Reality Check: Add fob to folder → you just made it into pocket jewelry

Does having a fob on a single-bladed folder relegate it to pocket jewelry status?

  • Yes

  • No

  • Meh

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Smaug

Smaug

Joined
Jun 30, 2003
Messages
1,797
↑ That's my feeling on it anyway.

Once the knife's in your hand for some work, it does nothing but flop around. They're not long enough to be lanyards.

I see a lot of guys with fancy fobs on their single-bladed, locking folders with clips. Some of you put a fob on it, as if you can't get ahold of it to pull it off your pocket or waistband. Are these knives that hard to grab ahold of or do you just like the pocket jewelry?

I can't see walking around with that thing with a fob and bead flopping around. To have to explain that to a straight male colleague? I'd never live it down.

...or do you guys hide that in the pocket, only removing it for a fancy pic?

...or are there a lot more women here than I previously thought?

I have a couple small SAKs that I kept losing; 58 mm Victorinoxes. I put a small fob with a lanyard knot on them, just to keep them from slipping out of the pocket so easily. I lost too many of them! Even then, when I had to use a tool on that side of the knife, the damn fob was in the way. We used to have a member who suggested putting a hanky in the pocket on top of the small SAK. It's useful in its own right, and also keep the little SAK from falling out.

I tried it on a larger SAK, to make it easier to pull out of a belt pouch. Same thing; the fob was in the way for half the tools.

What are you thoughts on it? (keep it civil)
 
Sitting in foldable chair while fishing (The Helinox brand that practically hugs you) . A fob really helps pulling it out the pocket.

As for people using it as decoration. I can't speak to that other then they probably also have an earring going on too. Different strokes and all that.
 
Absolutely hate fobs and lanyards. I get it some like them, but I am not a fan and find that they get in the way.

I owned my first Chris Reeve for all of about 20 minutes before I broke out the tools to remove that silly thing.
 
I have a "fob" on a small Gerber Ultralite.
it's a fancy knot using red paracord to make it easier to notice if I drop it.

No other fobs/lanyards unless I'm using a knife out on the water.
 
IMG_1947.jpeg

Not sure if I know the difference between a fob and lanyard but I wasn’t a fan until I put a square bead from Mr. Nice Guy Machine Co.

unobtrusive and incredibly useful for grabbing the knife quickly
 
Many people here like lanyards, however, I am not one of them. Is a bead on a lanyard pocket jewelry? That is a hard question. It really depends on the bead. Is a sterling silver skull with gold inlay? That's jewelry. Is it a simple wooden bead? Then no, just functional.

I carry so much crap in my pockets I don't need anything else taking up space, or that I will have to dig out. So a clip makes sense to me. Pulling a knife out with a lanyard (I tried it) pulls out a lot of other stuff with it. Right front pocket is my wallet, keys, car fob, and knife clipped. Left front is my phone, insulin pump controller, and flashlight clipped. Far too much, but necessary.
 
K.O.D. said:
Many people here like lanyards, however, I am not one of them. Is a bead on a lanyard pocket jewelry? That is a hard question. It really depends on the bead. Is a sterling silver skull with gold inlay? That's jewelry. Is it a simple wooden bead? Then no, just functional.

I carry so much crap in my pockets I don't need anything else taking up space, or that I will have to dig out. So a clip makes sense to me. Pulling a knife out with a lanyard (I tried it) pulls out a lot of other stuff with it. Right front pocket is my wallet, keys, car fob, and knife clipped. Left front is my phone, insulin pump controller, and flashlight clipped. Far too much, but necessary.
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Insulin pump and an emergency drink are reasons I carry a small back pack.
Goes every where I do, only things in my pocket are knife and cellphone.

I don’t like lanyards fobs, they look cool in pictures but they bother me in use. I don’t need them to grab a knife either.

My vote stands as meh.
 
Sagandavis said:
<snip>

Not sure if I know the difference between a fob and lanyard ...
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Fob is a short one, like you and others have pictured here. A lanyard is long, originally used in war to tether one's pistol to his belt to make it harder to use it against the original carrier. Lanyards are long enough to allow the device tethered to be used as intended, but would not let it get lost if dropped.

I can see the point of a lanyard when working at height or on a boat.


luethge said:
View attachment 2312218

Do these count as pocket jewelry ? They make a substantial difference when pulling the knife from a pocket if needed fast.
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Those are even worse than usual (my opinion only) because:
1) The knives shown already have grippy scales. We can see that the Benchmade deep carry clip on the top knife covers up some of the grippable area at the base of the handle. On the bottom knife, there appears to be plenty of area to grab ahold of.
2) If needed fast, you won't be able to use the Emerson Opener if you pull it out by the fob.
 
Smaug said:
Fob is a short one, like you and others have pictured here. A lanyard is long, originally used in war to tether one's pistol to his belt to make it harder to use it against the original carrier. Lanyards are long enough to allow the device tethered to be used as intended, but would not let it get lost if dropped.

I can see the point of a lanyard when working at height or on a boat.



Those are even worse than usual (my opinion only) because:
1) The knives shown already have grippy scales. We can see that the Benchmade deep carry clip on the top knife covers up some of the grippable area at the base of the handle. On the bottom knife, there appears to be plenty of area to grab ahold of.
2) If needed fast, you won't be able to use the Emerson Opener if you pull it out by the fob.
Click to expand...

They work well for me. Granted I put the same paracord loop on everything that has a lanyard hole. I don’t usually have the knife clipped to my pocket at work ( I don’t work in a place that smiles at open carry of knives ). When the knife is in my pocket, entirely, no clip exposed - that additional 1.5 inches makes drawing the knife fast ( I actually try not to use the wave feature on my Emerson’s - seems like it adds unnecessary wear. The wave is nice to have should you need it though
 
Skar said:
Insulin pump and an emergency drink are reasons I carry a small back pack.
Goes every where I do, only things in my pocket are knife and cellphone.

I don’t like lanyards fobs, they look cool in pictures but they bother me in use. I don’t need them to grab a knife either.

My vote stands as meh.
Click to expand...
My vote was meh as well.

As far as the insulin pump goes, while I do carry a small med bag with backup pens and other meds, I often forget it in the car or in my office etc, otherwise the controller would stay in there, as it only has to be within 20 feet of me.

The other thing about lanyards is they create undo attention to the fact that you have something, uh, interesting in you pocket, more so than a clip. In the wonderland of sensitivity that is northeast Illinois, the less attention I get the better.
 
No vote here, I don't use a fob or understand the purpose. Seems like it would collect dirt and moisture. If it works for you that's really cool, I won't disparage you.

I've attached paracord to my multitool while I was on the boat fishing, but never for my regular knives. I usually don't have my knives out of my pocket on the boat unless they're really needed due to the waves rocking the boat around, it creates a hazard if you should stumble.
 
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