Tip up/down

S

SR_matt

Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
623
Hello all,
i know this topic is very common but my preferences just got all tossed around with the new leek i got. i know many people have a defined preference but who here changes which way depending on the knife design?

for me i could not even imagine how i could carry my sog twitch 2 with it being tip down but the leek i just got, while it may be as easy to use as tip up it would not sit well on my pocket and wouldnt be much easier to draw

any one else like this?
-matt
 
Well, you're right, this issue is covered alot. And....each time I read a thread about it, I'm puzzled by the responses. If a guy carries his knife clipped inside his pants pocket, I suppose tip-up will work as long as the knife isn;t very long. Otherwise, tip-down is the only way to go (excluding waved knives, of course).

I carry all my knives in the waistband. If you draw out ANY knife that's carried tip-up, you MUST reposition the knife in your hand before opening it. I've tried this and had a tip-up carry friend try it, and repositioning is inevitable. If you carry it tip-down, when you grasp the knife (near the pivot, which is up, remember?) with your thumb and index finger, when you draw it, the entire knife pivots between your thumb and finger falling into the palm of your hand........ready to open.

Now, some guys will say that you don;t have to reposition the knife in-hand when carrying tip-up, that your thumb reaches waaay down in, grabbing the knife very close to the blade pivot, to which I'm always tempted to respond: "Really?" Yea....if the knife is tiny, I can buy it, otherwise I could only recommend they give tip-down an honest try.

Tip-down.
 
I carry in my rear pants pocket. Either tip up or tip down works for me, though I actually kind of prefer tip up.

However, I have discovered that there are some clips that bite into my hand when mounted tip up, but sometimes not when carried tip down. So knives with clips that I find uncomfortable in my hand I will carry tip down even if they have the option to carry tip up. Comfort is way more important to me than tip up or tip down.
 
I go back and forth, depending on the knife of course, but the manual opening clipped knives I actually find my self carrying all the time are tip down.

My waved Delica and Endura are tip up, of course, but the whole point of a waved knife is that you don't have to open it!
 
A small nylon belt pouch, in horizontal mode (the knife in line with the belt), works well with folders that have blades 3.5 inches and smaller.

You can pick which way the knife is facing.

I much prefer to use a belt pouch than carry the knife in my rear pocket.

Rich
 
I like tip down , have cut my thumb on a tip up folder that crept open . That said , some folders are naturals for one orientation or the other .

Chris
 
Tip-up folders go against the seam in my right front pocket. Tip-down go against the seam in my right back pocket. I can't recall any tip-down folders that I've carried IWB, but there are a few tip-up, including a large Sebenza. Never had a problem drawing and deploying. Maybe I've just got long thumbs. :thumbup: :D
 
I spend a great deal more time flipping factory clips to tip up carry and get that request a whole lot more than tip down although I get those as well.

It seems to me we have two things going on here. We have most manufacturers preferring tip down carry and even when they offer their knives with the option of tip up or tip down the knives always ship tip down carry.

Then we have a huge fan base out there that obviously loves and prefers tip up carry and will gladly pay someone to flip it and even drill holes in their knives to make them function as they like. I myself prefer tip up carry. This is probably from carrying Emersons and Cold Steel knives for so long that I just got use to it. But its also that I actually feel its the natural way to grip the handle when you pull out the folder.

As for the gravity arguement. Its valid with a huge amount of the liner locks being made out there and sold to the public. Half of them I see have detent balls that do not do anything but let the blade ride smoothly across the lock. If the detent ball works as it should there is no problem with gravity opening a tip up blade no matter the way its carried and if carried in such a way as to put it out where it can swing out the detent can keep it closed when they are installed as they are supposed to be with the laws the way they are currently written.

If its a lock back, axis lock, or some other type folder the spring keeps gravity from having it's way with it no matter the mode of carry. No big deal eithe way at all with these types.

Even with my pref being tip up I do have knives that just feel better tip down. The Kabar Dozier Thorn for example just doesn't work well tip up. The Kershaw ET comes tip up and I switched my own to tip down to flip the blade open by the spyderdrop method and like it much better tip down just for this reason. It all boils down to what works best for you and for the folder you carry I think. Sometimes though the folder seems to obviously prefer one way over another.

STR
 
I absolutely prefer tip up. But then, I carry my knife in my right front pocket, and tip up is pretty ideal for that location. Carry how you like.
 
StretchNM said:
If you draw out ANY knife that's carried tip-up, you MUST reposition the knife in your hand before opening it.
Click to expand...

Stretch...I don't think I get it...

