Tip up or tip down carry

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Cowboyfromhell
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Tip up or tip down carry

#1

Post by Cowboyfromhell »

I am curious as to why one would carry tip up rather than tip down? Any insight on this matter would be useful.
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ferider
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#2

Post by ferider »

I'm not saying I agree with them, but some people

- like to have the blade against the seam of their pocket / away from the hand when reaching in
- think tip up a knife is faster to deploy.
- feel the clip in the back of the knife helps closing the knife one-handed.

With some knives you have no choice (for example the Manix 2, Advocate, etc.).

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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#3

Post by The Meat man »

Personal preference?

For me, I don't care much either way. The only clip I switched from factory was on my Police 4. Tip-up carry on such a long knife was a bit awkward for me.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#4

Post by bdblue »

ferider wrote:
Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:39 pm
- like to have the blade against the seam of their pocket / away from the hand when reaching in
- think tip up a knife is faster to deploy.
- feel the clip in the back of the knife helps closing the knife one-handed.
Other reasons for tip up-
- people like a lanyard on their knife
- people use a Wave opener
- the knife might be more comfortable to use with the clip on the back end of the handle

I have discovered for my use that with knives the size of the PM2 or Military, it is faster and safer to deploy tip down. For shorter knives the speed and security is about the same either way. I prefer tip down but I like my Manix 2 models and I'm happy to carry them even though they are tip up. (When I say "my use" I mean clipped to the right front pocket of my tight jeans and trying to deploy with my relatively long fingers.)
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Evil D
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#5

Post by Evil D »

Small to medium I prefer tip up, but on larger knives like the Military I'm ok with tip down.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#6

Post by BornIn1500 »

Well, first you have to know that right-handed people like to have the clip on the right side of the knife. I attempted tip-down carry one time on a Tenacious. My hand scraped against the blade's gimping every time I reached into my pocket and it left red scratch marks. Never tried it again. With tip up, the blade goes against the seam of your pocket (impossible to open), your hand only rubs against the smooth back of the handle, and when you hold the knife the clip is tucked into your palm so you don't notice it. It's perfect.
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MichaelScott
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#7

Post by MichaelScott »

It varies. I don’t care about rocket speed deployment. I care more about how the clip does or does not interfere with my grip. Some I move to tip down, like the GB2 or Para Military 2. Some I remove like the One-Eyed Jack. Some just stay the way they came like the Ikuchi and Chaparral.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#8

Post by vivi »

Cowboyfromhell wrote:
Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:17 pm
I am curious as to why one would carry tip up rather than tip down? Any insight on this matter would be useful.
1. It's more comfortable reaching into your pocket if you carry in a front pocket. The back side of the closed knife tends to be smoother, and the bottom of the handle is often more narrow.

2. It's quicker for me. Tip down requires me to rotate the knife, then open. Tip up, I simply open it from the position I draw it. Makes it more convenient eliminating a step.

3. More consistent draw. Back when I EDC'd the Military tip down, the jimping sometimes caught on my pocket when I tried to get to my knife. Doesn't happen tip up.

4. Waves don't work tip down. I don't use one so this point doesn't matter to me, but it matters to some folks.

5. More comfortable in the hand. Though it obviously varies model to model, I typically find the clip is more comfortable during use if its set to tip up.

6. Easier to access a lanyard. Like waves, I don't use one, but this is another advantage they have.
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rabbitanarchy14
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#9

Post by rabbitanarchy14 »

i have always carried tip up. normally ill not buy a knife or get rid of a knife that is tip down only. and i carry in my Rback pocket, so when i pull it out it is in the correct position in my hand already and open it. spine faces out from seam of pocket.
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RustyIron
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#10

Post by RustyIron »

Tip up because I can open the knife as soon as it clears the pocket, and it's in an orientation that's ready to use. A tip down orientation requires a half-turn prior to opening.
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anycal
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#11

Post by anycal »

The only two knives I carry tip down are the Military and Police 4. Got used to carrying these in my rear pocket. Combination of ease of deployment and having the blade against the seam of the pocket.

