Recommendation? Carrying traditional knives

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storyofmyknife

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Nov 25, 2021
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How do you carry your traditional knives?
I’ve always carried modern knives with clips, and it’s always clipped in my front pocket with my phone. I’ve been getting into traditional knives more, but I don’t like having it just bouncing around in my pocket. I would want some sort of leather slip that could clip inside my pocket where I would normally have my knife, and be able to hold a traditional knife. Do any of you use something like this, and would you have any suggestions of where to get one?
I’d prefer to have something that allows me to take the knife out while leaving the slip clipped in my pocket.

Pictures of what you use would be fantastic.
 
Those under 5 inch (excluding 111mm SAK's, Douk Douk's, and others with a bail) go lose in RFP.
Those with a bail get clipped to a belt loop.
5 inch and over go in a belt sheath.
 
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I never did understand clips on knives. Why struggle with a clip, when it is so much easier to just reach in your pocket and pull your knife out? Having to reach past a clipped knife to access my keys is also annoying. Adding a sleeve or pouch seems like it would even further complicate the process.

I have a couple of modern knives I enjoy, but 90% of the time I just carry them loose in my right front pocket, same as I do a traditional.

Obviously, my opinion is colored by decades of loose-in-the pocket knife carry :rolleyes:…
 
I think pocket clips became popular sometime in the 1980's. Never saw one before then. Always have carried pocketknife loose in left front pocket. Larger knives, like a Buck 110, or even a Case trapper, can be carried on a belt sheath. I finally bought some modern knives last year, and while I like them, I hate carriying them clipped to a pocket. Gets in the way, frays the pocket.
 
Welcome to the traditional side! There's a few options out there. What size knife are you carrying?
Something like LastRodeo LastRodeo posted may be a good fit for you. A lot of us either throw them straight in a pocket or use some kind of slip. A simple pocket slip with no clips can help with the knife rotating around in your pocket (that bothers me too on certain knives) I have used those & also this one with a magnetic clip when I feel the need.

IMG_20240415_145447984.jpg

There's also member Horsewright Horsewright that makes knives & leather goods you might be interested in. Here's a link to his website. https://www.horsewright.com/Buckaroo-Pouch-_p_339.html

Other members who do knife slip work are active here, I'm sure others can comment more. There are more threads on this subject but I can't seem to find them at the moment.
Either way welcome to the porch, pull up a chair & stay awhile! 👍

Edit to add: My front "knife" pocket usually just has the knife in it most of the time. I treat it like a dedicated pocket.
 
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ZHoovie said:
Welcome to the traditional side! There's a few options out there. What size knife are you carrying?
Something like LastRodeo LastRodeo posted may be a good fit for you. A lot of us either throw them straight in a pocket or use some kind of slip. A simple pocket slip with no clips can help with the knife rotating around in your pocket (that bothers me too on certain knives) I have used those & also this one with a magnetic clip when I feel the need.

View attachment 2551622

There's also member Horsewright Horsewright that makes knives & leather goods you might be interested in. Here's a link to his website. https://www.horsewright.com/Buckaroo-Pouch-_p_339.html

Other members who do knife slip work are active here, I'm sure others can comment more. There are more threads on this subject but I can't seem to find them at the moment.
Either way welcome to the porch, pull up a chair & stay awhile! 👍

Edit to add: My front "knife" pocket usually just has the knife in it most of the time. I treat it like a dedicated pocket.
Click to expand...
Most of what I’d be carrying is around 3-4 inches. I know that could easily fit loose in a pocket, but I keep my phone in one front pocket, and keys in the other so I wouldn’t want stuff scraping against each other.

What size is that knife in your picture?
 
I carry one each in my left and right front pockets daily. Keys go in left front pocket, small wallet and change in right front pocket. These are in jeans or overalls mostly. Scraping against each other? Have never had an issue. A phone I could understand I guess. I had never seen a knife slip until here.

My point is this, try it loose in your pocket a little while and you will get accustomed to it. Folks have been carrying that way for years.

I’m glad you’re interested in traditional knives. They have been a lifelong habit and hobby for me. Good luck and enjoy!
 
Because I have a bunch of other small items I carry daily, my pocket knives live in my yellow birch outfitters pocket organizer where I store all the other things.

