Intro & Am I the only one that can't/wont switch from pocket to clip carry?

No, you're not the only one. I grew up with traditional pocket knives that were carried down in a pocket. Never considered any of the 'new' modern knives, just too limited with only one blade. To this day I only own traditional pocket knives and SAK's. I got a clipped knife once as a gift, and I really tried to carry it and like it. The clip got snagged on seat belts, branches, and eventually got lost. Never bothered to replace it.

I carry a pocket knife in a pocket. If your worried about loosing it, just shove a bandana down on top of it. I'm a white bearded senior citizen that has been carrying a knife since childhood. Only knife I ever lost was a clipped folder.
 
When clips first appeared, I didn't like them one bit. I thought they looked like something that didn't belong on a knife, an after thought. They interfered with the handling and feel of the knife and the clips that I tried often shredded the edge of my pocket. Being the klutz that I am, I also scratched things like car doors if passing too closely - mine and my friend's. So, for a number of years, I either removed the clip or continued to buy clipless knives. I actually still feel that way. I really don't like them. No matter how fancy they are, to me they look like somebody's best attempt to make an after thought work.

But, I have come to see pocket clips as the lesser of two evils. By carrying a knife in my pocket everyday, my pants pockets, sooner or later, always ended up with a hole worn in them where the knife rested. The pocket is pretty much useless unless one wants to start making patch jobs. I now live with the belief that a raggedy pocket edge and somewhat less sleek knife trumps a pocket made useless because it has a hole worn in it. It does seem easier and more comfortable to carry larger knives utilizing a clip. And yes, lint seems to be less of a problem too. Mike
 
You can carry the Sebenza bare or in a slip! The gayle Bradley air is a nice choice for modern small carry.
 
Slips, no clips. Clips scratch your car and yank the knife out of your pocket.

The only time to use a clip is for a waved knife.
 
I often carry two pocket knives (folders). One is generally a large 111mm SAK and the other varies. But typically it a modern with a clip.

My solution for you is to carry two knives (small to medium sized or pocketable). One will be clipless in whichever pocket you prefer. The other will have the clip and keep it clipped to a different pocket, perhaps even a back pocket or if you wear cargo type pants, clipped on a leg pocket. Carpenter pants work too with the side pocket but they tend to be a bit baggier than I like. See which knife you use. The clipped knife can be larger. You may find that the clipped knife is useful in your world or you may find it pointless because you are programmed (like me) to reach into your pocket for your knife.

I carried a 110 sized belt knife (Schrade 250T) for years in the field as a work knife in the belt pouch (too heavy for pocket). Used it for hunting as well. Last year I picked up another Schrade usa 250T just for old times sake. I have yet to carry it.

I tried different kinds and sizes of knives because I like knives. I ended up preferring the Spyderco Delica size the best. I don't deviate much from that size with moderns now. I tend to like a larger traditional (4-4.25" closed). My SAK is this size and to many it seems like a big knife. I like it because I have just a bit more blade for cutting stuff. My small modern is a Spyderco Kiwi 4 when I just want a small knife on me. Have a couple sub-4" closed length traditionals and am considering including one of them as an edc at least occasionally. I do like traditional knives.
 
Clip no clip... Depends.... :D Some carry well clipped, some carry well unclipped, some carry well both ways... I find that something like the cloth baggie provided by BM, or a small slip sheath helps keep unclipped knives clean and from shifting too much in my pocket.

I hate when they slip down and lie crossways in the bottom of my pocket. Yhe 940-1 I carried in my shirt pocket, clipped with a deep carry clip.. Really nice and very handy.

I just like my knives to stay vertical in the lower side of my pocket and that really requires a clip most of the time. So I'm usually clipped.
 
Clips are useful. Sometimes necessary. Depends on what else is in the pocket.

On any normal day--in my pants pockets--I carry at least one folding knife, two sets of keys (although one set is on a belt clip), nail clippers, Space Pen, two AAA flashlights (one on a keyring, one loose), a S&W revolver, spare ammo in speed strips, a wallet, iPhone, note pad and whatever else I pick up during the course of the day.

