Small Knives and Lanyard Holes

[carbonsteel928]

On smaller knives 5 to 7 inches, do you guys prefer a lanyard hole or would you rather go without. I'm doing two blades in damascus and am struggling with the aesthetics.



Photo of the knife in question.

 

[tim37a]

Personally, the only time I use a lanyard is when sailing, and even then, I don't like it. When you have a knife swinging around from your wrist after it has slipped out of your hand, it is too dammed easy to cut yourself. Of course, the lanyard hopefully keeps the knife from going overboard.

Some people like them and some don't. If the recipient hasn't specified, you are always safe giving him one.

Tim

 

[JG Custom Metal Works]

It depends on the purpose of the knife. I think sometimes they can look better without one. Though just because one is there doesn't mean it has to be used...

 

[Adam Buttry]

I put them on my knives (for now), even though I never use them myself. I guess I'm worried it could turn away a potential buyer if it doesn't have one. I've read more than once on BladeForums of users who are turned off by not having one. I guess it's one of those, it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. I didn't vote because it's ultimately your decision as the maker, and that's the only vote that matters IMO.

 

[Spartanwarrior]

I only like them on choppers/machetes if you are not going to be swinging it around then I don't see the point but that's just my 2c

 

[james terrio]

Almost every outdoor-type knife I make has a lanyard hole lined with a metal tube. The reason has little to do with swinging it around... Should you ever drop the knife in the dark/wet/reaching inside a game animal but have it on a lanyard, all you have to do is gently draw your hand back instead of groping around blind for a sharp knife.

...just because one is there doesn't mean it has to be used...

That.

I only like them on choppers/machetes if you are not going to be swinging it around then I don't see the point but that's just my 2c

On long/large/slashing/chopping blades, the lanyard hole should be in front, right behind the guard (as on competition cutting knives). That way the handle can't come out of your hand if you foul. A large machete or bowie swinging off your wrist at speed is VERY dangerous... it's quite likely to keep right on swinging and come right back at you, edge first.

 

[LARRYZ10]

I put them on most of my knives unless the knife is over 9 inches. All my personal knives have them for a good reason. I run a leather bootlace through the lanyard hole and tie a simple knot to the sheath loop or my belt to keep the knife from coming out of the sheath and getting lost when hiking, hunting, riding horseback, canoeing , etc. I also think of them as jewelry for the knife and take special care in the size and metal (Copper, brass, and nickel silver/ stainless steel) when I design a knife. They look good on a sporting knife in my opinion. I have a customer in Arizona who hikes and hunts and refuses to have them on his knives and he has lost two beautiful (in my opinion) one of a kind knives that I made for him in one year. I told him to carry his knife in a daypack from now on or I won't make any more knives for him. He does that now. It bothers me to work really hard on a new design and my customer takes little precaution with them. I should not care but I do. I wished that he had the good taste to ask for lanyard holes in his knives. That's my take on this subject. Larry

 

[Scott Hartman]

Almost every outdoor-type knife I make has a lanyard hole lined with a metal tube. The reason has little to do with swinging it around... Should you ever drop the knife in the dark/wet/reaching inside a game animal but have it on a lanyard, all you have to do is gently draw your hand back instead of groping around blind for a sharp knife.

+1...I don't have to lay a bloody knife in the leaves, I don't have to slip a bloody knife back in the sheath, and I can quickly use both hands, then resume a grip of the knife.

 

[cbach8tw]

The only reason I voted no was the size of knife you were asking about. Smaller knives like that I do not see much use for, medium size hunters where there is more of a handle to fool around with, I can see it helping.

 

[EChoil]

Yes, I want a lanyard hole. If not, leave me a clear standoff to attach a lanyard.

 

[Shorttime]

The presence or absence of a lanyard hole does not change my opinion of a knife.

BUT.

Heat Treating outfits like a lanyard hole, because it gives them something to hang the knife by when it goes into the furnace.

The way I see it, it's a statement of your courtesy and professionalism as a maker to make things easier for the other people involved in the process. So, since this obliges you to drill a hole anyway, why not also allow the end user the option?