I carry it in such a way that I can just reach in and pull my knife out, putting it away is not as easy as just dropping it into my pocket but I still don't have to remove anything but just my knife when I need to cut something which is key for me.
It'll depend on the knife, the organizer, and which slot you put it in, but using a pocket organizer doesn't have to mean taking the whole thing out just to retrieve your knife.
For me this means using the small slot on the very left of my organizer since most of my pocket knives are pretty small ones.
Yes it also protects my knives some from scratches but that's kind of just a minor unintentional bonus, I probably wouldn't care if this wasn't the case.



Btw if you're right handed you could just wear Wranglers and use their fairly roomy watch pocket to carry just about any size of traditional folder you want, if you're right handed which I am not.
 
storyofmyknife said:
Most of what I’d be carrying is around 3-4 inches. I know that could easily fit loose in a pocket, but I keep my phone in one front pocket, and keys in the other so I wouldn’t want stuff scraping against each other.

What size is that knife in your picture?
Click to expand...
Ok, totally understand. That's pretty much the normal size range. That knife is a full size Case Copperlock, it's about 4 ¼ inches closed if my memory is correct. I usually carry one that's about 4 inches give or take. Although I do have others that are 5+ inches that I still pocket carry. As long as you can get them to stay vertical they're easy to have in any pocket, front or back. Everyone is different though.
Here's a full pic of the knife I previously posted.

view


Hickory n steel said:
Btw if you're right handed you could just wear Wranglers and use their fairly roomy watch pocket to carry just about any size of traditional folder you want, if you're right handed which I am not.
Click to expand...
If you like large watch pockets check out Ariat brand jeans, they have enormous "watch" pockets. By that I mean, easily fit a Buck 110 or a full size pistol magazine in... 😉

-Edit to add pic-
 
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I don't like carrying larger knives in my pocket anymore for some reason. A medium stockman or a two row Alox SAK is about my limit. Anything fatter or longer I carry in a belt pouch. I find that it's no more bother getting a knife out of a pouch on my belt, than it is digging it out of my pocket. In a lot of situations it's even easier.

Most of the on-line knife places carry some inexpensive leather or nylon belt pouches. Or you can give one of the many craftsman on the forum here some business, and have a nice one made the way you want it.
 
Great to see that you are wanting to carry Traditionals . You are still young enough to have time to figure it out . Myself I usually carry a knife in each pocket and do not feel that they are bouncing around . Do you want a Knife in your pocket or a bunch of other Stuff ??? If I want to carry keys in my pocket and keep a knife in a slip if I want to protect it . Do you want a knife in the pocket or a bunch of other stuff ????? It sounds like you need a Slip with a Clip and a knife with a Lanyard Hole or Bale or a Belt Mounted Slip and you have some good advice by LastRodeo LastRodeo and ZHoovie ZHoovie . Have fun in figuring it all out and finding an EDC and a way to carry it .

Harry
 
One (very) low-cost idea is to use a safety pin to sequester a portion of your pocket for the knife. You can make the section the perfect size for whatever knife you're carrying.

For a more permanent solution, once you've found the right pin position, bust out the needle and thread and replace the safety pin with some stitching. Built-in custom knife slips for all your pants!

That would be my approach if I didn't already have so many slips I need to justify the purchase of...

Hyg13jY.jpeg
 
For knives larger than I want to carry in my pockets I prefer a sheath that fits horizontally on my belt. Worn just left of center with the opening facing to the right keeps it very comfortable and easily accessed.
 
I have always loose carried my traditionals in my pocket without the issue of them bouncing around or going horizontal. I always put my knife in the same pocket as my phone so the knife stays vertical wedged between the edge of my pocket and the edge of my phone. This works 99% of the time and I've never had an issue with the phone and knife rubbing together and scratching one another. Phone always has a case, and knife goes in with the spring side facing the phone. I've also done the safety pin method as mentioned by birdsbeaks birdsbeaks in the past. It works really well, but I kind of got tired of taking off the pin and putting it back on every day. If my knife is 3.5in or smaller I also have the option of putting it in my watch pocket which also does the trick.

I hope this helps!
 
I carry my traditionals with a leather slip in the pocket. Partly because I also usually have a larger folder clipped to the pocket and don’t like them banging into each other, and also partly because I just like nice leatherwork 😂

I’ve always used the Collector Knives Tuscan leather slips, and liked them a lot, but for larger traditionals, I tend to prefer the Useful Leather Co slips like this one:
IMG_5281.jpeg


For context, I carry both of my knives front right pocket, and am one of the weird people who clips their keys to a belt loop most of the time. Never liked carrying my keys in my pocket, and had too many issues with plastic fobs on keys getting damaged over time so I changed over to the setup I have now because of it.
 
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