Clips tight, tearing up pants...

S

str8flexed

Joined
Sep 16, 2007
Messages
107
The seams of my pockets have noticeable wear from the knife creating so much friction when pulling the knife out and clipping it back in. It seems that most of my knives have a very tight clip, probably much tighter than actually required. Do any of you "bend" out the clip so that it slides in and out easier?
 
I would do that if it tore up the pockets. It's not too difficult, and if you overdo it, simply remove the clip, tighten, and reattach.

Nowadays, I don't really carry any knives with pocket clips. Gotta love a good slipjoint.
 
I just bent out the clip a little on a knife or two. Works great. I like to have about a millimeter space, I think, makes it much easier to slide in and out but still holds firmly. These clips are pretty firm pieces of metal and I don't think bending them slightly damages them in any way.
 
yea ive done it on a couple knives, ihate having it overly tight. i live a sliver of space between the clip and the knife
 
I take the pocket clip off and stick duct tape under the area where the clip would rest to reduce the friction.
 
I don't recall a single pocket clip on any of my knives that was so abrasive that it wore clothe.

I do have knives where the scale under the pocket clip was sufficiently abrasive to wear clothe, though.

A bit of careful sanding or adding some "filler" can smooth out abrasive scales.
 
An alternative to bending the clip is to remove it and lightly sand the part of the handle the clip presses against your pants. It is typically the handle that is rough. If you smooth that out, your pants should remain virginal, (so to speak).
 
Thalestin said:
I like a good bit of pant wear. Just adds character imo:D
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Yeah, character indeed. My pants were so torn up from skateboarding and having the pocket clip wear at my pockets that dressing as Kurt Cobain was the only option for Halloween. It was awesome.
 
I usually bend the clips on most of my knives so that there is about 1-2mm space between clip and knife handle, just be careful doing that so you don' t snap the clip.
 
I just live with the damage. I have a Kabar Dozier that I have lost twice because it has a loose clip. I feel much more secure with the fact that I won't lose a knife if it has a tight clip. Never worry a bit about that happening with my Paramilitary. That thing is hell on the pocket.
 
My solution is just to wear the knife IWB w/ the clip under the belt...suprisingly comfortable and secure...and any wear is barely noticeable... :D
 
Gavin Hawk's new Grip Clips do an excellent job of providing secure grip while being easy on the pocket. The idea is that you open the clip up to attach or detach the knife.

Here's a photo:

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Phillip
 
If you do decide to bend the clip out a bit I'd recommend removing the clip and using pliers. Add a bit of tape so the pliers dont' scratch the clip.

If you just bend the clip while it is on the knife, you stress the same stress point on the clip that the knife would suffer if the clip caught on something. Unneccessarily stressing this point increases the chance of breaking the clip.

Not a big deal, but you might as well do it right. :)

Alternately, depending on the clip, you could slip needle nose pliers on the clip at about the half way point and use that as the fulcrum.

Also keep in mind this is my opinion, and may or may not have come directly from my keister.
 
Gavin Hawk's new Grip Clips do an excellent job of providing secure grip while being easy on the pocket. The idea is that you open the clip up to attach or detach the knife.
Click to expand...
I was going to ask if there was such a thing as a releasable clip. Question answered. However, I find that a lot of the damage to my pockets is from the thumb studs, but I like the idea and the way those clips look.

Plus aside from helping with the wear and tear issue, I would think a clip like that would be great for retention. You could keep the clip so tight that the knife won't come out unless you press the release.

By the way, beautiful handles on those knives! :)
 
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T.K.C. said:
I live with the knife pocket disease. I like the tight pocket clip.
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Same here. I just take my good, worn jeans to a local tailor and have them reenforced as needed for about $8 each time. I think it adds character to my every day jeans.
 
T.K.C. said:
I live with the knife pocket disease. I like the tight pocket clip.
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Every pair of jeans, except one, has the clip disease. The one pair of jeans, Carhartt, have a leather strip on the pocket lip for clipping. The cargo shorts I wear during summertime also have the right and left pocket lips covered with an additional piece of material. On all, the material extends from the back of the pocket for ~2". The shorts are made by 5.11.
 
str8flexed said:
The seams of my pockets have noticeable wear from the knife creating so much friction when pulling the knife out and clipping it back in.
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Used to happen to me too. Now I carry slipjoints in pocket. Doesn't happen anymore.
 
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