Belt Carry for Big Fellas

[Chronovore]

I really enjoy Tek Loks and the variety of ways they let you carry, and maybe I have to take another look but I wear a Groove Life belt. You've probably seen them all over online but it's actually a really nice belt in my opinion. It's got some stiffnes, but its also got a slight stretch in it to give room when you're sitting or bending. I believe that is the reason it's not quite thick enough to fill up the space of the Tek Lok. It's fine width wise, but the thickness is still sort of on the slimmer side. I've seen those thick leather belts and I do really enjoy them, but ever since finding this one it's been the most comfortable I've ever worn. I might still give one a try.

I carry different knives different ways. It depends on the knife, the sheath, what I'm wearing, and what I'm doing. I often use a Tek-Lok, soft loops, the positional clips that come with Real Steel knives, or a generic deep-carry clip for IWB.

One thing that all of these mounting and carry methods have in common is that they all benefit from the right belt. (This is doubly important for guns.) Flexibility can be good for accommodating slight fluctuations in size but not for exact retention. That's why I prefer the fine control of a ratchet system. The EDC and gun belts from Kore Essentials have been a game-changer for me. I've used their reinforced leather belts for a few years now.

(If you've got a Dunlap, go with a lower-profile buckle that has rounded corners.)

 

[Horsewright]

I've been an admirer of yours for about as long as I've been here on this site. (Albeit that's only been about 4 years, still familiar nonetheless). And I can attest that you do incredible work sir, im glad I can finally tell you that myself. When it comes to comfortably carrying, especially for the big guys I truly believe you can't top a well done leather sheath. I absolutely love your horizontal sheaths and it kinda makes me wanna give front cross draw another try. I'm not sure if I like the straight horizontal more or if I'd rather have it canted handle up above the belt line. Both are attractive methods. When the time comes I may be asking you to make a few of those for me . (It sounds like your brother also had a very good idea going with that website. I'd definitely buy a belt from you).

David Mary I also wanted to ask you how you dealt with the belt buckle situation. Not an oversized one but just the regular buckle on a belt. They're usually wider than the belt strap so does that affect the way you tie the loop or is there enough give in the chord to pass it through after tying? (For example is there enough room for taking the sheath on and off of your belt everyday without moving the knot)

Thank you sir for the kind words. Another thought. While I'd intentionally designed my pancake sheath as a crossdraw I've found that an awful lot of people are wearing it behind the back. It rides very flat there so would also work for very big guys and can handle a variety of different sized knives:

Our young friend Emma was one of the first I saw doing this:

Out of the way whether your sitting around or very active. This young lady carries a very large knife I made her in the small of the back (SOB):

This cowboy is bout my size but he carries a very large camp knife that way too:

The wife (on the right and Emma in the middle), use to carry crossdraw in a variety of ways:

As did my daughter:

While neither would really qualify as big guys, (Just my son and I meet that qualification in our family),

They both recently switched to just behind the hip and it makes a guy think:

Why wouldn't that work for a big guy?

 

[RyanSean97]

Thank you sir for the kind words. Another thought. While I'd intentionally designed my pancake sheath as a crossdraw I've found that an awful lot of people are wearing it behind the back. It rides very flat there so would also work for very big guys and can handle a variety of different sized knives:

Our young friend Emma was one of the first I saw doing this:

Out of the way whether your sitting around or very active. This young lady carries a very large knife I made her in the small of the back (SOB):

This cowboy is bout my size but he carries a very large camp knife that way too:

The wife (on the right and Emma in the middle), use to carry crossdraw in a variety of ways:

As did my daughter:

While neither would really qualify as big guys, (Just my son and I meet that qualification in our family),

They both recently switched to just behind the hip and it makes a guy think:

Why wouldn't that work for a big guy?

Its my pleasure sir, and actually, that's one of the ways I've been wanting to try to carry. And that's the exact idea I had in mind when I thought about using your sheaths. Having it somewhere on the back or behind the hip, canted like that for right hand draw. I think that would be incredibly comfortable and easy to use. I love the idea of that right there and these ladies have the right idea.

I recently have begun to carry my fixed blades behind the hip and I enjoy it so far, but I'd rather have leather and would probably prefer it closer to the middle of the back inside of on the side by the hip.

