the vehemence with which that opinion was expressed.

Why?

Well, when I told folks that I did not have a Millie, a lot of people told me that the best one to get was the limited edition sprint for Knife Works in 204p steel and green G10 - it had enough other changes that people were telling me it was basically a fabled "Millie 1.5." It was on sale at the time, I think $20 was knocked off the normal price; I decided to pull the trigger and buy it. I'm about as happy with this Millie as I could be: there was a reason I didn't yet own one, which basically boiled down to it just didn't induce the excitement response in me.

That doesn't mean I'm unhappy with the Millie. Contra classical logic and number theory, our brains work using a multi-valued truth table; we're not digital at heart; we are analog critters. I want to be clear about that, and that I'm in no way lodging a complaint with the establishment with this post.

I looked through a couple Spydies that call my office their home. While I'm not an avid collector like some here, I am an arachnophile - perhaps a junior arachnophile. I discovered that the highly recommended Millie was carried tip down, hole at the bottom. Along with the K2, the Ayoob, the Volpe - in fact, these few cannot be changed without drilling more holes or using Peter Parker's Rootin' Tootin' Two Tip Solution (Extra Strength) (TM). The Szabo folder, while drilled for 4 way clips, came configured tip down - I'm guessing this wasn't a fluke, as both of my copies came this way. By now, arachnophiles know that the Szabo also has the piston close mechanism to prevent spontaneous and unpleasant tip exposure since the blade is so heavy and prone to falling open if carried tip up and with the blade not supported by a pocket seam.

I think the best concise advice I came across was from Michael Janich (paraphrasing): Get your butt off the couch and practice using your knife - this is the single most important step we can take for safety.

That, then, left me with a quite bizarre dilemma at 4:30AM: should my next knife be an Emerson Super Commander with black blade, or should it be a Spydie Tighe Stick? Mmmmm, thai sticks...I'm still missing the Fall 1980 semester. All I remember was it started with these thai sticks, and then it was like Christmas, dudes.
:D

[Evil D]

I have no problem with tip down on longer knives like the Military. The lanyard hole thing is a reasonable argument, but I also personally don't see the point of a "fob" on a knife as big as the Military. It makes sense on a Ladybug or a Dragonfly where it can give you a little more to grip but it seems like the only use on a Military is for looks. On the other hand if you actually use a wrist cord on the lanyard hole for the purpose of not dropping it then it does it really make a difference if it's at the bottom of your pocket does it?

I dunno. To each his own I guess. I love making lanyards and fobs but very rarely use them so I don't have much of a dog in this fight.

[Hardbawl]

I used to have a Benchmade something with a liner lock lhat opened in my pocket. It REALLY cut my hand. So, this ole hoss replaced that unit with an Endura 4. The spring holds the blade shut. The very idea if using my pants pocket to keep my knife shut makes me cringe. Way too much of a chance of an error that can hurt. My Endurance 4 is carried tip down. So, if the blade somehow comes open, inserting my hand in the pocket will shut the knife instead of cutting my hand. On my new PM2, if you close the knife slowly, once you get to the last 1/8" the blade snaps shut holding the blade closed. Still, I carry it tip down. Getting cut again is for somebody else!

[yablanowitz]

Pretty much thr same reason I prefer tip down, but I' ve had it happen several times with several different knives and locks, including a couple of Spydercos. As far as the lanyard hole being at the bottom, that's where I want it. Attach a lanyard (not a fob, a lanyard) and put all that line down in your pocket where it doesn't snag on things.

[The Deacon]

Carry most of mine loose in my left back pocket with the tip facing toward my right back pocket. Only ones I carry clipped are OTF autos, and they're all tip down.

[Midnightrider]

Tip down all the way for over 30 years. The only other option for me is tip sideways if I'm carrying a stockman in my pocket. No lanyards.

[ZrowsN1s]

Between the tighe stick and the super commander I'd go with the Super commander. The wave is neat. And the the recurve is a great bladeshape.

[RLDubbya]

I have no problem with tip down on longer knives like the Military. The lanyard hole thing is a reasonable argument, but I also personally don't see the point of a "fob" on a knife as big as the Military. It makes sense on a Ladybug or a Dragonfly where it can give you a little more to grip but it seems like the only use on a Military is for looks. On the other hand if you actually use a wrist cord on the lanyard hole for the purpose of not dropping it then it doesn't really make a difference if it's at the bottom of your pocket does it?

I dunno. To each his own I guess. I love making lanyards and fobs but very rarely use them so I don't have much of a dog in this fight.

