Talk to me about Bails

bleh

bleh

Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
1,122
I see several traditionals (scout knives, electricians, the GEX #68 white owl, old SAKs, etc) that have bails. I can't decide whether I like them or not. Seems like a cool little fidget factor with the knife for the worry stone aspect, but I rarely see pictures of anything attached to the bails on knives. Is there a purpose to the bail other than attaching a lanyard or keyring?
 
I sometimes carry this setup: I find it to be incredibly useful on smaller knives, once I get to bigger folders and fixed blades I prefer a lanyard hole. In the end it's each to his own. I have seen some knives attached to a keychain via the bail, food for thought.
 
A personal hatred of mine. I bought a GEC white owl with a bail and really regretted it. I ended up removing the bail, and much prefer it now.

I've no need to shoot rifle grenades of course ;)

Paul
 
I agree with Paul. I just don't like them.
Some people like to carry their knives attached to a chain or something like that. The only knives I ever carried that way are SAK's (with a Victorinox chain).
Just personal taste though :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
I like them on some patterns, but there are good and bad ones. If you find an old knife with a loose bail, chances are you'll find a ding in the edge of the blade, where it hit the bail a time or two.
 
lol! i'm not shooting grenades either! but i posted this for an example for the use as a plumb bob...and it could be handy when you are outdoors and want to get a string over a branch of a tree (for fixing tent or hammock e.g.) but as i like the look and the potential usefullness of it i dont like that the bails of the saks are uncomfortable when holding the knife and i had once a more traditional knife with those big bails and sometimes the blade snapped onto it and got a nick...
 
I just remembered another use on small knives... Pocket watch chain/fobs.
5785.jpg
 
I like a bail on some work knives. The advantage of them over a lanyard is that you can clip the bail directly to a metal belt clip thereby doing away with the need for a belt sheath.



Of course small knives benefit from a bail too as it allows them to be carried as a key fob or watch fob.
 
I only like them on easy openers and scouts. They have to be made out of nickel silver and be attached via a pin and peened over like these little ones.

 
Yes, they look very good and are functional on easy openers. Nice group of knives Steve.

 
navihawk said:
I only like them on easy openers and scouts. They have to be made out of nickel silver and be attached via a pin and peened over like these little ones.

Click to expand...

I like these requirements. Although I was most assuredly abusing it, the bail on my alox soldier popped out when too much pressure was put on it, causing the lil fob thingy to "fail" (I like a fob for easier full-pocket retrieval). But this bail stays on with just the spring tension of the bail itself. Pinning and peening would make the bail a bit tougher (yes I know I'm not supposed to swing my entire body weight from the bail but I sometimes take in certain drinks, you see)
 
navihawk said:
I only like them on easy openers and scouts. They have to be made out of nickel silver and be attached via a pin and peened over like these little ones.

Click to expand...

is there something about the easy open models that makes the bail more functional?
 
Thanks Ed. Sean, I think its just because they were army issue back in the day they could be clipped on a belt or pack for easy access. The little ones I have, probably for key chains. I like the extra bling.
 
I don't know why, but for me a Scout knife is supposed to have a bail. But I hate carrying a knife with a bail in my pocket. It doesn't make sense, but there it is.

I do have a couple others with bails, Rope knives, Electrician's knives, etc. But I don't really carry those on a regular basis.
 
My inclination is to cut them off. Some of the larger SAKs have the skinny keyring type appendage that digs in the palm of the hand when using the main blade. I grind them off.
I recently got a new camp knife [Rough Rider] that comes with a nice bail. I lived with it for about two days and then took it off. The bail pin goes through the end [hollow] rivett so I filled that with a piece of brass rod, peened it over and polished the ends. It looks ok. I could have left the hole to take a piece of thin cord but the hole looked ugly.
I have a sailors' knife where the bail is pushed back to lock the marlin spike out. Very neat.
regards .. Ad.
 
I like a bail. But only if it’s engineered so it can’t flop into the path of a closing blade.

I don't know why all bails aren't fixed that way. It's not rocket science.
 
I am of two minds. I like them a lot on a knife I would carry on a key chain in my pocket with keys and change (generally with metal handles or steel bolsters that look "better" with pocket wear). I really dislike them on higher end knives with fancy handles that I carry in a pouch or when they don't seem to serve a purpose.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top