What's the appeal of deep carry?

[dplafoll]

I'll be honest... I don't really have any more or less difficulty getting my deep carry Spydies out of the pocket than the spoon clip models, and I've never had any. I don't have a real preference one way or another, at least not functionally, although I prefer the wire clip in an abstract sense because of it's simplicity both mechanically and aesthetically. But deep carry itself only has situational advantages IMO; I tend to carry a wire clip model when I'm going into places that may be more particular about my having a knife. Of course, I also tend towards the smaller models (Dragonfly is the go-to here) as well for the same reasons. Otherwise, deep carry is a preference, and it's perfectly reasonable to have that preference, and to have it strongly enough as to change out a clip to a deep carry version to satisfy that preference.
Here's my draw method:
Wire clip: I reach down in with my thumb on the scale, and on the outside my index finger is under the end of the clip. With a tiny amount of pinch, I pull up with the index finger and the knife slides right out, usually with my hand very close to where it needs to be to open the knife.
Spoon clip: I pinch the top of the knife sticking out, and most of the draw force is my index finger on the screws. It's just as easy, but there is a little more adjustment in-hand after drawing.

[ThePeacent]

If I am in a very sensitive place I tend to drop the folder inside the pocket, but otherwise I always prefer it clipped and with bottom protruding.
That's because I often have to pull it out it while holding, grabbing or pushing another thing or even looking away (towards whatever I'm going to cut). Only Spydie I carry loose it's the DF2.

Other times I have gloves on what completely nullifies the possibility of getting the hand inside the pocket and leaving it full of dirt, soil, resin or other nasty stuff.

I've only had the pocket clip raise eyebrows once in my life when security personnel at the Hospital told me that they had spotted the clipped folder in my pants and politely asked me to hand it to them, what I did as I didn't want any more trouble that day.

[thewoodpecker]

I'd be fine to see the wire clip on everything. Manix 2 LW or Caly 3.5 are my primary EDC folders. Never had any issue with carry. Plenty secure and very discreet. Sage 5 clip/lanyard setup would have made the Para 3 perfect (as opposed to just great).

[aquaman67]

Making a knife harder to accidentally come out of my pocket is a plus.

What I do is use my index and middle fingers to push the knife up from the bottom while it’s still inside my pocket.

Then I just grab the knife as it’s already 1/3 of the way out. All in one smooth motion.

Also I like the knife not sticking up out of my pocket.

[Brock O Lee]

I used to carry my Spydercos to work back in South Africa, and deep carry just felt prudent in an office setting in the city. Most non-knife people never realised the clip they saw was for a pocket knife.

The truth is a policeman will spot it from a mile away, so if the laws prevent you from carrying a knife in public places, like where I am currently :o, any visible clip will get you in trouble.

Far from civilization I don’t care for deep carry clips. The standard ones work well and allows easy draw. In fact, this thread made me realise I do not need deep carry clips anymore, because my Spydies are only carried at home or out in the boonies!

[carrot]

Knives that stick out too much are very awkward in slacks and even in jeans I prefer to carry knives that don’t stick out too high both in clipped to pocket and IWB. I don’t need to advertise that I carry, even though it is legal, because I would rather not draw additional attention. Also, some knives that stick up too much or are too pointy are very uncomfortable for IWB.

Knives like the Manix LWT or Endura are fairly deep and are very comfortable for IWB carry. Knives like the Caly3 and Chaparral carry even more comfortably. If I am going to be doing knife stuff all day like camping I tend towards higher carry like the Military and the like but normally if a knife carries fairly deep I prefer it.

[PolarisDesu]

I'd agree on all points except "Less knife protruding to scratch car paint or get caught in something". I will concede that, to some degree, a deep carry clip reduces the chance of dropping and damaging your knife, or losing it altogether, when it snags on something. However, I'm more inclined to think it's the clip, rather than the knife, that's the culprit, when it comes to damaging cars and furniture.

I'll admit that the entire concept of clipped carry in general, but especially in urban areas, baffles me to some extent. I have to wonder if any of you who carry that way would walk around with a $100 bill draped over the edge of your pocket.

Haha, enjoyed reading that. Despite I had no problems in regards to damaging cars or furniture, I believe I had quite some awkward situations due to the "clip". My EDC is a Spyderco UKPK due to law restrictions where I live, the issue I had with it, was that the material that the wire clip was made of, was somewhat flimsy and easier to flex. I happen to have a jacket with a wrist band to adjust the size of that part of the jacket, well, it happened to me several times, that when I was going for my keys (inside my poket) the clip of the knife would hang into the wrist jacket band and I would feel NOTHING, just to have a knife hanging around in-front of everyone, hahaha, then I just kept it inside my pocket alongside the keys, until it fell out of my pocket when I was in a restaurant.... Man... Such awkward situations.

But the moment I got the Manix 2 in S110V, I got that wire pocket clip (which was much more stiffer) and put that into the UKPK, haven't had any problems since. I carry the UKPK inside with the clip outside, so it is practically not visible.

[sal]

Hi Hmr,

Welcome to our forum.

I have to wonder if any of you who carry that way would walk around with a $100 bill draped over the edge of your pocket.

Hey Paul,

Sounds like a designer clip to me.

sal

[ricechrispy]

I've only bought one deep carry clip and that was for my fluted Ti Native after I marred one of the scales by bumping up against my granite countertop. With the deep carry clip, it is totally in my pocket and out of harm's way. I also don't think the aftermarket clips look bad. In my case, it hasn't negatively affected the ergonomics, either. For most knives, I do like having a little bit of handle showing to make pulling it out of the pocket easier.

[curlyhairedboy]

I vastly prefer the wire clip above all others. It's slender, robust, and has enough give in it to 'swim' around a bit if you grip the knife heavily, thus preventing or lessening hot spots.

As for deep carry, a quality deep carry clip offers just as much ease of deployment and in-hand comfort as a stock clip - and oftentimes, more (see: default Southard clip...)

If a deep carry clip is done poorly, it hinders deployment and comfort (see Kershaw Strobe).

As someone who works in a variety of environments from industrial to office, having the option of more concealment just draws less attention.

[Strokednbored]

I prefer deep carry clips on almost all of my knives - as long as they don't make hot spots on the handle.

1. It's much more discreet - especially in an office/urban environment
- Knife people know it's a knife, but we generally could care less.
- Non-Knife people (in my experience) don't register it as a knife because they don't "see" a knife.

I've had several people ask me what the "little metal tab" is on my pocket and they have been very surprised when i pulled out an Endura or the like. "I didn't realize you carry a knife on you" ... "Only every day for the past decade of working here."

Out of sight, Out of mind = less dumb to deal with.

That's really it, my one and only reason.

The clip will still scratch paint (tested), if the clip gets caught on something it'll still come out of the pocket (pretty rare for me to be honest), etc. etc.

I don't understand people that have a hard time extracting a knife from the pocket using a deep carry clip. I can't say that i've experienced this to a notable extent on any knife i own. - thumb in pocket between knife scale and leg, pointer on clip, pinch and pull. works every time.

Maybe if wore REALLY tight pants?

[ross8425]

I think the clip on the PM2 is great as is. If I want to wear dress pants, I carry a Benchmade 470. 95% of the time ,my PM2 is just fine in the clip it came with.

I had a manix with the wire clip and I did not like it at all. The PM2 / para 3 / native 5 all carry just fine for what my needs are :)