If there is any room at all for your thumb, there should be no repositioning necessary. All I do is shove my thumb down along the knife right to the stud/hole, press forward, and pull out...the knife ends up right in your fist ready to fire, palm forward or back. I find this to be the strong suit of tip up carry...the knife is immediately transferred to the fist in a strong retentive grip, and does not have to be rotated into a firing position. Moreover, the entire tip up draw can be accomplished without ever seeing the knife being moved to the hand. I have medium large hands, and most of my folders tend to be around 5" closed...not really small knives.
 
headroom said:
Stretch...I don't think I get it...

If there is any room at all for your thumb, there should be no repositioning necessary. All I do is shove my thumb down along the knife right to the stud/hole, press forward, and pull out...the knife ends up right in your fist ready to fire, palm forward or back. I find this to be the strong suit of tip up carry...the knife is immediately transferred to the fist in a strong retentive grip, and does not have to be rotated into a firing position. Moreover, the entire tip up draw can be accomplished without ever seeing the knife being moved to the hand. I have medium large hands, and most of my folders tend to be around 5" closed...not really small knives.
Click to expand...

And yet another reason I prefer tip-up. You can easily open the knife by feel, no repositioning necessary. Usually when I draw a knife from my pocket, my thumb is already on the thumb stud. I didn't realize people had general use problems with tip up!
 
I'm a tip up, right rear pocket guy. Tip down requires a pinch, pivot and swivel where tip up is a one motion draw and unfold via inertia or assist. I tend to carry large folders: bm 610, zt 0301, charge ti.
 
I prefer tip-up, to the point that I generally get rid of knives that (If I have any), are tip-down only (Such as the ever popular Spyderco Para Military). I carry (One of my knives, anyways) in my right front pants pocket. As someone has mentioned, the pocket seam keeps the blade from opening. It's natural & I don't need to reposition the knife. If I use a tip-down knife, I do have to reposition the knife in my hand.

Now, if I carried the knife IWB, like Stretch does, I agree, you have to reposition the knife in your hand with a tip-up knife. It's because of your wrist angle when you're pulling it out of your waist-band (You basically need to reposition the knife with either mode from your waist-band). So, yeah, in that mode of carry, I can see the advantage of tip-down carry. Also, I noticed that many manufacturers that make a knife for both modes of carry, usually has the clips set-up differently, depending on the mode of carry. Have you noticed that for tip-down carry, "most" knives sit lower in the pocket, but for tip-up carry, again, "most" knives sit higher in the pocket. I've seen as much as 1/2" difference in the different modes of carrying.

Having said all that, I recently got a Kershaw Groove. I love the knife. I also noticed that there's a difference in how the knife sits, by about 1/2". I initially carried the knife tip-up & I found it quicker, easier, & didn't have to reposition the knife in my hand. However, for the knife to sit an extra 1/2" lower in my pocket (A big difference, IMHO), I have to carry it tip-up. I used this method all day, today. I have to reposition it, but it sits lower in the pocket, so it's a trade-off.

Despite having an opinion on this, I think people should (& they do) carry however they want to.

Enjoy you knife, no matter what.
 
headroom said:
Stretch...I don't think I get it...

If there is any room at all for your thumb, there should be no repositioning necessary. All I do is shove my thumb down along the knife right to the stud/hole, press forward, and pull out...the knife ends up right in your fist ready to fire, palm forward or back. I find this to be the strong suit of tip up carry...the knife is immediately transferred to the fist in a strong retentive grip, and does not have to be rotated into a firing position. Moreover, the entire tip up draw can be accomplished without ever seeing the knife being moved to the hand. I have medium large hands, and most of my folders tend to be around 5" closed...not really small knives.
Click to expand...

I'll have to try again. I just can't get my thumb down in there enough to where the knife comes out enough in the palm to avoid repositioning. As I've said before, I could be missing something, but I can;t find it yet. That said, I only have two tip-up knives, and I rarely carry them. Maybe the knife's design does actually have something to do with it. Some of BM's line I've avoided buying simply because the knife is tip-up carry. As of yet, I can't do it. Kudos to you guys who can.
 
Tip up! You grab the knife as you would draw a gun--very naturally, and as someone said earlier--with your thumb already on the stud.
 
i used to believe tip up was the only way to go, but now it really doesnt matter as far as im concerned. ive carried both ways, and most boxes arent fast enough to get away from me anyways.
 
he who say said:
i used to believe tip up was the only way to go, but now it really doesnt matter as far as im concerned. ive carried both ways, and most boxes arent fast enough to get away from me anyways.
Click to expand...

So I have always found.
 
he who say said:
ive carried both ways, and most boxes arent fast enough to get away from me anyways.
Click to expand...

Good point, that...
grinning-smiley-021.gif
 
I prefer the tip up carry. It just feels more natural to me. This is in my left front pocket as I am left handed. It is easier to put one digit in the pocket than two. I have large hands.
As far as boxes go, I have had a few that tried to get away on me.
 
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