Tip up or tip down carry?

R

Russell92

Joined
Aug 17, 2000
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It seems that the majority of Spyderco knives are designed for tip up carry. Many of these appear to be some of the most popular models (Delica, Endura, etc.). Then there's tip down knives such as the Calypso Jr. which everyone here on bladeforums seems to think is a great knife. It is almost the exact same size as the Delica and I keep reading how the flat ground blade cuts so well but it still does not sell as well as the Delica. Since in every other aspect it is either identical or superior to the Delica (unless I'm missing something) it would appear that many people don't buy it because it carries tip down (myself included).

Then there's other tip down knives such as the Paramilitary and there's a recent thread by crashlander where he converted it to tip up carry. Others responded saying this is a great idea...am I seeing a trend here? It doesn't seem like too many people like tip down carry.

I personally don't own either of these knives for that reason alone but would love to have both of them if they could be carried tip up. Anyone else agree with me?

I'm pretty new to knives so maybe I'm just missing something. I used to carry a tip down knife (CRKT M16) and never liked it for that reason. It seemed that as I pulled it off my pocket I then had to rotate the knife in order to reach the thumb stud to open it. With tip up knives once I pull the clip off my pocket my thumb is in perfect position to open the knife.

I'm not really sure what the point of this thread is; maybe someone can show me a flaw in my thinking that'll help me warm up to tip down knives. Or maybe you'll all agree with me and pray like I do for knives like the Calypso Jr. and Paramilitary to someday come in a variant that allows them to be carried tip up. The ideal solution I feel would be for all Spydercos to come with a 4 position adjustable clip to make everyone happy, is that a possibility?
 
I myself prefer tip down carry, though it does seem I'm in the minority. For me, it just seems that tip down just "flows" better, if that makes any sense. I will agree with the reasoning that tip up prevents grit and such from getting in your pivot. I hate it when I've been working in the yard and I open up my Calypso jr. and it feels all scritchy, but a shot of dubya dee forty fixes that in an instant. It also seems more natural to draw and open a tip down knife for me, especially with a Spyderco, where I can just grab the hole and snap it open. A tip down clip also feels better in my hand. For these reasons, I've avoided buying a number of tip up Spydercos, which annoys me somewhat because they're all very sound models. Of course, I'm probably biased because my first knives (Harpy and Police) were tip down. My one acception to all this would be balisongs, where tip up is pretty much the only thing that makes sense.
 
Russell92, if you have ever had a knife come open in your pocket, you will then understand the preference that we have for tip down carry.
 
I too like tip down,its easier for me to get a grip on.
 
I prefer tip-down knives, but I haven't found it generally easier or safer. I find that both styles draw just about the same (any extra speed from the tip-up arrangement is inconsequentially small), and I've never had a tip-up knife open in my pocket. I _have_, though, had a tip-down knife open up that way. I find it to be more a matter of an inadequate closing force (weak detents seem to be popular on trendy "tactical" knives) than on the blade arrangement.

I like tip-down because it allows you to "drop" open the knife (by holding the blade and "dropping" the handle down into your palm), and it sets you up better in the draw when using a large knife.
On the Military, for example, you draw it, pivot the knife slightly, and you're all set to thumb open the blade. On my old Endura, though, when you draw the knife your grip is all the way down on the butt, and you have to scoot your hand up pivot-ward. Not an issue for people who "flick" their knives open, but that's never really worked for me.

Tip-down just makes more sense to me, from a pragmatic point of view.
 
I prefer tip up knives because of where that mode of carry puts the clip.
Tip up means a clip at the butt end of the knife.
Tip down means a clip at the pivot end of the knife.
I hold a knife many different ways, and a clip at the pivot end interferes with my use of the knife much more than does a clip at the butt end of the knife.

I have never had a tip up knife come open in my pocket; and, I have never known anyone (in real life) who has had this happen.
I understand a zillion people will now post their experiences of a tip up knife opening in their pocket.
Sorry 'bout that.
It has never happened to me.

Tip up; or no clip and put it in a belt sheath.
Does anyone make an IWB belt sheath for a folder?
Someone ought to do that.
Maybe I will.
 
I think it depends upon the knife myself. I've never had one open on me (so far). But I see Ken's point in realtion to the position of the pivot and the clip play a role in how to draw but I guess that's what separates what carry from what I use. My EDC for work is a tip up. My weekend carries are all tip down. The only ony I have the option to change is my Chinook (2004 model) which I carry in he factory default of tip down.

Sory know it's a very middle of the road position.
 
I have never found tip-up opening faster than tip-down, but I did find my sere2k (very long thumbstud) and ti-salsa (with cobra hood) opening several times in my pockets. Fortunately I only got a slight cut on my finger once, but it's enough to make me pay extra attention whenever I draw a tip-up folder out of pocket. In fact, I would like to see someone got seriously cut in this way and sue the maker for the design. Then hopefully all folders will be made tip-down. :D :D :D

Seriously, I hope spyderco can make them tip-down for models with cobra hoods.
 
