horizontal carry??

P

Psycho

Joined
Apr 20, 2006
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Does anyone here carry fixed blades horizontally on the small of their backs?? Is it a functional method of carry or does it just serve to look kinda cool and snag brush?? What are some of your favorite ways to carry large fixed blades, other than on or in a pack??
 
I will only carry a large fixed blade on my belt if I know I will be using it often, otherwise it will be in my pack. Whent it is on my belt, it will be carried veritcally using the belt loop.

IMHO horizontal carry would get in the way of my pack and not be comfortable at all.
 
Merc rig when only a knife or baldric when with other bits.

Small of the back would not work well for me:

1] Inconvenient underclothing

2] Goofy looking over clothing

3] No good for sitting

4] Nasty force massed if fallen on

5] Requires a simplistic sheath or greater effort

6] As myright said; screws with the bergan
 
Actually, I do. I find that it makes sitting down more comfortable (why are you guys sitting on the small of your back, instead of your butt? :p) and doesnt snag on brush as badly. It also serves to put my knife handle where I can draw it with my strong side, while still carrying a gun. But, to each their own, I guess.
 
I tried it with a med.< large fixed blade. Made a nice leather sheath and everything, it got caught on EVERYTHING. It was like the forest was reaching out and trying to grab my knife.

I only wore it once.
 
I've had a few people on here ask for sheaths for them, so I tried it out. IN GENERAL, since I carry a waist bag or backpack when hiking, it's not the most convenient.

If' I'm going really light and just what's in the UK pockets, it's actually pretty comfortable. great for biking, too.

It's also a great style of sheath for strapping to packs or shoulder straps on possibles bags.
 
I tried it with my RC4, it was hard to put the knife back in without looking back. So I put it in the front of the belt, it was better but still bothered me when I was crouching. So I prefer vertical.
 
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Tried it with a Tracker knife I once owned, it was a hassle resheathing. I have carried horizontally many times in the front. I find it easy to utilize the knife this way, for me.
 
Rockywolf said:
Tried it with a Tracker knife I once owned, it was a hassle resheathing. I have carried horizontally many times in the front. I find it easy to utilize the knife this way, for me.
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Then you can't be in the sequel, "The Hunted, more ridiculous stuff."

A shame, really, we needed someone to replace del toro. :(
 
I get requests for it. To each his own. The only guy I know who carries horizontally carries a Bowie across his belt under a chest rig in Afghanistan. Behind the back is problematic.
 
I like it..I never have any problems..it doesnt get snagged on anything..it is never in the way and is easily the most comfortable way to carry a med to large knife...Putting it back is a matter of turning your neck and looking..but you have to look to put your knife in a sheath on your leg as well. I find it way more comfortable..I think that the negative vibe for it is more "tracker Hating"..and nothing more.
I could see this mothod of carry being a problem if you have a round midsection, it would pull down your pants..or you have a large backpack on, it would be were your waste padding would be..
 
I see where you're going with the belly thing. I don't got one but I can imagine, eww. Never seen that tracker movie either just that silly prop from it. I've tried many rigs with varying degrees of success; Worst for me has to be low leg / calf. Medium for me would be high ride belt. Bit better, drop leg. By far my preference is weak-side /high. Little ones left breast, larger ones under left arm.
 
I tried it with a knife I made, every time I tried to resheath it I looked like a dog chasing its' tail as I went around in circles.
 
I don't like SOB carry for guns, so I never got into it for knives. I think it would hurt you bad if you fell on it! Although I don't fall over all that much.

Probably a more practical concern is the pack issue. I almost always have a pack of some kind when hiking, and definitely if I'm hiking far enough to feel like I need a big knife.
 
Psycho said:
Does anyone here carry fixed blades horizontally on the small of their backs?? Is it a functional method of carry or does it just serve to look kinda cool and snag brush?? What are some of your favorite ways to carry large fixed blades, other than on or in a pack??
Click to expand...

Since my 'chete came with a crappy nylon sheath, I usually leave it at home and carry the 'chete in hand and will slide it between my back and pack resting on the straps when I need both hands...
 
carry horizontal on the front left of my belt. I love it. No problem crouching and even on a five day trip my pack isn't heavy enough to warrant a hip belt
 
Yep, for a medium-length blae (6-12") I like SOB carry. It doesn't snag (But I'm broad of back, if you're skinny, I can see where it'd be a problem), and can put it back without craning my neck to see (I think this depends on what sheath you use). I use a traditional rucksack (meaning it's short and squat, rather than a long, thin tube like most modern packs), so it doesn't interfere with my pack. I've also fallen over and it's not a problem. But I wear my pants at my waist. If you wear your lower, where you belt kind of rests on top of the cocyx area, rather than up on the points of the hip, it will hurt if you land on it.

File this under "to each his own." It works for some, not for others. For a short knife, I like horizontal carry at the 10 o'clock position. I find I can reach it easily with either hand and it's much more comfortable to crouch or sit than with a vertical sheath.
 
I make my sheaths with a Velcro backing rather than belt loops and have two different mounts for them; vertical and horizontal. (The belt loops are on the mounts.) The original Gerber Guardians came with this sort of sheath arrangement. Using either of these, I can attach my sheaths to the mounts in a 45 degree swing to either side of straight. So if I elect to use a horizontal carry, I use the horizontal belt mount, but I can choose to keep the blade perfectly horizontal or angle it slightly upwards or down depending upon what else is on my body at the time. With a larger pack, I can angle it down a bit and it doesn't get in the way of the pack. When I take the pack off, all I need to do is strip off the sheath and re-attach it angled slightly upwards and it doesn't get in the way of bending or sitting. The process takes less than 3-4 seconds to do, and you don't need to look at it to get it done. This being said, I only use is for smaller (3"-5") fixed blade knives. Anything larger and I go for a vertical carry on my strong side.
 
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