Carry systems - clips, sheaths & closed retention

archieblue

archieblue

Joined
Mar 19, 2001
Messages
3,157
It is soooo unfortunate when you get a knife who's carry system has been an obvious afterthought. Poor closed retention of a folder's blade, uncomfortable/obtrusive stamped out/slapped on clips, poor quality/undeveloped sheaths, ect. 90% of what a knife does is ride on your person. These things are important! I'd like to get a discussion going on what we like/want out of our carry systems if for nothing else to shed light on an aspect of knives that seems overlooked by many a manufacturer and unthought of by many a user! Obviously, IMO, comfortable, safe & efficient carry should be a primary aspect of a knife's overall design.
 
in my opinion generally the best clip out there is the standard three hole one on most BM's and Emerson's. It's just wide enough to make it great ergonomically, it's easy to slip in and out of the pocket, and has good retention. My only minor nit-pic would be the fact that on most models (BM) they come with the painted clip as opposed to oxide. But they'll send you one for free so whatever haha.

Personally I like deep carry clips on smaller and mid-sized knives, I think they are a bit more comfortable to carry that way. I do prefer bigger knives to have a little bit of the handle sticking out so it's easy to grab.

With the exception of sculpted clips (which I imagine would be costly to produce on a large scale). clips tend to lessen the ergonomics of knives. there are some knives with fairly unobtrusive clips though. in my opinion, the clip on the Kershaw skyline / ZT 0200 / ZT 0550 (1st gen) etc, would be one of those. It's pretty short/wide and doesn't stick up very much.

I did just realize my favorite pair of pants (and perhaps the reason I have a favorite pair of pant) is because they have flat pockets making them ideal for multiple pocket clips. :thumbup: :D

I can't really talk about sheaths cause I don't carry a fixed blade (yet) haha. I do think some manufactures should spend more time on their sheaths though. I've held sheaths from multiple company's that have had horrible retention, and the worst part were some of them were neck knives. :barf: more makers/manufacturers need to understand a fixed blade is almost useless without or with a bad quality sheath. It really does boggle my mind why some makers sell their knives without a sheath (I'm not talking about Busse by the way).

I just realized something else...this is an addiction. I just wrote three paragraphs about pocket clips and sheaths haha.

Kirby
 
I carry a buck 112 daily and love the belt sheath my biggest problem is trying to find one pouch I like to carry the rest of my Eec in which consists of a leatherman wave with one bit sleeve a cree 100 lumen flashlight a 4" adjustible wrench and my old flip phone I persanoly like belt carry better then pocket carry for my tools I have the normal stuff in the pockets wallet and in the cargo pocket goes the Wright in the rain notebook with case and presurized space pen I have tried the unite size Xl pockits and I could fit most of my stuff in it I thought it was just to hard to get each thing out and hung to far out with there clip system and it hangs to low interfeers with pockets and such so if anyone had any suggestions I'm all ears
 
Well, I do not use sheaths for anything except my cell phone and a small flashlight. Knives and my multi tool get clip carried. Never had much complaint about clips, but yes, some El Cheapo knives have clips that are afterthoughts. Any good high dollar high quality knife I own has a nice pocket clip that I do not have complaints with. Even the rather large clips on my two Kershaw Junk Yard Dogs are rather nice, if a bit overdone.

Don't do fixed blades because it is my understanding that they are a no-no in my jurisdiction. And besides, the few times I've chanced it, It's never failed to get me the usual stupid comments about what I need a knife like that for. Never mind that I might have a Cold Steel Espada XL in my pocket! ;-)

Wouldn't that be fun? Someone criticizing you for having a small visible fixed blade on your belt. So you whip out a HUGE C.S. Espada XL folder and say, "that's not a knife, this is!" ;-0
 
I do carry a fixed blade quite a bit either on my belt or for larger blades attached to my pack. I've found that a combination of kydex and a molle back and pouch give me the results that I like. That give me good blade retention and an ability to add a small kit I've found useful in the field.

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Try taking the clip off a favorite folder of yours, and notice how much better it feels in the hand without it.

