Military - Why no tip-up carry?

philwar

philwar

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Mar 27, 2009
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Several times now I've been on the verge of buying a Military. But I own a few folders that have tip-down carry only and I stopped carrying them altogether, because it just annoys the hell out of me.
Now I know the Police was also offered tip-down only for quite a while, but the latest (which I own) offers clip attachment on all four corners. And I've been EDC'ing it nom-stop since I got it.

Why won't Spyderco do the same for the Millie? I'd buy it the day it is offered. What's stopping Spyderco from giving the customer more options on this model, like the Police 3 G-10 has?
 
I believe it in part has to do with the weight of the blade having a bias towards opening when carried tip up. I can sort of see that when I carry my P-Millie - if I were to reverse it, I could see how it might shake out.
 
While options are good and will serve the masses more effectively, I (for one) like tip down and appreciate not having a lot of unused mounting points cluttering up the looks of the knife.

My feelings would not at all be hurt by Spyderco offering 4-way for (the many) guys like you though...as long as it makes sense structurally and design-wise, it seems to make sense for the vast majority of the buyers.
 
The knives with multiple carry options have full liners, whether nested, flush, or proud. The Military only has partial liners, even on the lock side. That's probably one of the reasons it's set up for tip down RH carry only. The tendency of knives with long blades, no closing bias, and minimal blade retention to open part way when carried tip up is probably another. The Military's ball detent has been strengthened on recent production, giving them somewhat better blade retention, but carrying an on older one tip up is probably a bad idea.

There's always the option of getting someone to customize a Military for you to allow tip up carry. Best way would be to nest a small metal plate inside the back end of the right handle slab, then drill and tap it for whatever clip you choose to use.

Paul
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My Personal Website ---- Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting ---- Kiwimania ---- Spydiewiki
Dead horses beaten, sacred cows tipped, chimeras hunted when time permits.
WTC # 1458 - 1504 - 1508 - Never Forget, Never Forgive!
It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and good fortune and fame are your lot, but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile with his shorts twisted up in a knot. - Morey Amsterdam
 
The Deacon said:
There's always the option of getting someone to customize a Military for you to allow tip up carry. Best way would be to nest a small metal plate inside the back end of the right handle slab, then drill and tap it for whatever clip you choose to use.
Click to expand...

I have often wondered how tough it would be to fabricate something akin to the barrel type screw and clip on some Spydercos that makes use of the lanyard hole on the Mil. I really doubt that there is any direct fit, but it seems like an obvious area to work in without adding the weight of full liners. I think it would be a shame to increase the weight on the Military (I find the low weight and balance to be exceptional for my needs).

Not sure why I wonder about these things though...I like my Mils exactly as they are...but it seems like a do-able mod for those interested.
 
You mean like this?

TueFeb23131415AmericaNew_York2010.jpg


TueFeb23131353AmericaNew_York2010.jpg


Just contact STR and you can go tip up with a custom titanium clip for a very fair price
 
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Just a question: Wouldn't carrying tip up, trap the back of the blade between the edge of your pocket and the handle of the knife, thus keeping it closed? This would be right front pocket carry. Tip down could have the blade open and puncture the thigh. Just my thoughts from looking at my millie. Tip up seems the safest to me.
 
Bolt said:
Just a question: Wouldn't carrying tip up, trap the back of the blade between the edge of your pocket and the handle of the knife, thus keeping it closed? This would be right front pocket carry. Tip down could have the blade open and puncture the thigh. Just my thoughts from looking at my millie. Tip up seems the safest to me.
Click to expand...

I suppose it all depends on how you carry.

I carry RF in jeans and when my leg bends the knife rotates upward to a horizontal position. This motion shoves the handle into the blade, so in the event that the knife opened somehow, the action of bending my leg would tend to close it rather than jab the tip into my leg.

Everyone has a preference. I do not like tip up because (on the Military at least) if the knife opens (even 1/8 inch) the tip is waiting at the edge of your pocket to catch on your hand and deploy further (I can have never liked carrying in the BACK of the RF pocket). The same scenario with tip down would seem to result in either your hand being on the other side of the knife (no where near the blade) or on the blade side but will hit the thumb jimping and shove the blade closed.

Perhaps others will view things differently from me...that is just how I arrive at my personal preference.
 
Bolt said:
Just a question: Wouldn't carrying tip up, trap the back of the blade between the edge of your pocket and the handle of the knife, thus keeping it closed? This would be right front pocket carry. Tip down could have the blade open and puncture the thigh. Just my thoughts from looking at my millie. Tip up seems the safest to me.
Click to expand...
The question becomes, "what would make a tip down knife open?" Unless you're walking on your hands, gravity is working in your favor rather than against you, as it is with tip up. As for the other, not everyone carries with the blade against the back seam of their pocket.

Paul
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My Personal Website ---- Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting ---- Kiwimania ---- Spydiewiki
Dead horses beaten, sacred cows tipped, chimeras hunted when time permits.
WTC # 1458 - 1504 - 1508 - Never Forget, Never Forgive!
It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and good fortune and fame are your lot, but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile with his shorts twisted up in a knot. - Morey Amsterdam
 
I drilled & tapped my CF S90v Millie for tip up.
Works Great! Over a year now, no problems.....
 
The millie is a extremely well thought out design and tip down was part of it IMO. The millie was the first knife I was able to carry tip down without problem and I believe its overall design is the reason for this.
 
I prefer tip down and carry large tip down knives against the seam of my right rear pocket. We each have our reasons. I don't let blade orientation keep me from enjoying a good knife, though. I'm so good at this, I can carry tip up or tip down! :p
 
Bolt said:
Just a question: Wouldn't carrying tip up, trap the back of the blade between the edge of your pocket and the handle of the knife, thus keeping it closed? This would be right front pocket carry. Tip down could have the blade open and puncture the thigh. Just my thoughts from looking at my millie. Tip up seems the safest to me.
Click to expand...

If the knife is clipped against the seam, it can still possibly rotate forward leaving the knife room to open.

Knives clipped tip down are biased towards closing by gravity along with the dedent.

I've never had a huge problem with tip up knives except that I prefer tip down.
 
Tip down is the only way for the millie... it just works soooooo good! I like my Seb tip up because I think it works better for the design and I like my Millie tip down for the same reason.
 
With the size of the military handle, I think tip up would position your hand too far down on the handle, making you have to readjust your hand position before opening. With tip down, I pull it out with my thumb and index finger on the pivot, spin it into my palm, and my hand is in position to use the hole.
 
Please don't turn this in a tip-up VS tip-down debate, that's not what this is about. The fact is that we all have our preferences, and the Millie only accomodates tip-down. That's fine by me, I won't buy it then.

The design being a reason makes a lot of sense to me, I had not considered the presence of the liners in the Police, but of course this is what makes the 4-corner carry possible.

There's a mini-meet in Amsterdam in a week or so where mr. Glasser will be present. I hope to be able to ask him, and if so, I will let you know his response.
 
Matt The Loader said:
With the size of the military handle, I think tip up would position your hand too far down on the handle, making you have to readjust your hand position before opening. With tip down, I pull it out with my thumb and index finger on the pivot, spin it into my palm, and my hand is in position to use the hole.
Click to expand...

The Police is even bigger, no problems extracting and deploying it quickly. And I have fairly small hands.
 
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