Folder clip orientation

J

jhelz

Joined
Sep 14, 2024
Messages
1
This may be a dumb question but why are almost all folding knife clips attached at the aft end of the knife so that the knife is oriented upside down in your pocket? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have it on the forward end of the knife so that it sits upright in your pocket? That way, when you grab the knife with your thumb and index finger, they are already in the position that you normally hold the knife. Whenever I remove my pocket knife, I have to reposition it in my hand to open the blade.
 
Wrong forum, buddy. Traditional knives don't generally have pocket clips. And the whole tip up/tip down argument has been debated to death in the subforums where they apply.
 
This 4 way clip will blow your mind

IxBX5aC.jpg
 
jhelz said:
This may be a dumb question but why are almost all folding knife clips attached at the aft end of the knife so that the knife is oriented upside down in your pocket? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have it on the forward end of the knife so that it sits upright in your pocket? That way, when you grab the knife with your thumb and index finger, they are already in the position that you normally hold the knife. Whenever I remove my pocket knife, I have to reposition it in my hand to open the blade.
Click to expand...
You are obviously doing it wrong....
 
Welcome to the forums. Use the search function and search "tip up vs tip down" and you'll find enough reading and debate to last you a good long while.

Personally tip up is my preference and that's mostly what it comes down to ... personal preference. Although there is some reasoning if you care to do the reading. I found it's the much safer option for front pocket carry for me.
 
Knife philosophy? Oh boy!

Vertical orientation is less important to me. I carry right front pocket, and I like the clip to be on what you would think of as the lock side, even if we're talking about ambidextrous mechanisms.

Why? Because that puts the blade against the pocket seam, instead of in the space where my hand is going to be digging around for other stuff. I've had a time or two where the blade point somehow got just far enough out of the slabs to give me a scratch, and remind me that it was capable of much more.

If the concern is use, I would say tip up, presentation side, for right-handed people. That gets the pocket clip as far as it can be away from where your hand is going to be. I've found that my tendency to grip the handle tightly is directly related to what I'm doing, and if I'm holding so tight that the clip bothers me... I should stop and go get the right tool.
 
If I clip the knife to my belt loop horizontally, am I potentially kicking off a new round of "tip forward" / "tip back" hostilities?
 
Tip up and no deep carry is the way, our prophet Chris Reeve isn’t wrong.

Some of the spyderco models with big blade humps carry better tip down, which annoys me slightly, many of them are pocket hogs.
 
I have to honestly think about if a knife is tip up or tip down. It really doesn't matter to me.

Generally, tip up is preferable for my edc. I do carry a Spyderco Civilian on occasion, and I like the tip down carry for that. It rides in my back pocket next to my wallet, and it feels faster to deploy from there with the ol' Spydie Drop.
 
jhelz said:
This may be a dumb question but why are almost all folding knife clips attached at the aft end of the knife so that the knife is oriented upside down in your pocket? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have it on the forward end of the knife so that it sits upright in your pocket? That way, when you grab the knife with your thumb and index finger, they are already in the position that you normally hold the knife. Whenever I remove my pocket knife, I have to reposition it in my hand to open the blade.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum. This is called "tip-up" vs. "tip-down" carry.

Generally, most people like to carry the knife blade against the inside pocket seam, so it doesn't open accidentally. IMO, that's more important then which side the clip is on.

Tip-up allows them to draw and open the knife in one swoop, like this:

i-9tmCzw5-X2.jpg


i-wX2mT6f-X2.jpg


i-krG8bGK-X2.jpg


Some of us are quite passionate about "the only way" to do certain things with knives. In practice, the best clip position depends on how you handle the knife, which of the four pockets you carry it in, if you are right of left handed (1 out of 7?), etc. Some knives have a single possible position for the clip, some two, and some even four that you can use. I suggest you do what feels best to you - there is no wrong way :) I have some knives tip up, some tip down, and some where I removed the clip.

Roland.
 
Last edited:
One slice through the front pocket of my pants that I had no idea had occurred was enough to make me swear off tip-down forever (more importantly not against the pocket seam as mentioned).

I also like lanyards to assist in draw, and for me personally tip up puts the knife in a more natural position to deploy anyway. There are those who strongly argue the opposite, but those guys are weirdos ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top