Neck Knife- Handle Up or Down?

[DanF]

What sez the trad crowd?

 

[Scaniaman]

Down. In a very secure kydex sheath. Still not a great idea for fixed blades in my opinion. I only make neck carry sheaths for folders nowadays.

 

[Blues]

Handle down. (I only carry fixed blades in that manner.)

 

[Seedy Lot]

Handle down. 15 years edcing a neck knife with zero issues and I am pretty active in the outdoors, like skiing and mountain biking.

 

[daily_grind]

It seems like you'd have to have a very point-heavy knife, or point-heavy sheath to get the knife to stay blade down / handle up.

 

[Lorien]

just working on a sheath for a knife like this now. Handle pointing down.

 

[Sergeua]

My neck Mora.

It's held securely handle down and is also very light which helps.

 

[navman]

I have seen quite a few folks do the handle up neck carry. I prefer Handle down and kydex for that. The handle up ones all seemed to be in leather.

 

[DanF]

When I “imagine” a situation it seems like the handle up carry would be harder to access in an emergency situation?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

It depends on the reason you are wearing a necker.
For a user, handle down in a secure sheath is the best choice. If the knife will not work well in a very snug sheath, then handle up works. You grab the handle from the chest side and rotate it downward as you pull it out,
For minis and display purposes, as is often seen in a knife show, the neckers are worn like a bolo tie, and are almost always handle up. These are rarely used to cut anything and are generally knife accessory wear.

 

[Drew Riley]

I think the only time I've seen handle up were some pukko and/or Mora style neck knives in a leather sheath. Mors Kochanski and Cody Lundin come to mind. Personally, I prefer handle down. normally in kydex.

 

[Bill Siegle]

Ethan Becker carries his necker handle up. He has stated he likes being able to sheath the knife after use. This is especially important if still using the hands holding or working on a task. Makes a lot of sense. Handle down wins for any defensive use IMHO.