How to prevent losing a pocket knife

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rmcook1314

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Sep 15, 2015
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Hey Gents,

I recently lost a benchmade that slipped out of my pocket while I was hunting. I have a Spyderco para 3 in the mail to replace it but I’m nervous about losing it in a similar manner. I am a wildland firefighter and spend a lot of my time working in thick brush. Twigs and branches are constantly snagging my clothes and trying to rip stuff out of my pockets.

I’m wondering if anybody has come up with a creative solution to this problem? Hopefully something better than tying paracord to my belt and to the knife. I was thinking about using some sort of magnetic lanyard like what’d you’d see on a fishing net. Or just using a small coiled lanyard that stretches when I need to use the knife and retracts when it’s in my pocket. Curious to see what you guys have come up.

Thanks
 
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I feel your pain, having donated numerous knives to the river gods (Sploosh! Oops!) and bush witches:mad:. Lanyards are a PITA especially in thick brush. A snap-down belt sheath is one answer (Buck's nylon or leather are excellent), although belt sheaths down't work if you're carrying a backpack with waist belt. I usually just stick whatever knife I'm carrying into the top pocket of my daypack or in a snap-down pocket of my jacket.
 
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The hardware store near me (True Value) sells heavy duty retractable key rings. It clips onto your belt and has a spring loaded real inside. Some are round and metal with a metal chain. Some are plastic with nylon cord.

I like your idea of the net magnet too.

either way you want to have two mean of securing the knife. The clip and a magnet for example.

good luck.
 
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Alberta Ed said:
I feel your pain, having donated numerous knives to the river gods (Sploosh! Oops!) and bush witches:mad:. Lanyards are a PITA especially in thick brush. A snap-down belt sheath is one answer (Buck's nylon or leather are excellent), although belt sheaths down't work if you're carrying a backpack with waist belt. I usually just stick whatever knife I'm carrying into the top pocket of my daypack or in a snap-down pocket of my jacket.
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Put the belt sheath on the shoulder strap of the pack.
 
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Alberta Ed said:
I feel your pain, having donated numerous knives to the river gods (Sploosh! Oops!) and bush witches:mad:. Lanyards are a PITA especially in thick brush. A snap-down belt sheath is one answer (Buck's nylon or leather are excellent), although belt sheaths down't work if you're carrying a backpack with waist belt. I usually just stick whatever knife I'm carrying into the top pocket of my daypack or in a snap-down pocket of my jacket.
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eveled said:
The hardware store near me (True Value) sells heavy duty retractable key rings. It clips onto your belt and has a spring loaded real inside. Some are round and metal with a metal chain. Some are plastic with nylon cord.

I like your idea of the net magnet too.

either way you want to have two mean of securing the knife. The clip and a magnet for example.

good luck.
Click to expand...
That’s a solid idea. I’ll check my local true value when I get a chance.
 
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Forgot to say they were in the key section.

We use them at work. My buddy had the round one with the chain. I like the black plastic weird triangle shaped one with the nylon cord.

we’ve both used them for years without failure

I’m not home or at work so no pictures of mine. I found these on line. Same ones we use.
 
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The other thing I do that might work for you. I keep a large real carabiner from a climbing storeon my belt at 11 o’clock. For keys and other stuff that has a loop. Then I stuff them in my pocket to stop them from jangling.

put a large key ring through the lanyard hole hang it on the caribiner. Only way you’ll loose the knife is if you loose your pants.

You can put the carabiner anywhere.
 
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eveled said:
View attachment 1621810View attachment 1621811
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I really like this idea. It seems like the cheapest and easiest solution. I’m not thrilled about running a key ring through the lanyard hole on my knife, but it sure beats losing my knife! Maybe I could swap out the key ring on the lanyard for something that could be taken off or released more easily. If I’m doing a lot of knife work I could see the key ring getting in the way. But that’s a small price to pay for peace of mind knowing that my knife is secure.
 
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I th
eveled said:
The other thing I do that might work for you. I keep a large real carabiner from a climbing storeon my belt at 11 o’clock. For keys and other stuff that has a loop. Then I stuff them in my pocket to stop them from jangling.

put a large key ring through the lanyard hole hang it on the caribiner. Only way you’ll loose the knife is if you loose your pants.

You can put the carabiner anywhere.
Click to expand...
I thought about tying a paracord loop through the lanyard hole and clipping the knife to a carabiner that’s clipped on my pants. It’d be easy to remove the knife from the carabiner and paracord would be minimally invasive. But the carabiner might get in my way when I throw on my line pack. Some of those retractable key lanyards are pretty low profile and might fit under the hip belt of my pack without any issues.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
 
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If the brush is grabbing your knife out of the pocket, a lanyard or length of coiled anything, also attached, will attract even more grabbers. Snapped cap belt sheath hanging off your belt, off your pack, or strapped to your arm would offer the most secure protection, IMHO. Yes, it adds another step to deploying the knife :( Otherwise, wear pants with snap covers on one or more pockets that can be home to your knife. Sorry to be negative but a lanyard in the woods, in my experience, is more of a nuisance than a help. On the boat, on the other hand, I do use a long flex chord with small carabiners at each end.
 
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rmcook1314 said:
I really like this idea. It seems like the cheapest and easiest solution. I’m not thrilled about running a key ring through the lanyard hole on my knife, but it sure beats losing my knife! Maybe I could swap out the key ring on the lanyard for something that could be taken off or released more easily. If I’m doing a lot of knife work I could see the key ring getting in the way. But that’s a small price to pay for peace of mind knowing that my knife is secure.
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You’d definitely want to be able to unclip it from the retractable line. So you can use it unhindered.

when I put on overalls or a pack. I move my carabiner from my belt to the shoulder strap or the hammer loop. To keep it accessible. Critical small things I can’t loose get clipped to the carabiner. Sometimes it’s just an o- ring.
 
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I do all of these:

Zippered/sealable pockets.
IWB carry.
If there is a lanyard hole - neck carry.
Deep pocket carry with a clumped up handkerchief keeping the folder in place.
I also EDC nubuck pocket sleeves that make slipping around harder.
Disposable knife carry - a Mora or Opinel just for those days.
 
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