Personally, I find it hard to understand how the presence or absence of a hole in the pommel could make or break a knife design. But it may be that I'm a clod, who looks more at the blade shape and ergonomics than the overall "flow" of the design.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Prefer a lanyard hole, the smaller knife will usually have a sheath that it rides in a little deeper for retention, so adding a lanyard/fob to help draw it from the sheath would be a welcome thing.

and from your sketch, it looks like you will have the scales end just before the hole? which will help to keep the lanyard being raised or too high above the scales, here's one I put on a small fixed blade by CRKT called No Bother, the skull bead on there helps as a place to hook my pinky around as I draw the knife out, and sometimes you can gain a better grip by way of a small lanyard with a sizeable bead, RJ Martin's very small pocket fixed blade has something like that as well.

Nice looking sketch by the way!
G2

 

[jackknife]

Yes!

I wish all my gives had a lanyard hole. Even if I do not choose to have a lanyard on it at that time, I may wish to add one for a special outing later. I spend time on small boats from spring to fall, often out on the Chesapeake Bay here in Maryland. When out on the water, I use a lanyard. I once watched a knife I dropped slide overboard into the bay. Not good.

A lanyard hole gives me a choice.

 

[carbonsteel928]

Personally, the only time I use a lanyard is when sailing, and even then, I don't like it. When you have a knife swinging around from your wrist after it has slipped out of your hand, it is too dammed easy to cut yourself. Of course, the lanyard hopefully keeps the knife from going overboard.

Some people like them and some don't. If the recipient hasn't specified, you are always safe giving him one.

Tim

Thank you Tim, it seems a very sensible thought.

It depends on the purpose of the knife. I think sometimes they can look better without one. Though just because one is there doesn't mean it has to be used...

I do feel that designs do look much better without one but at times it seems that its hard to be objective with ones own work.

I put them on my knives (for now), even though I never use them myself. I guess I'm worried it could turn away a potential buyer if it doesn't have one. I've read more than once on BladeForums of users who are turned off by not having one. I guess it's one of those, it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. I didn't vote because it's ultimately your decision as the maker, and that's the only vote that matters IMO.

Thank you. And yes, though ultimately it is my decision, the opinion of others helps shape a broader view.

I only like them on choppers/machetes if you are not going to be swinging it around then I don't see the point but that's just my 2c

Thanks Spartanwarrior for taking the time to reply.

Almost every outdoor-type knife I make has a lanyard hole lined with a metal tube. The reason has little to do with swinging it around... Should you ever drop the knife in the dark/wet/reaching inside a game animal but have it on a lanyard, all you have to do is gently draw your hand back instead of groping around blind for a sharp knife.



That.



On long/large/slashing/chopping blades, the lanyard hole should be in front, right behind the guard (as on competition cutting knives). That way the handle can't come out of your hand if you foul. A large machete or bowie swinging off your wrist at speed is VERY dangerous... it's quite likely to keep right on swinging and come right back at you, edge first.

Great point James, I don't hunt anymore so bits such as this have been forgotten.

I put them on most of my knives unless the knife is over 9 inches. All my personal knives have them for a good reason. I run a leather bootlace through the lanyard hole and tie a simple knot to the sheath loop or my belt to keep the knife from coming out of the sheath and getting lost when hiking, hunting, riding horseback, canoeing , etc. I also think of them as jewelry for the knife and take special care in the size and metal (Copper, brass, and nickel silver/ stainless steel) when I design a knife. They look good on a sporting knife in my opinion. I have a customer in Arizona who hikes and hunts and refuses to have them on his knives and he has lost two beautiful (in my opinion) one of a kind knives that I made for him in one year. I told him to carry his knife in a daypack from now on or I won't make any more knives for him. He does that now. It bothers me to work really hard on a new design and my customer takes little precaution with them. I should not care but I do. I wished that he had the good taste to ask for lanyard holes in his knives. That's my take on this subject. Larry

Thanks Larry. Funny story, I had a customer a while ago lose a knife and thought it should be replaced free or a discount.

+1...I don't have to lay a bloody knife in the leaves, I don't have to slip a bloody knife back in the sheath, and I can quickly use both hands, then resume a grip of the knife.

Thanks for taking the time to help out and give your opinion.

