Why tip down?

[Damfino]

This is a question that has been bugging me for a while and I know I'm probably showing off my ignorance, but I have to ask. Why would anyone want a knife tip down? When you pull it out of your pocket there would be an extra hand adjustment to grip the knife, a minor adjustment, but a needless one none the less. Weirdly enough it can be a dealbreaker to some people. I figure there has to be a logical reason I'm not thinking of since so many knives are made for tip down carry. Thoughts?

[tonydahose]

while i agree with your preferance for tip up...the tip down helps in opening the knife with a spydie-drop.
oh and welcome :)

you can do a search on tip-up or tip-down and find a ton of arguements for either side too.

[Th232]

One reason is that for some liner or frame locks, the ball detent has been known to give way, and so it may accidentally open, and stay that way since it doesn't have the back-bias that, say, a lockback would have to close itself.

While some people would say to just keep the knife securely clipped so the spine is against the seam of the pocket, I carry IWB, and personally, there's no way I'm letting a liner/frame lock ride tip up in that position. In my pocket, possibly, but not IWB.

[Bolster]

I had always heard the "hits the seam of your pants pocket and stays closed if it opens accidentally" explanation as noted by Th232.

[The Deacon]

Safety is certainly one good reason, especially with locks which provide little in the way of closing bias. Another is that tip down clipped carry allows you to draw the knife by grasping the Spyderhole and "Spyderdropping" the knife open, an extremely rapid method of deployment.

[yablanowitz]

My preference for tip down is based largely on a couple of painful incidents where tip up knives have come partially open in my pocket. It is a rather rude awakening to reach into your pocket for your car keys and encounter a bit of razor sharp steel.

No matter how the knife is carried, unless it is open in a sheath, I have to make some adjustment after drawing and opening the knife, since I normally hold one with my fingers wrapped around the handle, not just with my fingertips on the sides (where they are while opening one). It is no more difficult for me to grasp a knife by the Spyderhole, draw it, drop it open and adjust my grip than it is to grab the butt of the knife, pull it out, slip my thumb up the side to the hole, thumb the blade open then rotate the knife into a normal grip.

[dRider]

I always carry tip down, I just pinch the top of the knife, pull it out of the pocket, and it's already in my hand in the proper position against my palm.

[ozspyder]

Tip up or tip down is a matter of preference for anyone. I have favourites that carry TU and TD. It really boils down to what you want to do with and and how you carry it. All the reasons mentioned above concisely explains why they prefer which carry type. Doesn't make a difference to me as long as I remember which knife I am currently carrying and which way it is facing....just in case I need quick deployment. But for the most part I need only careful and deliberate opening.

Oh, and welcome to the forums :D

[tap]

Spyder drop= Prefered method. As stated, it is very fast and can be done while bring the knife out towards the front OR side of your body. Tip down works very well for a standard "thumb open" also because the thumb is already right there at or in the hole. Even if I pull a loose knife from my pocket, I pull it out tip down ready to open.

[Slick]

Most people seem to have a preference for tip up or down and mine is tip up. But I still carry big knives tip down. It is just safer and a Spyder drop works better with the extra weight.

[Fred Sanford]

Safety is certainly one good reason, especially with locks which provide little in the way of closing bias. Another is that tip down clipped carry allows you to draw the knife by grasping the Spyderhole and "Spyderdropping" the knife open, an extremely rapid method of deployment.

That is how I retrieve and deploy my Military and my Paramilitary. It's my preferred method of opening a Spyderco.

I like both tip up and tip down but I am most fond of tip down.

[The Mastiff]

Though I learned the hazards of tip up with a competitor companies old liner lock I feel safe carrying my endura tip up and have had one since 92 without incident.

I've never felt the need for Spyder dropping, or the wave on a folder. The regular spyderhole is so memory ingrained I can do it without thought while completing other tasks. That I couldn't do safely with either other slightly faster method.

The extra speed hasn't ever been an issue for me. Regular is as fast as deploying an auto to me. Joe

[feeny]

I asked exactly the same question myself :)

I really like the option of tip up or down available, as well as left/right hand - and not all spydies have these options.

