So I finally tried tip up

M

mjolnirman

Joined
Jan 15, 2008
Messages
175
Well, as the title suggests, I finally decided to try a tip up, and I couldn't, for the life of me, work out a way to make it feel right (I've been doing tip down for years).

It might just be my knife riding too deep in my pocket, but I have to pull the handle out at the end, and shift my hand up higher. This action feels more awkward than just rotating the knife about my thumb.

Am I drawing tip up incorrectly or do you just have to get used to moving your hand up the handle?
 
Just grab it like you're holding it with the blade out straight from the pocket. Hand positioning shouldn't have to change once you grab it.
 
thumb inside pocket, and the rest of the fingers outside, right? My thumb web hits my pocket, and at that point, the butt of the knife is still in the middle of my palm.
 
Gotcha, now I understand your problem. Looks like you're going to have to either get a knife that rides higher or a hand that reaches lower.

What knife do you have BTW? I don't think you'd have that problem with say a Spyderco Caly 3 (highly recommend).
 
I actually tried my CRKT M16 tip down because it rode a little lower than tip up, but I guess that's just sort of a double edged sword.
 
If the knife's decently large, tip-up can be tougher because (as you said) the pommel is in your palm and the hinge& opening mechanism may be out of reach of your fingers. For knives with long handles (like my Spyderco Military, for example), I'm more comfortable with tip-down. For smaller knives, like a Delica, I like tip-up.
 
tagging this thread as I have a BM mini Rukus on the way and that is tip-up only (as far as I know) and it's a rather large low rider that I may have the same issues with. I've only used tip down knives to this point.
 
I learned tip down on a BM 800. When I got my Endura, I carried it for a couple of days tip up until I got my hands on a torx set, and changed it to tip down. I put it back tip up by the end of the day. The tip up didn't seem right when I got it, but it felt much better than the tip down I had carried for years, only after a couple of days carrying tip up. I don't have my 800 anymore, but it is close in design to the Endura, other than the linerlock which I have seen somewhere on here is better carried tip down.

Confused now? :D
 
Here is what I do- I put my thumb along the scale so that the tip of my thumb is near the pivot. I then grip the knife with the side of my ring finger and start to pull out, adding my middle and then index fingers as space allows. Either that or I grip with my middle finger and use my index to push the top of the knife further into my hand. This puts the knife in almost perfect position for me. I never realized that was how I do it until trying it for this thread. I was once a tip down kind of guy but the clip cut my finger in martial arts practice when the trainer got jammed against something and after I started poor man's waving my knives, and now hardly use my tip downs, unless the design strikes me as one I want to carry that day.
 
puukkoman said:
If the knife's decently large, tip-up can be tougher because (as you said) the pommel is in your palm and the hinge& opening mechanism may be out of reach of your fingers. For knives with long handles (like my Spyderco Military, for example), I'm more comfortable with tip-down. For smaller knives, like a Delica, I like tip-up.
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You don't really have a choice with the Military :P
 
I really do not like tip up. I would never carry anything tip up except that the 710 and ritter grip only come that way. It is really personal preference and whatever works for you is best for you.
 
liliysdad said:
If I knife is tip down only, I either will not buy it, or will modify of for tip up.
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Just curious...

...how often have you actually been in a situation where the supposed savings in time-to-deployment when drawing tip-up allowed you to come out on top where carrying tip-down would have left you in dire straights?
 
I use my knife several times daily. I have cut seatbelts, airplane skin, flex-cuffs, etc....

I cannot quantify the speed difference, but I can assure you it is faster, and sometimes, a fraction of a second can make a difference/
 
liliysdad said:
I use my knife several times daily. I have cut seatbelts, airplane skin, flex-cuffs, etc....

I cannot quantify the speed difference, but I can assure you it is faster, and sometimes, a fraction of a second can make a difference/
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Fair enough...

...airplane skin? Pretty hairy job!:thumbup:
 
I'm a tip-DOWN guy. I have a tip-up, and I can't get used to it either. Tip-down is the only way I can see that allows you to draw and open the knife without repositioning.
 
StretchNM said:
I'm a tip-DOWN guy. I have a tip-up, and I can't get used to it either. Tip-down is the only way I can see that allows you to draw and open the knife without repositioning.
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if you use the wave feature, or you like to flick it open, tip up is the way to go.

in fact with wave, tip up is the ONLY way to go, unless you like to do the entire reverse tip down, open in reverse grip kind of thing.
 
For reverse grip waving- just put the clip on the other side of the handle. A right hand pocket with a left hand clip draws in reverse grip.
 
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