Are clips necessary

R

rkhndjr

Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
189
and how did they get started as part of a knife? I don't care for them and wondered how many took them off.
 
I wouldn't carry a knife without a clip. It's convenient and has easy access. The exception is my SAK which I just leave in my bag.
 
I have no desire to have pocket knives without clips. The exception is a sak and a traditional slipjoint folder. Anything else, no clip is a no go.
 
either sheath or clip... unless its really small.

do you just have a large knife loose in your pocket or what?
 
rkhndjr said:
and how did they get started as part of a knife? I don't care for them and wondered how many took them off.
Click to expand...

I believe the pocket clip was invented by Spyderco. The early models were integrally molded with the FRN handles, but there were breakage issues, so they (and everyone else) went to metal clips, which have the advantage of being removable, and on many models, repositionable.

Clips are great for rapid deployment. I do not use the clips on my sub-3" EDC blades, but I do use clips on my larger folders that I use for work. So no, they are not necessary, but sometimes they are very useful.

The great thing is that you CAN take them off, put them back on, replace them, rebend them, etc. Do what works best for your own needs.
 
Depends on size I guess for me.
If it's a smaller knife, then no clip is fine. But with something larger, like a 710, just having it loose in my pocket, bangin' around, gets really annoying.
Also clips keep things organized. I have a streamlight microstream flashlight,
and even though it's small enough to just sit loose in my pocket, I prefer to use the clip.
 
For me it depends on what I need the knife for. Actually, in my current carry rotation, the only knife with a clip is my Spyderco Paramilitary, and I don't carry it often. The rest are traditional slipjoints.

If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of cutting and may not have a free hand to open the knife and don't want to have to dig in my pocket, I'll carry the Para. Otherwise, I don't often need a knife quickly, so reaching into my pocket isn't an issue.

These knives range in size from a large stockman to a Schrade 34OT medium stockman. My most commonly carried knife is a Queen canoe that for a larger knife rides very comfortably in the bottom of the pocket.
 
With the advent of clips it was easier to carry a bigger folder that would be quite noticed and even uncomfortable if carried deep rolling around with keys or other things in the pocket already. Also, clips really reduce if not eliminate most of the threat of pocket lint and obstruction in lock mechanisms not to mention allow for quicker retrieval if you need your knife out fast. 2.5 ounces is heavy rolling around in your pocket but with a clip suddenly twice that or more is no problem to carry around all day everyday. At least thats been the case for me.

I love clips but I do agree that many are installed on folders looking almost as if they were an afterthought at best. It always puzzled me why a maker would spend countless hours making a great folder and finish it up with a generic store bought clip. That was one of the things that got me into making pocket clips in the first place. I wanted a custom clip to go with the custom knife. It seemed to make sense at the time.

STR
 
I don't think I would ever carry a real knife without a clip. Talk about a PITA
 
Carrying a knife in-pocket without a clip can raise legal issues here. My understanding of it is pretty much this: Concealed weapons are verboten, and carrying a knife without a clip leaves no part of the knife exposed, thus making it concealed. After that, it's pretty much the officer's call as to whether or not the knife is a weapon and not a tool. The idea being, a tool is allowed, a weapon is not.

Long story short, with a knife clipped onto your pocket or belt and the clip clearly exposed, the theory is that the knife is not concealed.

In any case, I find them to be a really convenient way of carrying a knife.
 
all of my folders over I'd say with over 2 1/2" blades have clips. One for the reason that it makes them easier to deploy when clipped to the corner of the pocket, as opposed to riding deep in the pocket. Another thing the clips come in handy for is when you wish to carry a folder iwb (in the waistband)...as for fixed blades, well then have their own carry systems. I think the only folder with a good sized blade I have that doesn't have a pocket clip, is my Smith & Wesson Powerglide(I rarely carry it); its carry system is an old cellphone like belt clip.

belt clips come in especially handy when used for tip up carry on wave opening folders (that what my edc knife is).
 
I think STR said it the best, but I will add that when at work and I have my duty belt on with all that junk on it, i can't put my hands in my 2 top pockets. If I had a blade down inside there I wouldn't be able to get it out. But I can get to a clipped folder clipped to the bottom most corner of my pocket.
 
i struggled with knives with no clips for 30 years and see no reason to carry anything nowadays with out one.
 
Clips are one of the reasons that I became interested in pocket knives. Before I started carrying knives with clips I had to sew a division in my LRP so that my balisong(Philippine made) wouldn't keep moving around and hard to access and deploy. Now I can clip a knife in my RFP and my knife doesn't have to compete with my spare mag for space in my LRP.
 
rkhndjr said:
and how did they get started as part of a knife? I don't care for them and wondered how many took them off.
Click to expand...
I think the addition of the carry clip is singlehandedly responsible for the revival of the folding knife.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top