A warning for y'all zip tie tinkerers...

Runs With Scissors

Runs With Scissors

Joined
Dec 3, 2000
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Seems that there's been quite a few folks tinkerin' 'round with zip ties on tip up knives with opening holes in them- Spydies, BM Griptilians,etc. an' havin' a good ole time with it. Just wanted to mention the other day I picked up a large BM Ascent and give it a try with that.

Good news is that it really did work very well and opened VERY dependably. Bad news is that I didn't take the time to file the sharp ends off the zipties I'd used, and had them catch on a loose thread in my pocket, thusly opening the blade up in a rather inappropriate place. 'lo an' behold I went to reach into my pocket and pulled my hand back out with about an inch and a half cut on the palm of my hand that probably coulda used a stitch or two if I weren't such a cheapskate and a fan of Superglue.

So, I just wanted to mention if you happen to be one of the folks playin' around with this idea ya' might consider taking some time to familiarize yerself with whatever knife yer using the zip ties on, and be sure to trim and file them as much as you can. (myself being the crash test dummy that left the zip ties coarse and managed to cut himself the first day carrying the knife that way)

Incidentally I'm still carrying the Ascent, and enjoying it, but now I'm carrying it with the blade a bit tighter, my pockets more cleanly trimmed, and the zip ties cleaned up.
 
The hazard is always there with tip up knives, even without zip ties. Guess which kind I prefer.
 
Another tip-up victim.

People swear that tip-up is faster to deploy... maybe a fifth of a second faster. I've yet to see one person (and we've got over 15,000 here at bf.c) post saying "Thank God I was carrying tip up. That extra 1/5th of a second saved my life." But, I've seen quite a few now post about slicing their own hand open.
 
for clarification purposes,

I've been carrying tip-up since about the first time I've had a knife with a clip, and never managed to cut myself until I put the zip tie on there. Of course I know it has happened to others, but for the gross number of tip-up knives out there, it's pretty darn rare.

My accident occurred the first time I put a zip tie onto a knife to emulate a "wave" styled opening that the manufacturer of the knife never intended. When using zip ties to make a knife perform a function that it was never intended to a person is pretty much venturing into a dark territory so to speak. Any injuries incurred are a result of one's own actions, not the design of the knife.

In otherwords, I'm very confident my accident would never have occurred had I not modified the knife myself, irregardless of whether I was carrying it tip up, or tip down.

So, as much as I hate to say it, my own insipid actions are what injured me, not the fact that the knife could be carried tip-up.
 
I like tip up very much. If the knife is properly designed for it and properly carried I am no more fearful of it biting me than I am a tip down knife biting me. I know that personally I can draw tip up noticibly faster than down. On top of that tip up is the only way to draw a waved knife which are faster than just about anything else on the market.
 
Then theres my buddy Greg,who stabbed his leg putting his tip down knife back into his pocket.Leg or hand take your pick.;)
 
I have no preference. I like both tip down or tip up.
As for the zip tie, good thing I notice it just before I put it in my pocket or I would have been another victim. The trick works great though.
 
For me it's always tip down. As to adding zipties all I can say is.....
Why?? :eek: What possible meaningful gain is there to a well designed
quality knife?? Kinda reminds me of squirrel tails on a car antennas. They
are interesting but serve no useful purpose.

Like the say ......each to his own:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Other than the niftyness aspect what possible benefit is to be gained from a super speedy opening? As long as its smooth and solid why does it have to be fast? To my way of thinking, if a smooth draw and opening is too slow you screwed up somewhere else. As long as I can open the knife with one hand I will consider it fast enough.
 
I tried that for awhile with the zip tie deal. It's true that it does open rather fast, however; I found that after opening it 30-40 times, the knot would come loose. Also, I carry my knife in the front of my pants, and there really isn't anyuse for the zip tie knot.
 
I carry one of each. And I have to admit, my tip up model, a BM 770 w/carbon fiber scales, has had the blade peg ridges catch on the seams at the top of my jeans pockets twice, inadvertantly opening and once sticking me in the butt... Tip down, a CRKT Casper/Pol. has never had a problem... But I'll also not stop carrying both: I've just learned to be much more careful.
As to the ziptie in the hole deal... this is the first I've heard, but then, I've never had a problem deploying either knife in a quick and consistent manner. But I will admit the ziptie in one of my BM Gritilians might make for an interesting experiment...
 
The zip tie is a poor mans wave ala Emerson. You would want it for the same reason a person would want a waved Emerson. I tried it on a delica and it worked great.
 
:confused: But I am having trouble visualizing how zip tie is secured to a spydie-hole. Can anyone post a pic or explain in detail for a dummy like me?
Thanks! :D
P.S. Never cut myself with tip-up, or tip-down, but a sharp point of a harpy once caught a meaty part of my palm between the handle and the point as I was closing it one-handed. Not fun...:rolleyes:
 
thread it through the hole and tighten it up with the clicker part on the top of the blade spine. Cut it down and smooth it. It works like the wave. True that it is often unneccesary but there are some things to keep in mind.

1. You never HAVE to wave open the knife. You can pull it out notmally and thumb it open just like any other one hander.

2. Maybe you SHOULD be aware enough to notice a bad situation coming and have the knife palmed or whatever. Reality is that everyone at one time or another gets distracted or preoccupied. Say you haven't and I will call bullspit. I can site a dozen times that you would be vulnerable.

3. Even if you have time to prepare, some may be more comfortable having hand on knife in pocket rather than knife palmed.

4. The "wave" opening uses only gross motor skills, while thumbing requires fine motor control. While you can train to maintain enough fine motor control in a situation to open a folder, it has been proven easier to use gross motor skills over fine motor skills in an adrenalized situation.

There are more reasons why having a wave type device makes sense, but I think I have illustrated my point.
 
TIP DOWN

My friend who is an LEO had the same situation happen to him with an Emerson CQC. When he reached into his pocket his finger met the tip of the Tanto blade, he then made a trip to the Hospital for four stitches.

Lots of folks will argue for Tip Up until they finally get cut really well.
 
I really like Tip-Up carry, and I guess I'm in the minority that keeps their knife clipped to the very BACK (we're talking pressed up against it) of their front pocket, hence, in a tip-up situation not only is whatever detent or similar resistance device helping keep the blade in it's place, but so is the back of my pocket.
I won't pass on a knife because it's tip up or tip down, but given the choice i'll usually opt for tip up, unless perhaps it's a loose-detent liner-lock.

And no, I've never been cut by ANY of my knives while they were supposed to be closed.
 
I agree that on some knives tip down is about the spydie hole. here is my explaination of how I open it :

Reach in to my pocket with my thumb and first finger grip the hole and with a flick of the wrist flip the handle downward into the palm of my hand.

For the most part I don't care which way I carry except for the Hole situation explained above. I've never seen any real statistics about one verse the other and even if I did I probably would still carry which ever way fit it my pocket best or opened easiest. :rolleyes:
 
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