My main issue with clipless knives

My solution is to carry my slipjoints in a pocket of my scrubs top. Generally stays in place well, unless I start rolling in the grass and loose the mammoth ivory swayback jack from John Lloyd the same day I got it! Like others have said, I occasionally have carried in a clipped pocket sheath, in watch pocket, or being careful. If in dress pants I've been known to twist the offending pocket a half turn before sitting down. This ties off the top and keeps things from falling off, but it does stop items from falling out, although also prevents hands from getting in the pocket as well (bad if it is your hands, good for pickpockets I've been told). Although I usually pick a clipped folder in these cases so I don't loose anything. I find the clip to not be an issue with using the pocket, especially with the bigger opening seen in my dress pants.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
My solution is to carry my slipjoints in a pocket of my scrubs top. Generally stays in place well, unless I start rolling in the grass and loose the mammoth ivory swayback jack from John Lloyd the same day I got it!
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You roll in the grass in your scrubs? :confused:

(And you really did lose the John Lloyd knife the day you got it? OUCH! Though maybe not as big an OUCH as those two broken legs you mentioned earlier. Oh, my.)

~ P.
 
I've had the same problem and experience...thought I lost my only custom. Now when I sit down, I push my knife down beside my leg instead of it resting on my leg. I don't know if I explained that right...
 
Benchmade makes an excellent, inexpensive soft sheath in several sizes. If you wear a belt this is the easiest
and safest way to carry most average or smaller knives without fear of loss or undue notice. I have several
of each size, wear one every day, and have found them to last for years. They are perfect for traditional
folders.
 
This is my answer to the keep the "knife upright in my pocket" and "keep it from falling out" dilemma. I don't put the knife inside the pouch and the pouch sits flap down, vertically. I push a bandana in beside it and voila. I can get the knife in and out pretty easily and the leather has enough friction so that nothing slides around.

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To me, pocket clips kind of counteract business pants. It just ruins the clean look of them.

Two solutions I've come across is to carry a small knife on your keys, like a Vic Classic or Manager.

The other is to carry a bigger knife that you normally would, so that you can FEEL it slipping out, and HEAR it hit the floor if it does.
 
pertinux said:
You roll in the grass in your scrubs? :confused:

(And you really did lose the John Lloyd knife the day you got it? OUCH! Though maybe not as big an OUCH as those two broken legs you mentioned earlier. Oh, my.)

~ P.
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When going for a walk with my daughter and she wants to roll I roll! Yes, I did loose it the day I got it in the mail, and my wonderful wife went out the next day and found it for me, after a 1 hour search in the dark left me sad. I never realized it was in an open pocket, and didn't think to look until after I got home and discovered my loss. The 2 broken legs didn't hurt much, until later!!
 
William Henry makes a nice sheath with a clip. You can clip the sheath to your pocket and put a knife inside the sheath. The sheaths are a bit on the smallish side, though.

I've had several knives come off because the clip caught on the car's seat belt. Have a couple with bent clips that caught on furniture. Had one dangling from the pull strings of a ski jacket (I thought I had lost that one, but found it a few days later still holding on to said strings). Lost three clipped knives (yes, it took me loosing that many before learning my lesson, I'm a bit thick) that I have no idea of what happened. Never lost a loose-in-the-pocket knife. But we are all different, and what works for some may not work for others.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
When going for a walk with my daughter and she wants to roll I roll!
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Ah. Good dad!

Yes, I did loose it the day I got it in the mail, and my wonderful wife went out the next day and found it for me, after a 1 hour search in the dark left me sad.
Click to expand...

Ah. Great wife!

The 2 broken legs didn't hurt much, until later!!
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Still sounds pretty awful. On the other hand, it also sounds like you have the most important things in place, which will continue to hold you in good stead. :)

~ P.
 
I guess it's just a habit for me....I seem to always have my hand in my pocket or always run my hand across the outside of my pocket to see if the knife is there. I never really think about it and do the same thing with my wallet, keys, etc.
 
I pretty much only wear 5-pocket jeans style pants. (need the 5th pocket for my pocket watch, which I wear every day.)
Dickies sells some made out of black industrial cloth. I wear those to work.
I wear bluejeans the rest of the time.

The pockets are deep enough, and are shaped such that I never have to worry about a knife coming out.

Problem solved.
 
I used the wadded up hanky (bandana should work also) trick half the day at work yesterday and the ride home. Worked like a charm, kept the slippery Davison securely at the bottom of my pocket. Thanks to all that provided suggestions but I think this is the ticket for me at least :thumbup:.

Huge thank you to Carl for the suggestion!

Kurt
 
I never had this kind of problem with jeans or casual pants. With slacks (which I don't wear too often) I sometimes felt that it could happen...so I found out two ways to solve the problem.
One is Carl's "bandana trick". The other is, pushing the knife (I don't use large knives at all, and with slacks I use my smaller ones) down to the bottom of the pocket and just adjusting it on the "inner" side of my leg when I sit. That way, it never went anywhere.

Fausto
:cool:
 
Different knives are more prone to slipping out. My Buck 500 can scoot if I don't pay attention to it but it also lays so flat that it carries well when I have to wear dress slacks.

One thing I've noticed is that my Opinels don't slide out easily when carried with the lock ring in the up position. The (modified to be thinner and rounder) end goes in fast and easy, but the lock ring provides enough friction that the knives don't work their way out on their own.

opinel easy opens by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
I carry both. I can't say I have an issue with slipjoints, but I typically wear jeans or pants with deep pockets. If I get in my sports car with low back angled seats, I just toss my slipjoint in my cup holder. On the other hand, I have issues with clips. First I have the clip hit things all the time no matter how careful I try to be. Nice to have a clip take a gouge out of the paint of your car or truck down to bare metal....or other types of situations. Love it when the clip catches on a door frame or similar... I HATE how clips look. I could go on. With that said I still rotate between slipjoints and moderns with clips.
 
Yeah, it took me a while to realize I didn't like clips. It was like I was in denial. On one hand, they're so fast easy to get to. On the other hand, the clip is always showing, getting caught on things, scratching things. I gave it some thought and decided I'm willing to take the risk that I may not be able to get to my knife in time in case of emergency.

So far, the worst emergency I've had is having to put down the thing I was holding in my left hand to help open the knife with my right hand. But since I went back to slip joints, I started to realize ahead of time that I'd need a knife and actually have it ready and open BEFORE I grab that other thing with my left hand.
 
Smaug said:
Yeah, it took me a while to realize I didn't like clips. It was like I was in denial. On one hand, they're so fast easy to get to. On the other hand, the clip is always showing, getting caught on things, scratching things. I gave it some thought and decided I'm willing to take the risk that I may not be able to get to my knife in time in case of emergency.

So far, the worst emergency I've had is having to put down the thing I was holding in my left hand to help open the knife with my right hand. But since I went back to slip joints, I started to realize ahead of time that I'd need a knife and actually have it ready and open BEFORE I grab that other thing with my left hand.
Click to expand...

I agree with this for sure. I would take the clips off my moderns but most would not sit well in my pocket. Its also funny that when I switch back to a modern after carrying a slipjoint for months, I tend to open the modern like a slipjoint for a few day... :p :eek:

Probably like Carl said before, making my muscle memory go CRAZY!
 
I clip my William Henry B-15 to the placket of my shirt right about where a tie clip would go. That way I can access my knife while seated.
 
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