Everything else is tip up.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#12

Post by spyderg »

Tip up. I find tip down awkward to deploy, also unsafe unless you carry it so blade is against the seam making it even more awkward. My friend got a nasty deep cut carrying tip down right carry. I also don’t like tip down clip position in my hand in use, it’s right where I’m gripping creating all sorts of hot spots.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#13

Post by Pelagic »

I like the ergos of tip down better on most models, but I rarely change clips. It just isn't that important to me. "Deployment" is just as fast either way. People can make a big issue out of anything.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#14

Post by VashHash »

I usually carry tip up when possible. I wish the military came from the factory with tip up options. When I carry a knife that's tip down only and it has really good jimping it'll usually rake my hand when I dig in that pocket. Knives like the Chinook 2 have that very aggressive jimping. I also find it easier to index to open the knife.

What are your reasons for tip down carry?

Here's the jimping on the nook 2
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MichaelScott
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#15

Post by MichaelScott »

Tip down means less chance of putting my hand in pocket and getting stabbed
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rangefinder
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#16

Post by rangefinder »

VashHash wrote:
Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:45 am
What are your reasons for tip down carry?
I use the "pinch method"(*) for deployment, and this method works best with tip-down carry. As a result, most of my knives are set up for tip-down carry. I do have a few knives that only support tip-up carry and I still use them -- I'm just not as efficient deploying the tip-up knives.

(*) I don't know if that's the real term, but that's what I call it. With my thumb and index finger, I "pinch" the part of the knife that is exposed above the pocket line and pull the knife out of my pocket. I don't put any part of my hand into my pocket while doing this. At this point, with your hand palm up, relax the pinch a little and the knife will rotate/fall into the palm. With a knife carried tip-down, the knife falls into the right position to access the opening hole. With a knife carried tip-up, the knife falls opposite of how you want it and has to be rotated 180 degrees to access the opening hole.

With 20+ years of practice, this is one smooth motion; my hand is rotating into the right position and I'm relaxing the pinch as I pull the knife out of the pocket so the knife just ends up where it needs to be.

And maybe this is obvious, but I don't like deep carry clips. Since they eliminate the part of the knife that is exposed above the pocket line, they make it much harder to pinch the end of the knife. (From a purely aesthetic/design standpoint, I actually think a deep carry clip looks nicer than the standard clip. But they just don't work for me.)

EDIT: I also really like the larger triangle shaped mounting plate used on the clip on the Military, Paramilitary (original) and some other models. The triangle shape of the mounting screws makes a perfect "index" spot for the tip of my index finger when pinching the end of the knife.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#17

Post by Tims »

I prefer tip up for pocket carry, for all the reasons outlined above. I keep a few knives clipped tip down for IWB carry.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#18

Post by BLUETYPEII »

Tip down in the RFP for me feels th safest but I recently added a second knife to my EDC (Native Salt) and I keep it in a belt sheath on my left side tip down. I find when reaching across my body with my right hand to grab the knife it makes it easier to deploy.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#19

Post by The Meat man »

MichaelScott wrote:
Thu Apr 25, 2019 12:08 pm
Tip down means less chance of putting my hand in pocket and getting stabbed

This is worth considering. Especially with detent-based locks.
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Re: Tip up or tip down carry

#20

Post by bdblue »

Vivi wrote:
Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:12 pm
2. It's quicker for me. Tip down requires me to rotate the knife, then open. Tip up, I simply open it from the position I draw it. Makes it more convenient eliminating a step.
I have both types and carry both types. I've done all I can do in the way of experiments and tests and with real clothes and real knives tip down is faster and easier. When I pull out something the size of a Manix 2 my thumb is an inch or more from the thumb hole. I have to inch my way up the knife or I have to somehow turn loose of it and grab it again in the correct position. This seems less than secure. When I carried small knives, under 3" length, they worked about the same either way. Larger knives don't. Something the size of the Military, tip up, would almost become a 2-hand knife. My Manix 2 XL is bad enough.

Somebody mentioned that the jimping rubbed their hand when put their hand in their pocket. My jeans are usually tight enough that if I'm carrying a clipped knife, whether tip up or tip down, I can't get my hand into my pocket.

To the OP- I've read a lot of these "poll" type questions and consistently about 3/4 of the people like tip up, and for a variety of reasons.
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