knife thongs

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flashcan556

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so question, looking thru the threads here notice lots of knives have little string with beads hangin out the backend. simply curious if these are purely ornamental or do they serve some practical purpose ive not heard about either for carry, use or draw?
i know some lanyard to person for retention, and some have loops for wrist...but these look like neither. even saw crkt minimalist comes factory with a thing.
 
When your knife is clipped in deeply in your pocket, the "lanyard" or "fob" is very useful in withdrawing the knife.
Gary W. Graley is well-known here for his work in this area...
I have this one on my Slysz Bowie; don't know where I got it...metal skulls seem to be rather popular...for whatever reason..
fob.jpg fob2.jpg

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/tangram-sante-fe.1682254/#post-19235279
 
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It's a FOB, which basically extends the hands (you can wrap your pinky around it if the knife handle doesn't allow a full 4 finger grip), it also helps pulling a folder out of a pocket, especially if you have a deep carry grip. The ornament/decoration element also plays into it.
 
It is also used to personalize your knife and/or add a splash of color too.

Some people spend a lot of $ on a bead.
 
is it recommended for certain style knives and not others, i.e. tip up/tip down carry, waveable, etc?
 
I personally call them a lanyard pull because someone base a big deal about telling me they're not technically lanyards and I'm stubborn, I don't need nobody telling me what to do unless they're paying me to do it :D

They do serve a purpose on some knives for me, today I've got one attached to the bail of a Camillus #27 electricians knife.
I don't generally do the ornamental thing so this one is just Paracord with a knot, and on this knife it's helping me draw it from the rather large watch pocket my shorts happen to have.
 
flashcan556 said:
so question, looking thru the threads here notice lots of knives have little string with beads hangin out the backend. simply curious if these are purely ornamental or do they serve some practical purpose ive not heard about either for carry, use or draw?
i know some lanyard to person for retention, and some have loops for wrist...but these look like neither. even saw crkt minimalist comes factory with a thing.
Click to expand...
I use them pretty extensively on folders that will accomodate them to draw them from my pocket or belt pouch. I dont carry a pocket clip knife any longer (I only own one after undoing the pocket clip mod on my SAK German Army Knife) so I use them to help keep my folders upright in my pocket. I have some on fixed blades, but it's specific to the knife whether they are a help or a hindrance.

They are, overall, a lot of fun to play with and a source of endless trial and error for customizing your knives. They can make an old knfe seem new again.

Zieg
 
Lanyard, FOB, thong, whatever.... Normal sane people know what you mean :p
They are definitely worth a try. On some knives they are very useful and even somewhat necessary to draw from the pocket
and a thick FOB it gives you more to grab and control the knife if the knife has a short handle.

On other knives they seem to just get in the way when cutting and aren't the least bit necessary to draw from the pocket.
Like I said, worth a try, they always give you more customization options and its nice to have a little blade jewelry.
Lanyards and Fobs are definitely a "YMMV" situation :thumbsup:
 
flashcan556 said:
is it recommended for certain style knives and not others, i.e. tip up/tip down carry, waveable, etc?
Click to expand...

I like them on knives that 1) sit down in my pocket, unclipped, because a fob makes them easier to retrieve (SAK Cybertool), or 2) need a fob to extend a short handle to make it more comfortable for my grip, such as a Spyderco Ladybug, or 3) both (SAK Rambler)

For easy retrieval:

kZKPVEx.jpg


To extend my grip:

UV7IPF7.jpg


Both (I've since redone this without the bead; it was too heavy with it):

IKIQDKF.jpg
 
flashcan556 said:
so question, looking thru the threads here notice lots of knives have little string with beads hangin out the backend. simply curious if these are purely ornamental or do they serve some practical purpose ive not heard about either for carry, use or draw?
i know some lanyard to person for retention, and some have loops for wrist...but these look like neither. even saw crkt minimalist comes factory with a thing.
Click to expand...
This should satisfy your thong fetish for a bit:
https://www.bladeforums.com/posts/19161280/
 
Sometimes there are knives you really like or want to like, but maybe they stick out of the pocket too much and a low ride clip isn't available, or maybe in my case are tip down only. This is when I would use a lanyard.

I refuse to carry tip down, and living in Chicagoland, having a significant piece of knife sticking is asking for trouble.

However, I've yet to use a lanyard, I just like clips better, and I feel it's a cleaner look.
 
:) I give credit to Alan Folts , the designer of the "Minimalist " and "SPEW" , etc . Got me started on the fob as an aid to draw and control any knife , fixed or folder .

I love these for fast and fumble free drawing of any knife , especially those with short handles and/or deep carry clips . Helps also in handling the knife with less than full sized handles . Almost like having a flexible extension for the handle . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:

I use paracord wrapped with silicone self fusing tape . Extremely strong and grippy . :eek::thumbsup:



 
K.O.D. said:
Sometimes there are knives you really like or want to like, but maybe they stick out of the pocket too much and a low ride clip isn't available, or maybe in my case are tip down only. This is when I would use a lanyard.

I refuse to carry tip down, and living in Chicagoland, having a significant piece of knife sticking is asking for trouble.

However, I've yet to use a lanyard, I just like clips better, and I feel it's a cleaner look.
Click to expand...

I’ve never had an issue with having a knife in or out of the city. Even walked up and down the Mag Mile about 5,000 times with a fixed blade carried in CM style on my belt, walked past plenty of people and even CPD officers and nobody cared at all.

But on the topic of this thread, I’m not a thong guy. For knives anyways...;)
 
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