How many people remove the clips?

RJNC · #1

Just wondering, how many of you out there remove the clips and just pocket carry? What models are best for going clipless?

Netsquash · #2

I removed the clip on my Police3. I carry it is in a custom sheath made by vess leatherworks.

Seanski · #3

it's the reason I buy a knife a lot of the time is the clip. I find it way more comfortable having it clipped to the pocket than sunk at the bottom of a pocket. Sheaths I tend to avoid because they get in the way when removing jackets and get hung up or dropped off the belt into a toilet.

I don't like knives loose in my pockets, they are just too uncomfortable and then I have to fiddle with change and whatnot trying to fish it free and then blow off the lint.

The Deacon · #4

I am most definitely one of them. :D I hardly ever carry a knife clipped and find removing the clip makes them more comfortable to sit on. :o Among the ones I've carried loose in my back pocket are the Native, Calypso Jr. R2, C83 and C105 Schempp Persians, a fully engraved SS Delica, Stretch, and Stretch II. Even took the clip off the Manix 2 I was testing, after trying clipped carry with it for a while just so I could give a fair assessment of how it carried that way. Any non-waved model with a clip which can be removed without major surgery works fine, carrying a waved knife loose pretty much defeats its purpose.

Aside from the molded plastic clips, the worst candidate is the Kopa, removing the clip leaves an ugly depression in the right front bolster which requires a LOT of metal to be ground away in order to eliminate. For the rest, it's simply a matter of loosening or removing one or more screws.

Jijoel · #5

The only knife from which i have taken the clip off is the large manix.
Its a heavy knife and i don't like to carry it using the pocketclip because of his weight.

The handle is a perfect fit to my hand en whithout the clip it even feels beter.
So no clip for my large manix.

I will make a sheath for it to carry it on my belt.
This is because it think pocket carry will get the knife more dirty instead of using the pocketclip or sheath type of carry.

aebfroman · #6

This is in my back pocket when I'm at work. I took the clip off originally because it came to me a little warped but now I prefer it that way.

CanisMajor · #7

If its carried in the back pocket(majority of time it is) then definitely yes to removing the clip, in the front pocket i keep the clip on

LorenzoL · #8

If it isn't a wire clip, it stays in the box.

Waco · #9

Seanski wrote:it's the reason I buy a knife a lot of the time is the clip. I find it way more comfortable having it clipped to the pocket than sunk at the bottom of a pocket. Sheaths I tend to avoid because they get in the way when removing jackets and get hung up or dropped off the belt into a toilet. I don't like knives loose in my pockets, they are just too uncomfortable and then I have to fiddle with change and whatnot trying to fish it free and then blow off the lint.

+1 Grabbing my clipped Endura, already in the perfect orientation, is so much handier than reaching to the bottom of my pocket, pulling the knife out, and flipping it around to the correct position.

Free Radical · #10

I take them off in the winter when I wear a coat with pockets.

defenestrate · #11

I almost always keep the clip on my knives, because I prefer them up on the edge of pockets than buried in them with other items (I've occasionally gotten nipped by knives like that). That said, I definately could see myself carrying something like an SS or etched D'Fly clipless in a pocket, like I would a standard slipjoint pocketknife.

catamount · #12

I EDC a PE Tasman clipless in my right back pocket, and a PE Pacific (beater knife) in my right front pocket. The rest are clipped.

i.v · #13

I EDC my Cricket clipless either in my wallet or in my change pocket.

Anything I carry in pocket but leave the clip attached because sometimes I do need to clip the knife.

hollar44 · #14

I always leave the clip on my knives but I prefer to carry loose in pocket with the clip in case i decide to clip it on dont misplace the clip

Pneumothorax · #15

I love the clips - one reason why I like Spyderco (only one of many). I hate digging around in my pockets or backpack for knives. One last minor point - on the smaller knives, the clip actually helps with opening and closing by adding additional grip surface.

RJNC · #16

Yeah, I find too that the pocket clip helps with smaller knives for additional grip.

Toad310 · #17

The Spyderco clip is the best in the world. It, and the hole in the blade, started the knife revolution over 20 years ago.

I never take them off. However, I am not a big fan of the wire clips.

Mako109 · #18

The clip (and the Sypderhole) is what attracted me to Sypercos in the first place. I purchased my first Spyderco in 1981. At that time, there was only the "Worker CO1" and it was one of few production knives at the time (that I was aware of) that successfully incorporated a practical and durable clip. IIRC, it's the reason these knives were first billed as "Clip-its" and retailers commonly called these "Syderco Clip-its". Over the decades, the use of the name "Clip-it" has faded, but the Spyderco style of clip endures and has become iconic.

Up to now the clip is still a major feature for me and I never remove them.

Daniel · #19

For me, it depends on the knife. On some, I like them better sans clip. Others, the clip allows me to better grasp the knife when opening.

As far as using the clip as a clip, I don't use them. I hate them! They tear up pockets-in many cases and I hang them up on stuff and have lost a couple of knives. I am like a bull in glass factory!

Mako109 · #20

Daniel wrote:As far as using the clip as a clip, I don't use them. I hate them! They tear up pockets-in many cases and I hang them up on stuff and have lost a couple of knives. I am like a bull in glass factory!

I gave up clipping them to my pockets years ago. I much prefer clipping them IWB...front left, front right, or my favorite, at the small of my back. My belt covers most of the clip, which prevents snags and makes the knife much more discreet. Of course some models are more comfortable to carry this way than others. And it may take a little getting used to, but I notice the knife much less when I carry IWB vs clipped to my pocket. I typically carry IWB at the small of my back (at roughly a 45 degree cant), models as large as the JD Smith, Endura, and Barong and forget they are even there.