Gone for a while: Tip down knives are disappearing?

O

ocnLogan

Joined
Jul 31, 2011
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As mentioned, I've been away from the forums for a while. Moved, had a second child, Covid crazyiness, lots of stuff happened. I've not been "away" from knives, but they've taken a back seat to many other things (lets call it "life", and other passionate hobbies for now).

I'm very much not a collector, and not even really a hard user. But I appreciate a good tool, and take care of my stuff. Much to my surprise as I looked around to see what the market was like, I see what appears to be almost no tip down knives available anymore. Am I hallucinating, or are they actually becoming hard to find? I just checked a few of the brands I remembered. Looks like every ZT, Kizer, Benchmade, Buck I could find was tip up only, and almost every Kershaw. Heck, even Gerber only appears to pretty much do tip up only, which very much surprised me.

I carry my pocket knives in my right rear pocket, and as such I very strongly prefer tip down clips (seen/read too many stories of people putting their hand back there only to find the knife slightly opened somehow, and doing some unplanned blood-letting). The tip down keeps the spine of the knife against the outside edge of the back pocket. I guess tip up, left hand carry could sort of work, but seems like an awkward work around. And yes, I could change carry location, but would really only want to do that if I couldn't find anything reasonable.

For context, I'm currently carrying a plain jane Kershaw Skyline (sort of surprised to see it discontinued actually). Previously loved (and lost) a Boker Exskellimoor 2. I gifted a buddy a RAT 1 a while back, and didn't like how big/heavy it was. Then gifted my Father In Law a RAT 2, and didn't jive with the handle (slightly too small). But other than those, I really haven't handled anything in ages. Oh, and I tend to prefer a thinner/narrower knife for EDC (less noticable in the pocket) and as such I'm not really a fan of Spyderco (carry wide in the pocket because of the hole opening).

If I'm looking for a tip down, manual folder, with ~2.75-3.25in blade length (no serrations), what is/are the current "go to" high value/not super expensive recommendation for someone like me? A manual Kershaw Dividend or Leek would be about perfect for me, but, really don't like assisted openers (can they be de-assisted, or do they not have detents).
 
Unless you are looking for something very specific I feel like there are plenty of offerings that either come with the clip set for tip down or are drilled and tapped for either end and may either side. Have you looked at a Leek or Blur? OKC Rat 1 or 2?
 
J. Doyle said:
Spyderco probably has the widest range of carry options, blade styles, steels, sizes and handle colors/materials for relatively reasonable costs.
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They do have a lot of options, I just don't like the Spyderco look/carry feel (they're just wide in the pocket because of the opening hole).

Maximumbob54 said:
Unless you are looking for something very specific I feel like there are plenty of offerings that either come with the clip set for tip down or are drilled and tapped for either end and may either side. Have you looked at a Leek or Blur? OKC Rat 1 or 2?
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I guess I'm looking for something specific-ish.

Manual, tip down.

The leek and blur are both assisted (as is the dividend). And not a fan of spydercos and how they carry as mentioned above. Tried a RAT1, found it too heavy/bulky/large, tried RAT 2, and liked blade length/size/weight, but didn't like the handle (slightly too small).

Does it seem like tip down is becoming less common? Or am I hallucinating?
 
ocnLogan said:
Does it seem like tip down is becoming less common? Or am I hallucinating?
Click to expand...
No assisted open and no Spyderco hole. Any other detractions? Price range? Hinderer to CRKT in price, they're out there you just have to be patient in your search. I think part of the sudden lack of tip up are all the knives being released with the "axis lock" style crossbar lock. Not sure if you can add screws into all the moving parts in that design without a thick set of scales.

Or swap to tip up on the opposite side.
 
The Native Chief from Spyderco takes up less space than other models in their line up and is worth consideration. Otherwise, yes is seems tip down is becoming uncommon.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
I think part of the sudden lack of tip up are all the knives being released with the "axis lock" style crossbar lock.
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Yeah, I've been noticing this.

Did the Axis lock patent expire? Because all of a sudden I'm seeing a lot more Axis lock "like" designs out there.
 
Almost impossible to find a decent pocket clip these days. Only 2 current production models come to mind in your size range,

Kershaw Leek is the gold standard for a thin, 3" knife. AO is awesome. Every knife should be AO and tip down.

Hogue HK Exemplar is the only manual ~3" I can think off.

Gerber Harsey Air Rangers are nice, IF you can find one. The original Taiwan production has been discontinued for a looong time.
 
ocnLogan said:
They do have a lot of options, I just don't like the Spyderco look/carry feel (they're just wide in the pocket because of the opening hole).
Click to expand...

Was also going to say Native Chief as soon as I read your comment, but I see the SharpBits SharpBits beat me to it.
 
I might be lucky or unlucky. The only knife I ever had open up on me in pocket was a tip down. I prefer tip up as I don’t like the clip near my pivot. I don’t like the way it looks.
 
I came in to suggest you look at the Spyderco Native 5 LW. Doesn’t have the typical blade bump, very strong back lock and the clip can be adjusted 4 ways to give you the tip down you’re looking for. Available in many steel choices. Just a great carry!

Jim

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IMO, you could use a pouch or knives with stronger detents to avoid accidentally opening the blade in your pocket. That would expand your options.

Cold Steel offers the Tuff Lite as tip down only.
 
I prefer top down carry as well, however I really enjoy Spyderco so I have a lot of options other than the manix :/

I like how the clip is oriented when holding the knife. I would prefer to see more options for clip placement.
Some people however dislike the options and think the holes are off putting .
 
Small SHF can be had for a reasonable price and can be configured every which way.

If you wear jeans. maybe a coin pocket carry would work well since you like them small.
 
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