My mini-manix is set up for tip down -and I find access, at least on the mini-manix, to be far surer and faster with tip down carry - either in forward grip by hooking the thumb / index finger through the hole and spyder-dropping open - something I cant do with tip up.. or again, with thumb in the clip indent and snapping open with wrist flick into reverse grip.

I am not able to open into reverse grip this way with tip up carry - but with tip down I can access into reverse or forward grip with equal ease.

Actually - thats not quite true - I have the native set up for tip up carry but as left handed (Im right handed) - that lets me do a reverse grip access with tip up - and this setup is the fastest access of any up/down method that I am able to execute. Its not much good for forward grip at all though.

Lastly, as pointed out to me when I asked the question - tip down, at least on the mini-manix seem to be much more discreet - and someone said something about lint too... but I cant remember whether it was better or worse up or down.

[bladese97]

:spyder: :spyder: :cool: :spyder: :spyder:I prefer tip-down because of the ease of rapid deployment(Spyderdroppin), and I assume the blade will remain down while in my pocket; So, Safety, and ease of rapid deployment...It's not as easy for me to do in tip-up.

[philthygeezer]

Theoretically, wouldn't tip-up be safer as it keeps the blade closed against the rear edge of your pocket?

Never carried tip down though, and often a small blade has ridden in bottom of pocket without being clipped - never really been an issue with the Dragonfly or Lava. I would worry about a leg cut if a blade opened in-pocket, but with the Chinoook the knife is so well-built I don't think it would ever come open in a pocket. What's the best pocket carry to prevent inadvertant opening from happening with lesser knives?

[mightyd]

So the fob/lanyard sits in the bottom of my pocket instead of sticking out of the top of the knife above my pocket line. That's why I carry some of my knives tip-down.
--
Dan (in NY)

[zenheretic]

This is a question that has been bugging me for a while and I know I'm probably showing off my ignorance, but I have to ask. Why would anyone want a knife tip down? When you pull it out of your pocket there would be an extra hand adjustment to grip the knife, a minor adjustment, but a needless one none the less. Weirdly enough it can be a dealbreaker to some people. I figure there has to be a logical reason I'm not thinking of since so many knives are made for tip down carry. Thoughts?

You are only kidding yourself if you think tip up doesn't also require hand adjustment...

[Damfino]

When you pull it out of your pocket there would be an extra hand adjustment to grip the knife, a minor adjustment, but a needless one none the less.

You are only kidding yourself if you think tip up doesn't also require hand adjustment...

I didn't say there wouldn't be any adjustment. I said extra adjustment.

The bigger knife thing makes sense, although I still don't think I get the spyderdrop thing. From the way I'm understanding it, it might be faster, but less reliable, if I'm understanding it right. As far as safety, I don't think that's too much of an issue, after all I'm talking about only spyderco knives, not crappy quality ones.

[jujigatame]

In some cases the size or style of clip that's going to be used for a knife can only be fit at one end. If clip A needs 1/2" of space for three attachment screws and that space is only available at the pivot end of the handle, that's where it's going to go. If clip B is narrow with a vertical screw layout then perhaps it can fit at the tail end of a knife with a tapered handle design.

If a folder has a choice between tip-up and tip-down, one thing that makes a difference for me is how the knife feels if I'm reaching into that front right pocket for something else, which happens a fair bit since that's where I keep my cash. Tip-up means the hand will run along the back of the handle, which is usually smooth and free of possible hangups. Tip-down can lead to situations where the hand may hit the top of the blade spine that could have serrations, a protrusion like the hump of a Spyderhole, or a sharp corner. I had a Benchmade 425 that I loved but it was tip-down and the edge of my hand always ran into the thumb serrations, which were fairly aggressive. It was not comfortable and affected how often I carried it.

[dete]

sometimes the pocket clip is attached by means of the pivot screw which makes it a very strong attachment and easier to make I would assume.

for a clip that rests the knife pretty deep in your pocket, tip up maybe better because as you pull it out, it'll be in the proper draw position.

But if the knife sits kinda high, tip down works great,
*and I found that it also, is a bit more easier to deploy with the other hand.