Body Type and Ergonomics

J

JNieporte

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Nov 1, 2004
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I'm curious as to what kind of people (physically) we have. I think it plays quite well into how knives are designed; everything from hand shape and size to overall body type. I've found that slender / athletic people tend to carry knives more frequently than overweight or super-skinny people, and also carry them in different ways. For some reason, overweight people (from my observations) don't use pocket clips much, but rather use belt sheaths. Skinny people tend to use pocket clips or neck sheaths. Average-sized knife carriers use a pocket clip or belt sheath. Maybe all of this will help in designing more people-friendly knives in terms of what type of knives certain types of people carry.

So, what's your body type? What are your observations on this subject?

I consider myself average or athletic, and I typically carry via pocket clip and neck sheath.
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I suppose I'd fit more into the "slender/athletic" category, since I'm not skinny or overweight.

For me, it's almost always IWB using a pocket clip.:D
 
Sorry to blow out your data so quick, but I'm built like Santa Clause and I carry knives clipped to my pockets. All of them at times, at least a couple all the time. That doesn't include all the knives I carry loose in my pockets, or the Mini-Police necklace I wear, or the Leatherman Wave in a belt pouch, or...

You get the picture. ;):D
 
Im fairly skinny (6'1 200), and I carry anything I can get my hands on. So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, I don't think the build of a person matters, unless they are a kid.
 
I dont think build means a thing when it comes to what knives one owns and how they are carried.

Having said that, Im only 12" tall so i have to carry all my knives under my arm. So you may have a point after all.
 
I'm 6'0", 190lbs, and carry however I feel like on a specific day. I've carried my Leatherman on the belt, in either front pockets, clipped to either front pocket, or in a "cargo" pocket. Same goes for my knife, depending on what I'm carrying. I have no status quo.

The only real constants that I've seen in my area are multitools in sheathes, and knives clipped in pockets. But then, I guess I wouldn't be able to tell if someone is carrying IWB (unless their shirt is tucked in) or in pocket, unless they flat-out told me.
 
I'm a 6'0, 150 lbs, thin-boned skinny/athletic guy.
I carry my knives IWB, generally in the area between the abs and the hip bone. I hardly notice my knife this way until I need it. On the back of the hip it carries well too, but is a little less practical when carrying a backpack.
 
6'4 205lb athletic. Usually have a Spyderco clipped to my right front pocket and a SAK in my left pocket. Not a fan of carrying items in a sheath or pouch on my belt, whether it's a Leatherman or Kuhkuri. I do IWB carry at 4 o clock or just behind my hip bone when I'm carrying multipliples or when the situation calls for it.
 
Current specs - height just under 6' 2", weight around 225 lbs. Carry the same amount of knives, in the same places, as I did when I weighed 310. Two Spydies, on loose in my back pocket, the other loose in my watch pocket, occasionally with a short fob attached. Back in the day, when I weighed 170 and ran 5 miles several times a week, I only carried one, but it too was carried loose in my back pocket. The only thing I ever carried for SD was a handgun, and that was almost always in a shoulder holster.

Getting back to knives, in the area where I live I've seen a LOT more belt sheaths, on persons of all builds, than pocket clips. Based on that, I'd guess that sheaths and loose pocket carry are the two preferred methods. Judging from those sheaths, I'm fairly sure the Buck 110 is still king of the hill around here, at least among blue collar males. Office workers are harder to gauge, the few I know carry do so loose in the pocket. I'd bet a reasonable number of them carry, but do so discreetly either out of preference or to avoid problems.

Paul
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5' 6"/180lbs. and meaner then heck, well not really. As little as I am I have concealed carried a 4" N-frame.
 
6 ft, 200 lbs, mostly carry pocket knife clipped in right front pocket. Never really thought about body structure dictating knife carry, but maybe it does.
 
5' 11" 160lbs, average build, usually carry right front pocket, rear right pocket or IWB. Always use the pocket clips.

I always thought carrying a knife is pretty easy until you go over 4" in blade length....
 
6'7.25" - 275ish (before a meal :D). My hands are smaller then you would expect for someone my size but still larger then the avg hand (I can palm a baseketball). I typically carry a Byrd Meadowlark or Boker Trance folder (3" blade or under here in MI) in right front pocket. I wish some companies offered a thicker version of some knives for the bigger hand. Sometimes it feels like I'm holding a pencil. One day I'd like to get into custom G10 scale making so I can bolt on some beefier scales.
 
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