I love cargo pants. And knives with clips.
 
You're definitely not the only one. I actually carry both almost every day. Large, modern folder clipped to my right front pocket, SAK style slipjoint in my left front pocket. My father, however, can't abide clips at all. He's not at all a knife knut like myself, but he is definitely of the generation that a pocket knife was something you always had on you. He grew up with slipjoints and lockbacks, but has fully embraced one hand opening and modern locking mechanisms. Every couple of years he'll find a knife he likes a little better than the last one and I'll be tasked with running by the house to remove the clip.
 
I grew up carrying SAKs and Old Timers loose in my pockets. I don't have them anymore, obviously.

Nowadays I carry my modern folders clipped to my pocket—with the exception of my Kershaws (seriously, why do they mount the clips almost halfway down the knife?)—with a mini plier tool or SAK loose in my pocket on the other side. I won't cry if my $20 multi-tool falls out and is lost forever, but losing one of my $200 folders would make me very sad indeed.

So yes, clips are a must for me. Although lately, it's been a neck knife (EK&T Companion) plus a SAK (Pioneer X), which makes carrying something like my Gemini or Sage 2 feel redundant.
 
It's what you get used to. Most every knife I carry is clipped. I even keep my slippies in a case clipped inside my pocket so that they stay put. One of the reasons I bought a new Boker Tech Tool was that it is basically a modernized SAK with a clip.

I remember growing up as a kid my old man used to carry a buck 110 in his front pocket. He was (and still is) a contractor. Back in those days, that knife was used for everything. Cutting, scraping, light prying. digging the gunky grease out of the backhoe joints so that he could get fresh in there, removing the worst of the mud from his boots. Everything. Actually, he still carries a 110 and does all those things. i remember his jeans would always have this wear mark that matched the 110 exactly. He would literally wear the denim off the jeans so that you could see the Buck in the pocket material underneath. That's how often he carried that knife like that.

The only thing different is that once I started to dabble with leather work, I made him a nice rugged belt sheath. He started wearing a belt on the job as he got older and his butt migrated to his belly:D I don't think he carries much in his pockets anymore short of loose change.

I'm a contractor myself these days. For me, a pocket is just easier. I know where the knife is at, how it is going to ride, and that it will be easy to snap open. Like my old man, I use knife for cutting plastic bands, trimming duct tape, and poking around. The only difference is that it's usually a ZT clipped to my pocket instead of a 110 on my belt.
 
22-rimfire said:
I often carry two pocket knives (folders). One is generally a large 111mm SAK and the other varies. But typically it a modern with a clip.

My solution for you is to carry two knives (small to medium sized or pocketable). One will be clipless in whichever pocket you prefer. The other will have the clip and keep it clipped to a different pocket, perhaps even a back pocket or if you wear cargo type pants, clipped on a leg pocket. Carpenter pants work too with the side pocket but they tend to be a bit baggier than I like. See which knife you use. The clipped knife can be larger. You may find that the clipped knife is useful in your world or you may find it pointless because you are programmed (like me) to reach into your pocket for your knife.

I carried a 110 sized belt knife (Schrade 250T) for years in the field as a work knife in the belt pouch (too heavy for pocket). Used it for hunting as well. Last year I picked up another Schrade usa 250T just for old times sake. I have yet to carry it.