I hate clips because they make the knife uncomfortable to hold, but they are necessary so I don't mind. I have a few small knives that didn't come with clips, and a few that had them and I've left out on purpose. What I'm looking for is an in-pocket sheath with a pocket clip for when I carry a small clipless knife like a GB Air or U2. I saw a knifemaker that had a great idea for the clip, in that it sat flush when the blade was opened.
 
Cool sheathe Dave. :thumbup: I love my TGLB, and may need a spare before they are all gone.

While I carry folders most of the time, I'd say the best designed pocket clips are on:
CRK knives
Emerson Knives
ZT Knives

It does seem like some manufacturers have a really hard time innovating a pocket clip that actually adds to the overall appeal of a knife. The same clip will work on many knives, but once in a while you have to ask "what were they thinking?"
 
I have lost a couple of good knives because of the clips .I use sheaths for everything these days. Preferably with a snap on the cover. Just my experience, everyone finds their own method .
 
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To carry a knife at work I have to have a deep carry (avoids questions). A real deep carry with NONE of the knife showing. SOG gets it but I don't prefer them. Until then there's always aftermarket clips.
 
rural57 said:
I have lost a couple of good knives because of the clips .I use sheaths for everything these days. Preferably with a snap on the cover. Just my experience, everyone finds their own method .
Click to expand...

I've had knives pulled out of my pocket a bunch of times when brushing up against stuff at work. I tend to not use them either. I just pocket carry my folders nowadays.
 
gooeytek said:
Try taking the clip off a favorite folder of yours, and notice how much better it feels in the hand without it.

I hate clips because they make the knife uncomfortable to hold, but they are necessary so I don't mind. I have a few small knives that didn't come with clips, and a few that had them and I've left out on purpose. What I'm looking for is an in-pocket sheath with a pocket clip for when I carry a small clipless knife like a GB Air or U2. I saw a knifemaker that had a great idea for the clip, in that it sat flush when the blade was opened.
Click to expand...

I recently took the clip off my small Sebenza and I was instantly struck by how much better it felt in hand. I just carry it loose in pocket most days now, either that or in a belt sheath that I have. I don't see myself going back to the clip any time soon.
 
I'm not a fan of deep carry clips. I like to have around 1.5" of butt sticking out of my pocket. I also put my pocket clip on left hand side even though I'm right handed. Watch the video to see why.

[video=youtube;1-BGoY0_7mU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-BGoY0_7mU[/video]
 
Man I could go on and on about this. What inspired me to start the thread were several things. 1. My current Fav FB came with a sh!tty sheath. That knife is the Boye Basic 3 with the brass lined nylon sheath. Francine said she'd never heard of people not liking them but gave me an incredible deal on a custom leather one that is frikkin perfect. 2. I can't believe that CRK used the same ol' clip on the 25. The clip is GREAT and certainly without a doubt one of my favs on any of the older models but it's right in the way of the finger groove on the 25. I'm planning on ordering a Ti-Lock clip which I think should be a major improvement. 3. My new Microtech Socom Delta. I loved-loved the Socom (pre-Elite but very similar) handle. IMO the whole design is blown by changing the clip to tip up. Personally I don't have a preference with tip up or tip down. I like whatever the handle design calls for. In use the Socom was way more comfortable for me and I can't imagine it being any different for anyone else.

Also I am not a fan of almost all production knives over used clips as far as looks. Surely they are used to save a buck which is understandable...just not for me.
 
I carried a Sdyderco P'kal using the pocket clip and wave for several years. I eventually realized one flaw as a SD weapon. Using the standard deployment the knife is initially held by the finger tips and rolled into a firm grip well outside the pocket. For a fraction of a second it is very vulnerable to being knocked out of your hand. I got a small fixed blade pikal from Mark Goldsworthy a few months ago along with an excellent fitted kydex sheath. I prefer pocket carry and for 9 or 10 months of the year wear cargo shorts with roomy pockets. My solution for rapid deployment is to tie a lenght of paracord to the rivet at the tip of the sheath with about 10 inches of cord ending in a loop which I attach to my belt. I grasp the handle and quickly draw the knife from my pocket. The sheath come out with it and seperates when the paracord is fully extended. Unconventional, reliable, foolproof and fast. Should work with any small fixed blade with an unsymmetrical grip as long as you have a roomy pocket and carry nothing else in that pocket. To avoid tangeling keep the cord as short as possible.
 
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