Clip dimensions question

[kingsqueak]

I'm guessing you can do whatever I want in a clip, but have a question.

Why so long on the low rider clips?

I was thinking about 1mm beyond the end of the knife for the loop so it sits fully inside the pocket but the exposed clip section itself at max 2", was even thinking a bit less.

The pics make them look more like 3"+, maybe it's just the camera playing tricks?

Got a BM 741 that is likely a candidate and will eventually send it in with whatever it's sister is going to be (CS Mini lawman is a perfect candidate for a deep clip...really stupid stock clip on them, or maybe a mini Grip). My toy budget right now is just plain empty though ;-).

 

[STR]

I'm guessing you can do whatever I want in a clip, but have a question.

Why so long on the low rider clips?

I was thinking about 1mm beyond the end of the knife for the loop so it sits fully inside the pocket but the exposed clip section itself at max 2", was even thinking a bit less.

The pics make them look more like 3"+, maybe it's just the camera playing tricks?

Got a BM 741 that is likely a candidate and will eventually send it in with whatever it's sister is going to be (CS Mini lawman is a perfect candidate for a deep clip...really stupid stock clip on them, or maybe a mini Grip). My toy budget right now is just plain empty though ;-).

I've made too many clips to judge them as one way or another by just a few you may have seen. Fact of the matter is each one is different and made to order as called for. If you think its too long on a knife it could be the case or it could be that someone ordered it that way and I simply tried to accommodate their request. If someone wants a specific shorter one they can order it that way otherwise I fit them best I can when I have the knife. I've said for years that its always best if I have the actual knife in hand but at least with the most popular clips I get asked to do that is not always the case. When people don't want to ship me the knife they carry and I'm making a clip for it blind, meaning I'm not seeing the actual knife the clip is going on I can't be expected to knock one out for it that looks just so like I can when I have the knife on my bench here but it fits and works. Thats all most people want in the end. This on top of the fact that many of the clips I make are patterns that fit multiple knives means that it can look good on some and not so much on others yet fit a multitude well enough to work for folks. In cases where someone has received a clip they felt was too long, which are rare I am more than willing to work with them but looking at factory clips its often the case that many of them have clips that look too long. Look at the Kershaw Leek for example. The Leek uses the same clip used on the Blur, and on the Shallot and probably on a few others I've forgotten. The clip mount pattern for Emerson knives is the same as most or a whole lot of Benchmades and Spydercos who originally invented the clip and even some Kershaws and more. That three hole pattern like used so often on Benchmades is the oldest clip out there and fits to literally millions of knives made since the early 80's to present day. So when you stop to consider that that same clip will fit to a whole lot of folders out there in production then you can kind of gather why it can look long on some and short on another. If someone wants the best custom fit to their knife the bottom line is I need the knife here. Most don't like being without their EDC for very long so often times they prefer to just have me make a clip and mail it to them to put on themselves.

Not all mini Lawman models use the same clip. The first generation had a clip that was made such that a low rider could work on one but the second generation model was done using a different clip so it cannot work with a low rider, not using the existing hole pattern anyway. There has to be enough space between the two widest set screws to allow for the 180 degree fold over to weave between them and still allow access to the screws to remove or install the clip. If not it simply won't work and I pass on working on them. I get asked to make clips to bury the knife about 50% of the time and asked to make the clip fold flush about the other 50%. Generally speaking it won't hurt a thing if the clip overhangs a bit off the end but when it overhangs off the spine then the palm and hand can pick it up so that it makes the clip less invisible in the hand and even uncomfortable if its hanging off the spine by too much. So if the first spot the clip would overhang is off the spine area and not the end of the knife where the palm could not feel it I am forced to fold it a bit early as opposed to a bit late as you speak of. You have to keep in mind that I am fitting a custom made clip to an already existing folder with already existing mount holes in most all cases where I'm doing this. Its not like it was designed from the ground up with the idea that low rider would be mounted on it. I have to fit it best I can working with what is before me.

As for length. There are limits. It would be hard to make clips too short for reasons I won't get into here but for proper tension on the pocket there should be enough stem to allow for some spring. If you imagine leverage as bending a long stem vs a short one well you can see that its easier to manipulate a longer stem than it would be a shorter one. So the short ones can be very stubborn and if oversprung they can be quite grippy at times if one is not careful. At other times they can be lose. Its very hard to find that happy medium with the shorter clips vs the ones with at least some length to the stem to allow you to adjust it properly. At least that has been my experience. Again though I try to work with folks giving them what they ask for. Most of the time I feel I bat a pretty good average. I don't get a lot of complaints about my clips anyway.

STR