The only reason I voted no was the size of knife you were asking about. Smaller knives like that I do not see much use for, medium size hunters where there is more of a handle to fool around with, I can see it helping.

Thanks.

Yes, I want a lanyard hole. If not, leave me a clear standoff to attach a lanyard.

Thank you. From the pole results its obvious that most feel this way.

The presence or absence of a lanyard hole does not change my opinion of a knife.

BUT.

Heat Treating outfits like a lanyard hole, because it gives them something to hang the knife by when it goes into the furnace.

The way I see it, it's a statement of your courtesy and professionalism as a maker to make things easier for the other people involved in the process. So, since this obliges you to drill a hole anyway, why not also allow the end user the option?

Personally, I find it hard to understand how the presence or absence of a hole in the pommel could make or break a knife design. But it may be that I'm a clod, who looks more at the blade shape and ergonomics than the overall "flow" of the design.

Thank you. Fortunately the heat treating isn't much of an issue on damascus blades since its all done in house and the stuff that gets sent out includes a few holes on the blank itself. My question on the lanyard hole is geared toward a finished product; though it may not make sense to some, some small design elements just seem to change a knife completely and not always for the best. I do agree that overall function and ergonomics are king. Case in point, a friend of mine orders a few blanks every once and when of a knife that is dubbed "ugly duckling," though hideous to the eye, it sits in the hand better than the majority of the knives either he or I have encountered.

 

[carbonsteel928]

Prefer a lanyard hole, the smaller knife will usually have a sheath that it rides in a little deeper for retention, so adding a lanyard/fob to help draw it from the sheath would be a welcome thing.

and from your sketch, it looks like you will have the scales end just before the hole? which will help to keep the lanyard being raised or too high above the scales, here's one I put on a small fixed blade by CRKT called No Bother, the skull bead on there helps as a place to hook my pinky around as I draw the knife out, and sometimes you can gain a better grip by way of a small lanyard with a sizeable bead, RJ Martin's very small pocket fixed blade has something like that as well.

Nice looking sketch by the way!
G2

Great point about the sheath and thank you for your compliment regarding the sketch. Cool little knife too.

Yes!

I wish all my gives had a lanyard hole. Even if I do not choose to have a lanyard on it at that time, I may wish to add one for a special outing later. I spend time on small boats from spring to fall, often out on the Chesapeake Bay here in Maryland. When out on the water, I use a lanyard. I once watched a knife I dropped slide overboard into the bay. Not good.

A lanyard hole gives me a choice.

A lanyard hole it is, thank you.

 

[Brisket]

I strongly prefer lanyard holes on small fixed blades and am one that has passed on some that don't have it. I typically carry small fixers in a pocket sheath or in a deeper retention belt sheath where is both cases a lanyard is helpful in deploying the knife. With 3 finger handles I like a small lanyard loop to run my pinkie finger through to get a better grip as well as the ability to let go of the knife and use both hands when needed without laying the knife down or re-sheathing it. I think you will find that I am not alone in my thinking and I would guess that more people would pass on a small fixer because it didn't have a lanyand hole than would pass on one because it had one.

I don't have lanyards on all my fixed blades but I do very much like having that option. I spent a great deal of my childhood on a floating dock in a lake cove at my grandparents place and dropped & lost a lot of stuff including knives into 25-50' of water depending on the lake level and placement on the dock. My grand-dad had a lanyard on just about everything that would sink and I guess I inherited that trait. I put GITD lanyards on ranch work knives so if lost I have a better chance of finding it when the sun goes down.

 

[tuica]

Two ideas. I like the option of a lanyard. But I find they impede my gaining purchase on the handle, so I never use them. They are always in my way. Cheers.

 

[nick21]

I don't use lanyards, although having the option is nice I guess

 

[Bighaze51]

I agree with Gary and Brisket. On a small fixed blade, a sml lanyard or fob helps me when extracting the knife from the sheath. So I would say that I would personally like using the option to add a lanyard. And I like your design too

 

[SURVIVAL&WEAPONS]

Only if the knife is too small to get all fingers on the knife then i will throw a small fob on the knife, even the it doesnt help much more than it started off.