Aye, that's probably pretty darned close to where I am, with the exception being that I like to carry larger, heavier blades which I believe carry an inherent great risk of unplanned openings - for example, the Szabo. I have to think that there is a reason Spyderco / Laci engineered that safety piston, and said that it was for protection against just such an opening when carrying in a tip up position. In essence, it seems to me that they are trying to mimic the lockback's inherent tendency to strongly close. But whatever the reason, certainly such complexity in design and implementation adds cost to the final product; either Spyderco eats that cost, or they raise the price of the knife - the latter being ballsy in such a competitive market segment.

I agree on the string topic (quick note, I'm using the word "string" to appease barking dogs that might read this and helpfully argue that what I'm really talking about is a fob, not a lanyard. Fobs are, semantically speaking, shorter pieces of cord, chain, etc which connect to the knife on one end, and don't connect to anything on the other end. Fobs typically have fancy knottage and/or beads. Lanyards are long, connect on one end to the knife, and the other end to a body part such as hand, wrist, shoulder. All of these connections that I've seen are temporary, with no body modification involved.). Fobs can be decorative (if from the South, that would be "purdy"), and aid in withdrawing a small knife from the pocket. I've started to use them on my Chubby since it is so small.

Wait, what?

I believe that Lance puts forward a pro-lanyard case; I came across this which makes some sense as well: https://survivalcommonsense.com/best-su ... ard-knife/

My personal interest is also motivated by a great degree by simple curiosity about the Spyderco customer base. That's a great thing about the forum; there is a place where customers will actually write down their experiences, thoughts, expectations, etc., about the product. Used to be you couldn't pay a customer to do that...while I'm most definitely not affiliated with Spyderco as all the toilet-scrubber positions have been filled which exhausts my qualifications, it is still beneficial to understand more about how knowledgeable people such as yourself view such issues.

For example, I don't know if you remember, but at one point all of us were debating the red Loctite, and I constructed a Devil's Advocate scenario. The first forum member to call me a moron was the dog; then it was a pile-on for a while.

Funny thing was that a week, maybe 10 days, later somebody wrote in and had just encountered, in real life, the exact scenario I had constructed. Of course, dogs never apologize, and neither do followers of dogs who are too busy sniffing.

There has been another such incident - involving the same dog - in which I made a statement and was subjected to name calling.

I'm not terribly put out by a dog making denigrating remarks about my thoughts; that's pretty impressive when you think about it. These incidents, however, give me some insight into: how various members of the community approach problem solving; what values they are willing to publicly confess; and, more important to me, some of the things about knives they actually do find important, as opposed to the things they say they find important.

That's typically a large reason behind my seemingly odd questions. There's further depth at play, but for now think of me as a poodle barking in an attempt to obfuscate my root intentions. Hopefully I live long enough to reveal more of those root intentions.

[Surfingringo]

I'm in boardshorts a lot with no pockets so I often carry IWB at 1:00. Tip down = No bueno!

[Afterman]

Tip-down all the way.

It's amazing how many companies only have knives with tip-up configuration. That's a big part of why I'm a Spyderco fan. Lots of 4 way carry options.

[bdblue]

I have no problem with tip down on longer knives like the Military. The lanyard hole thing is a reasonable argument, but I also personally don't see the point of a "fob" on a knife as big as the Military. It makes sense on a Ladybug or a Dragonfly where it can give you a little more to grip but it seems like the only use on a Military is for looks. On the other hand if you actually use a wrist cord on the lanyard hole for the purpose of not dropping it then it doesn't really make a difference if it's at the bottom of your pocket does it?

First I have my preferences, and I read a lot of these debates about carry positions. I've found that about 2/3 of people prefer tip up. Everybody has different reasons for preferring one over the other, some of the reasons don't make sense to me, but people are free to carry however it works best for them. I find with knives people have a lot of different preferences, better to accept the diversity than tell people they are crazy for their preferences. People also carry knives different ways and that can affect the clip preference. People seem to be concerned about blades opening in their pockets. I've never seen this but if you are worried about this then carry a different knife, or carry it in a pocket sheath.

I think longer knives like the Military work better tip down, at least for me it is easier to pull them out and deploy them. Below 3" blades I can make them work well enough tip up but I don't carry knives that small anymore. I have about equal numbers of knives tip down vs. tip up. I have to carry both ways or I end up missing out on a lot of knife designs that I like. I have a lot of PM2 models that I carry and they work well for me tip down. I also have a variety of the Manix 2 and Manix 2 XL models that I carry so I have to carry them tip up. I'm carrying an orange Manix 2 LW right now.

I don't have any interest in fobs. I think if a person feels the need for a better grip, just get a bigger knife. I started carrying larger knives because I felt the need for handles that I could get my whole hand on, then I discovered that the larger blades worked better for me too.