(By the way, those are all just gorgeous sheaths and blades. Well done sir)

 

[Horsewright]

Its my pleasure sir, and actually, that's one of the ways I've been wanting to try to carry. And that's the exact idea I had in mind when I thought about using your sheaths. Having it somewhere on the back or behind the hip, canted like that for right hand draw. I think that would be incredibly comfortable and easy to use. I love the idea of that right there and these ladies have the right idea.

I recently have begun to carry my fixed blades behind the hip and I enjoy it so far, but I'd rather have leather and would probably prefer it closer to the middle of the back inside of on the side by the hip.

(By the way, those are all just gorgeous sheaths and blades. Well done sir)

Thanks again!

 

[DDDYLN]

Tek locks are my personal favorite and what 90% of my fix blades have. They're fast to put on or take off your belt and you can put them on a side or the back comfortably. There's times when you can't bring a blade somewhere so the tek lock is great because it snaps on and off, no need to take off your belt to remove it. I'd stay away from from straps with buttons, I've had bad luck with them falling off because of a little pressure on them, such as sitting down or getting up, and then you risk damage from your knife falling. Have you tried something like the belt that Miller bros make? There's some great ones out there that are thick and made just for people have an edc setup

Thanks for the information. I'm a big guy, and I'd like to setup several of my knives for scout carry. I always see those snap straps. As a mechanical engineer, it always seemed like a bad idea, for the reason you mentioned. Thank you for confirming it. I use Tek Loks for my OWB Kydex pistol holster and OWB Kydex double magazine holster. They seem to work very well. From my understanding, they also have the added benefit of being MOLLE/PALS compatible. So, if you're wearing a MOLLE belt, the Tek Lok cab slide through the PALS webbing. That actually seems like a wise way to carry for larger blades, as it should keep the sheath from moving horizontally when you draw the blade.

 

[DDDYLN]

I have a question for this forum, because I'd like to scout carry while hiking. To clarify, I'm 6' tall, and currently 245_lb. When I've gotten down to 9% body fat, I'm 205_lb, with a 35" waist. Typically, when I'm in good shape, I wear a 36" waist, and I fluctuate between 210-215_lb. I'm a wide, heavy muscular guy.

I have several questions, but I'll start with the most critical. I have a few large Cold Steel blades, with their Secure Ex sheaths. The sheaths aren't bad for vertical carry. They lack sufficient retention for horizontal carry. I have 2 options. I can purchase an aftermarket Kydex sheath made specifically for scout carry retention. Those sheaths will cost me as much or more as the knives did. Or, I can take the belt loops off the Secure Ex sheaths, and add some sort of strap to retain the knife handle. Has anyone had success doing this? I suppose a 3rd option is getting out my heat gun, and attempting to modify the Secure Ex sheath. I'm not sure if they're made of the type of polymer that melts slightly, or the type that burns.

 

[DDDYLN]

In regards to different methods of scout carry retention, I think it depends on your purpose. If it's something you do all day every day, something bulky like a Tek Lok, would probably be uncomfortable. I suspect you'd be more comfortable with a leather sheath, or a hard polymer sheath attached with Paracord. In my case, since I'm not lucky enough to live in a state where I can conceal carry a fixed blade, I only plan to scout carry while hiking. For that situation, Tek Loks, Cold Steel C-Clips, or UltiClips make sense, since I won't be sitting down much, and I'll probably take the knife off if I sit down for an extended period. A word of caution on the Cold Steel C-Clips, which are made of some sort of polymer. I saw a picture of a guy who used them for scout carry, and they snapped in half when he sat down in a chair.

 

[David Mary]

Pretty sure cold steel sheaths are a form of GFN/FRN that will not thermoform with a heat gun.

 

[DDDYLN]

Thanks. I suspect as much. As a mechanical engineer, I remember my materials classes. You have your hard plastics that can reflow with heat, and then you have those that just burn. I forgot the terms. It was a long time ago.

 

[DDDYLN]

I knew I'd have to get custom Kydex sheaths for my Ontario Spec Plus knives (RIP Ontario). The newer sheaths actually aren't terrible, as their MOLLE/PALS compatible. They just don't retain the blade with any force except the bottom straps.