I have never had any of my tip up knives open in my pocket. I carry the knife all the way towards the back end of my front pocket so the side of the pocket prevents any knife from opening. Also when I reach into my pocket my hand goes in front of the knife away from the blade. However, if I carried a knife in my back pocket I would be more concerned about it opening because the blade would then be pointed towards the middle of my pocket and not the side.

I don't have any Spydercos that carry tip down so I think I'll pick up a Calypso Jr. soon just so I can compare it to my Delica. I'll see how it goes but I'd still love it to come tip up.
 
Tip down is preferred here, but I've been known to carry tip up as well if it is not a linerlock.

Have been stabbed twice by tip up linerlocks. The second time real good jab to the thumb diving for thre knife. Lessons learned the hard way. It's a moot point as I don't carry linerlocks anymore.

Tip down in linerlock is fast as hell from the pocket to open. I'm more into lockbacks this last few years and some can be slower to open than the linerlocks.

The Chinook2 I carry is left tip down and is as fast as a linerlock opening for me. The Persian which is EDC'd lately is tip up but a lockback so no problems with a ball detent letting the tip escape the handle waiting to bit me.

Brownie
 
After reading Brownie's most excellent input, I realize now why I have never had a folder open in my pocket: I have never owned a knife with a liner lock; and, thanks to Brownie, I have one more reason to never own a knife with a liner lock.
 
I'm a tip down guy myself but thats probably I study Pekiti-tirsia Kali which is an ambidextrous art and with a tip down liner lock in my left front pocket I can grab it and shake down the blade into opening and already have it in pakal (ice-pick) grip. This, I was taught and trained, is the best grip for a blade under four inches which is coincidentally anything legal in CT.
 
There is no correct answer to this question except for the one correct for you.

I've happily converted from tip down to tip up with no accidents or regrets. I find this mode of carry facilitates a smoother, more intuitive draw. But that's just me.
 
I think it's also worth mentioning that on many of Spyderco's tip-up knives, the carry position seems to be dictated by the realities of the knife's construction, rather than a preference for tip-up over tip-down. YOu can't mount a "barrel screw" at the pivot end of a knife. so the FRN Delica and Endura (and Native, and Al Salsa) are pretty much locked into tip-up. Notice that the SS Delica and Endura (which use three-screw clips) come tip-down, standard.
 
There are a lot of excellent points made here. I carried, and preferred, tip-up for years after I bought and carried a Delica for 8 years. I then changed to the Native, which is also tip up. I preferred tip-up because, as mentioned above, it seemed to be in the right position for opening as soon as it is pulled out of the pocket, where a Tip-down requires rotation. It also keeps the blade against the back seem of the pocket, which keeps those blades with the thumb grooves from scraping your hand when you reach into your pocket for other items. I sometimes carry my keys in my left pocket to overcome that inconvenience. After expanding my collection of Spydercos, I discovered that, on the larger knives like the Chinook, Military, and Police models, tip-down is faster to open because in tip-up positions I ended up having to slide my grip forward after pulling it out of my pocket. This was more awkward for me than rotating a tip-down knife because rotating does not require loosening your grip as much and it is easier to control. Since it seems that most of the models with G-10 scales that I prefer for EDC are tip-down, I have began carrying tip-down and, once accustomed to it, find it is not as bad as I had convinced myself it was. If my paramilitary had a tip-up option I would most definately use it, however I no longer let the direction of carry determine which knife I carry now that I am accustomed to either option. If you are sworn against tip-down, then there are plenty of tip-up models available, but if there is a model you really want but is only available tip-down, you should try it and you may also dsicover it isn't a problem, it's just not what you were accustomed to.
 
Russell92,
Your thinking is not flawed.
I like a knife because it's got a great handle and an equally great blade, where the clip is only secondary. I have found it easy to handle opening them either way.
I think I have more tip down, than tip up though, oh well, not a big deal.
Good luck!
 
I personally prefer tip up. However, depending on the knife, I may prefer to carry it for left- or right hand use. Many people have different preferences, and many people have benefited from different training. My question is, why aren't more folders designrd with 4 sets of hole for the clip-- oriented for left/right up/down carry? That way, each user can choose what is right for him/her. Do others feel this way, or am I demanding too much???
 
i prefer tip up myself... and i agree, that it would be nice if companies offered a 4 point carry option like another company i know.. not sure why the don't.

Tip up for me

Edit: come to think of it, 3 companies offer one or two knives with the 4 point carry..
 
I prefer tip down, but that won't keep me from buying a tip up only knife that I really like. It would suck if you had to limit yourself to just one clip position.

One problem with having four different sets of holes is that you're not using three of those sets. In my opinion, having useless holes in your knife's handle looks unattractive. Take the Persian for example: I would like it to be tip down, but drilling nine more holes through it (especially through the bolster) would turn a beautiful knife into one that's a bit uglier.

I'm sure that I'm not the first person to think about this, but there's got to be a better way to attach a clip to a knife than drilling holes through it and screwing it down. There really isn't a more elegant engineering solution to putting clips on knives?
 
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