I tried different kinds and sizes of knives because I like knives. I ended up preferring the Spyderco Delica size the best. I don't deviate much from that size with moderns now. I tend to like a larger traditional (4-4.25" closed). My SAK is this size and to many it seems like a big knife. I like it because I have just a bit more blade for cutting stuff. My small modern is a Spyderco Kiwi 4 when I just want a small knife on me. Have a couple sub-4" closed length traditionals and am considering including one of them as an edc at least occasionally. I do like traditional knives.
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And there it is, right there. You nailed it 22. In my mind, that's exactly what I'm trying to overcome. I do, technically carry 2 already as I have the micra on my keychain. A lot of excellent perspectives and recommendations everyone. I appreciate it very much. Gotta get over this so I can get on to my other issue which is actually rotating knives. I don't see the point of having a drawer full of knives if I'm not going to use them(i don't consider myself a collector), yet I don't see the point of not picking up another knife when I see one I like, but that's grist for another mill.
 
what do they say...it takes 10 days to set a routine....challenge yourself to use a clip for 10 days. no excuses, no cheating. If after the 10th day it still feels odd then go back to pocket carry, no big deal. As you get bigger blades a belt sheath may be the way to go....save room in that pocket. Or better yet, just get pants with bigger pockets!!

Personally, Im a big fan of carpenter jeans....I carry my big folders in the carpenter pocket...perfect place for carry (with a clip) and leaves my pockets free for other junk!
 
RX-79G said:
I don't recall ever owning a pocket knife that didn't lay horizontal in the bottom of my pocket, looking stupid and feeling strange when I walk.

Perhaps I should try skinny jeans.
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Beat me by a few minutes.

I also like the clip so I don't have to go fishing around for that knife that's laying horizontally at the bottom of my pocket.
(Any knife I carry is not small enough that it would be comfortable that way. Now, maybe if I had a secondary pocket-within-a-pocket that kept the knife vertical...)
 
I just wish I still had all the ones without clips that I lost along the way.
Knives from my dad.
Knives from my grandfather.
Knives I will never see again. :(

Knives I would still have if only they had clips.
 
Welcome to BF Shank.

I bounce back and forth myself. If there is a clip on the knife, its probably clipped on my pocket. SAKs are pocket carry. Multi-tools are in a sheath on the belt.

You can always try a sheath on the belt and see if that helps vs the clip on the pocket.
 
I dangle my SAK Climber with a AAA light from a diy dangler. It keeps the knife and light off the bottom of my pocket, which works well in dress pants.
 
I never used clips until about 2 years ago .
Now I'm an absolute convert and I wouldn't buy a folder without one .
My almost complete move away from traditional knives to moderns is due in a large degree to the pocket clip ?
The ease , security and comfort of clip carry is a revelation .
It took me about 2 days to get used to carrying with a clip , it's not exactly rocket science :)
In my opinion pocket clips are the best recent development in the world of folder knives .

Ken
 
The reason why I switched completely to slip joints besides the aesthetics, feels and just because is the carry comfort. I have worn jeans since the early teens when I started wearing them. And all the jeans I have ever had have had the coin pocket, and that's where my knives go. In the edge of the pocket mine always just seem too bulky, and on the way of other stuff in the pockets. I only put knives to the bottom of the pocket if they are small enough, such as the peanut pattern. And I always carry one knife, no "backups" or "hard use (=hard to use)" knives. That's just me though.
 
A.L. said:
The reason why I switched completely to slip joints besides the aesthetics, feels and just because is the carry comfort. I have worn jeans since the early teens when I started wearing them. And all the jeans I have ever had have had the coin pocket, and that's where my knives go. In the edge of the pocket mine always just seem too bulky, and on the way of other stuff in the pockets. I only put knives to the bottom of the pocket if they are small enough, such as the peanut pattern. And I always carry one knife, no "backups" or "hard use (=hard to use)" knives. That's just me though.
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Neither my Spyderco Military nor the Tatanka fit in my coin pocket. :D

Even My Yojimbo 2--one of the smaller knives I carry--refuses to fit in there.
 
The programming is important. I am programmed to use folders. Even when I carry a fixed blade, I almost always reach for the folder in my pocket or clipped on/in a pocket. It is only when I can't do what I want to do that I reach for the fixed blade. Hard to teach old dogs new tricks, but it is possible.

For me, clipped knives catch on things when I least want them to like getting in and out of a car. So, I have to think about it every time if I have a knife clipped to my pocket.
 
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