[RLDubbya]

I don't have any interest in fobs. I think if a person feels the need for a better grip, just get a bigger knife. I started carrying larger knives because I felt the need for handles that I could get my whole hand on, then I discovered that the larger blades worked better for me too.

A reasonable position; in fact, that's what I felt for years, and I always carried big or stayed on the porch. However, I have recently received some looks of fear when I deployed a Nirvana, a K2, or a Szabo folder - let alone an all stainless SpydieEdge Endura. I talked with a few people, and they said that they found these knives to be intimidating. This despite the fact that I was just a lovable little kitten until recently (310lbs at 6' with a 37" waist), even my gentle teddy bear appearance couldn't offset the danger knives.

I still like to carry big. my solution is to carry big and small, and only deploy large when alone. I definitely need a fob on a smaller life like the Chubby, otherwise I struggle getting my fingers to close around it.

The wisdom of a small knife is reinforced when I carry in an office setting and am leading a seminar with 30 health care executives.

[ZrowsN1s]

..
I still like to carry big. my solution is to carry big and small, and only deploy large when alone...

Thats what I do. I carry my big knife clipless "in pocket" and keep my small "public relations knife" clipped to the pocket for use around non knife people.
*I've found the never summer native to be very public friendly. Couldn't tell you why, but I use it in restaurants all the time and haven't raised any eyebrows that I've seen yet.

[RLDubbya]

Thats what I do. I carry my big knife clipless "in pocket" and keep my small "public relations knife" clipped to the pocket for use around non knife people.
*I've found the never summer native to be very public friendly. Couldn't tell you why, but I use it in restaurants all the time and haven't raised any eyebrows that I've seen yet.

I carry my stuff clipped. That's one advantage of being a fairly big guy who lifts ultra-heavy weight; when I was healthy, I could probably wedge a week's output from the Golden factory in my gluteal crack with room left over for a couple laptop computers. Nobody would see. A standard concealed carry sidearm for me always started with ".45 ACP".

Interesting about the Never Summer. I learned a lesson on that one; I saw it advertised on Spyderco's site here when the run was almost done, and I said "I have time." I think I said that twice, and the next time I logged in and checked it was sold out.

[Evil D]

I post this every time a tip orientation debate comes about. To this day I'm not sure how this happened, but my theory is that I was rushing and somehow slipped the knife in my pocket while just slightly open and the tip snagged on the way in and opened further as I pushed the handle down to clip it. Even with this happening I still don't fear tip down because in all my years of carrying a Military this has never happened. I've also never had one with a weak detent so that helps to ease my fears.





That ended with a nice deep gash in the side of my palm. I'd give a Military a chance with tip up, I've carried my Ulize that way and it didn't bother me and it's at least as long as the Military but there's no denying that tip down puts my hand in a better position for opening such a long handle.

[Jazz]

Tip up for me. On liner locks, I'd prefer tip down. That way it's dangling - a lot safer than the other way around. That being said, I rarely carry liner locks. I don't trust them very much. Give me a back lock with a good detent, and Bob's yer uncle.

As for the lanyard hole, I hate when the clip forces tip down with a lanyard hole. You have to stuff it in first. I only put them on the wee knives for extra grip. My examples are the Copilot and Cricket.

[bearfacedkiller]

I prefer tip down in the right rear pocket with the spine against the seam.

I also carry tip down IWB at about 3:30 to 4:00 when bumming around in sweats or gym shorts, which is all the time. I have a Military IWB right now in my Pajamas. :)

I have never had a knife come open in my pocket. The only times I have had a knife come open on it's own is when I have dropped them.

[bobcat]

I'm mostly right handled and I'd prefer to carry my edc knife clipped to my right front pocket. However, I've had a handgun carry permit since 1998 and my bug or primary handgun is always in my right front pocket, in it's pocket holster. Nothing else goes in or is clipped to that pocket. Some tactical pants have a knife pocket on either side and that's nice but I don't presently have but a few of those pants. I carry my knife, "backlock only" tip up , in my left front pocket. I discovered after several right arm injuries, using my left hand feels almost natural. However the knife is set up for right hand tip up because using it feels better set up that way. I realize tip down would probably be faster for me but I just don't like the way it feels in my hand. I personally believe my edc items should always be carried the same way, for quick and efficient deployment.

[Evil D]

I'm really surprised anyone (Lance/modded Military) would carry any knife IWB with tip up. That seems like the most likely way to have a knife open accidentally because gravity will want to pull the blade open. At least in a pocket you can clip it so the blade is up against the side of your pocket. With tip down the blade can only open so far and gravity won't pull it down and open.

[anycal]

Recently went down on a bike, with PM2 tip up, IWB of board shorts. Hard landing and a roll. Knife stayed closed.