Let's talk pocket wear...

[Sequimite]

I adopted Deacon's back pocket recommendation years ago. Some knives stay upright very well beside a folded bandana and some don't. The Ti Military was excellent, as was the original Southard collaboration because they are a bit thicker. The Hunan has done well in the back pocket when it is not clipped in a right leg tool/ruler pocket. I haven't had trouble with wear due to using different pockets and only clipping 20% of the time.

[zuludelta]

ZD, have you checked out their straight-fit pants?

Thanks for the recommendations... yeah, those definitely look like they'd fit me better than my current work trousers.

[VooDooChild]

I'd like to see it, for sure!

This is the first super-quick prototype in my running shorts.

Here's a view showing the knife clipped in the normal mode, the hidden-high mode, and the hidden-low mode:


And here's what the prototype looks like on the inside of my shorts:


I realize that this doesn't help at all with the pocket edge wear problem if you want to keep the clip in the "normal" mode, with the clip riding on the outside of your pants, so I might still try another prototype with some jeans today that could solve that problem and still use some of these same ideas.

I think it depends on whether you want the extra piece visible on your pocket. Many people might not care about that at all, and others may never want to add something like that to their pants.

Still, this works pretty well if you want to hide the clip. This was just a quick attempt, so I'm hoping the next version will be a little more polished.

I am open to trying more ideas in the next prototype if anyone has any more thoughts to add!

Hey autoxer.
That is exactly what I was trying to describe earlier. It looks great. Would love to see a version of that done on the pocket but it seems to work really well for iwb. Cool stuff.

[autoxer]

Hey autoxer.
That is exactly what I was trying to describe earlier. It looks great. Would love to see a version of that done on the pocket but it seems to work really well for iwb. Cool stuff.

Hey VooDooChild,

Glad to hear it was like what you envisioned! I did make another prototype but decided to try some other things, so maybe still not what you're looking for, but here it is anyway.

Salt 2 over the pocket.


Salt 2 in deep carry slot. It's kinda pointless I guess now, the patch draws more attention than the knife. :D


Chaparral over the pocket.


The part's "outside" (faces your leg when sewn in).


The part's "inside" (faces outward when sewn in).


Here's what it looks like sewn into the pocket.


Luckily I did this on a pair of jeans I don't care about. Going forward for me personally, I'd use one like I made for my running shorts, but put it in my pocket. The pants I normally wear are actually quite thin Nylon/Elastane and I don't get any pocket wear with my use (pretty light, if I'm honest). But I would like the option to hide the clip and use the deep carry slot on some occasions. I would also use this with my flashlights, which stick way out of my pockets (and it drives me crazy with the lights).

Note that the sewing is hard. Very hard, especially at the back of the pocket (towards the back pocket of the pants). I sew very often, and make some really weird stuff, and this was a bit of a challenge. The crooked stitch on the very top was me getting lazy, but even though that was the easy part, it can still get messed up really fast and look bad of you don't get the material just right before you start your stitches. The real challenge was sewing the inside parts to only the pocket liner, since I wanted to try hiding those stitches.

I might still make another prototype, but I think I'll wait longer this time to think over some more ideas. I would still be happy to try and prototype any other ideas too.

[zuludelta]

This is the first super-quick prototype in my running shorts.

...

I am open to trying more ideas in the next prototype if anyone has any more thoughts to add!

That's brilliant! Aside from concealing the clip, having the knife in a pocket helps protect the wearer from the knife accidentally opening (always a matter of some concern when I'm carrying a knife IWB). As an avid trail runner I'd love to see something like this on a pair of production running shorts... maybe Spyderco can work with you and they can add running shorts to the company's apparel line!

[autoxer]

That's brilliant! Aside from concealing the clip, having the knife in a pocket helps protect the wearer from the knife accidentally opening (always a matter of some concern when I'm carrying a knife IWB). As an avid trail runner I'd love to see something like this on a pair of production running shorts... maybe Spyderco can work with you and they can add running shorts to the company's apparel line!

That is a cool idea too! Something I will ponder. The main difficulty I anticipate there is that different knifes are different sizes, so a pocket with a nice fit could be hard to figure out. Still, I think it's something worth consideration. I currently only carry lock backs IWB and this could change my thinking about that. I will think about how I might approach it for another possible prototype. Perhaps it needs to be either adjustable, or stretchy.

This thread is certainly morphing into more than just preventing pocket wear, hopefully that's OK and it's all still relevant.

[gull wing]

Think i will keep is simple and use the "iron on" patch.

[Evil D]

I carried this way for quite a long time. That's a Centofante 4 in the main pocket and a Paramilitary 1 in the 5th pocket.

[Superflex]

When I saw the title, I thought this would be about pocket clip wear

[skeeg11]

Cut an iron on patch to fit the coin pocket. Place inside the coin pocket with sticky side facing away from the body. Don't be afraid to use a super hot iron to get it to stick well. Make a slit about a quarter of an inch above the top of the coin pocket bottom seam. Never had much use for jean coin pockets before this.

[Jazz]

I carried this way for quite a long time. That's a Centofante 4 in the main pocket and a Paramilitary 1 in the 5th pocket.

How does a Military even fit into a coin pocket, and isn't that uncomfortable when you sit?

[bearfacedkiller]

I had a pair of wranglers that had a coin pocket so big that it would hold a Military and a Para2 side by side. I lost the pic to photobucket and the pants are long since worn out.

[Evil D]

How does a Military even fit into a coin pocket, and isn't that uncomfortable when you sit?
[/quote]


I cut the stitches out of the bottom of the pocket so it goes through to the main pocket

[James Y]

I mostly wear Wrangler “Ripstop” cargo pants, and they’ve generally worked pretty good. But my Native 5 lightweight is a pants killer. Back when I first got it, I tried clipping it to my pocket, only twice. While it didn’t rip the outer part, it started showing the beginnings of wear after only two times, and it had started ripping the inner pocket material. I never tried clipping that knife ever again.

I would also never even attempt to clip any of the Cold Steel knives I’ve either owned or handled. Those are as bad or worse pocket shredders than the Native 5 LWT.

Jim

[RadioactiveSpyder]

:D



Clearly I have issues with pocket wear... I have a couple of pairs of Columbia pants that have an extra fabric patch stitched to the pocket seam and I actually found them a bit problematic in clipping knives with tighter/shallower clips. Definitely interested in hearing other options!

[Jazz]

I cut the stitches out of the bottom of the pocket so it goes through to the main pocket

Well, I’ll be dipped in doggy doodoo. Great idea.

[SG89]

[Mad Mac]

The clip doesn't seem to bother the welted edge
but G10 scales eat up the back of the set-in front pocket.
It's too late for these jeans, but I used an emery board
to smooth, dehorn or "melt" the tip of the G10 that is doing the damage.

[hmr170]

I'm pretty sure your Grandfather or Great Grandfather never wore out their pockets while carrying their pocket knives. Maybe they were on to something. Just saying.

[Woodpuppy]

Perhaps, but I bet they all made horrifyingly gritty sounds as they opened their Barlows and Sodbusters.