Tip up, tip down, or clipless

[MCM]

"I wouldnt make my military tip up though"

So light & deep, its like its not even there.........
After a year like this, there is no turning back.......
Like this model so much I bought a 2nd one.

 

[zenheretic]

I think it only matters based on proper construction. Meaning if a maker uses the wrong lock, tolerances, or general design choosing tip up or tip down can make all the difference in whether it is a safe carry or not.

For preferences, I prefer tip down. For most people preference is usually grounded in which style they were initially exposed too, so I'm really old school....er rather mid school.

Old school scoffs at those clips.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

my first "expensive" knive was a mel pardue auto, tip down. i carried it for years and learned to deploy in that manner.

when i started really feeding my obsession, i found most higher end and custom folders tended to be tip up.

i learned to deploy tip up knives, now only buy tip up.


go figure...

 

[knarfeng]

You forgot, "It doesn't matter".

Ditto.

 

[knivesandguns]

Tip up all the way!

Tip down lefty pocket for cross draw when I feel like carrying two, and the other knife doesn't have a left hand tip up pocket clip. My orange zing has kind of bumped out other knives and taking role as top dog for lefty pocket though.

 

[Bob W]

It's not that I actually remove the clips - none of my current carrying pocketknives came with them.

 

[b.c.molin]

Tip up is my preferred way of carrying a folder.

 

[bitter1]

I have been doing tip down carry lately, I do prefer tip up carry but my EDC's have all been tip down carry lately.

 

[A.P.F.]

All of the above.

 

[Dagon]

I don't remove the clip, but in general I prefer the cleaner look of a clipless design, and I do rarely use the clip anyway.

 

[jacktrades_nbk]

tip up generally, but i have no problem with my millie, so i can say i like clips, either way

 

[Gollnick]

They say that there are two things in this world which are reliable: death and taxes. But there is a third, gravity.

If you are here at Bladeshow, hopefully you will not step off of one of the hotel's high balconies planning to just float in mid-air because you will not; gravity is 100% reliable and you will fall to your likely death.

Gravity never sleeps. It never fails. It constantly pulls down on everything... everything. And everything includes the blade on your knife.

Don't fight gravity because you can't win.

Tip-down carry uses gravity to keep the knife safely closed.

Tip-up carry fights gravity.

No matter how many precautions you take, how carefully you pocket the knife, how carefully you are to fully-close it, no matter what lock it has, you will -- sooner or later -- make a mistake and not get the knife fully-closed or locked, or maybe the knife's lock or spring will fail, or maybe the knife will move out of place in your pocket. Eventually one of these things will happen. And when it does, gravity will be there with 100% reliability to tug down on that blade and set up a serious hazard for your hand.

If you won't walk off of a high balcony, then why will you carry a knife tip-up?

Don't fight gravity because you can't win.

 

[orthogonal1]

I prefer tip-down since it makes opening easier when I grab the knife from that end. The thumbstud is readily at hand with little contortion.

Unfortunately, many of my favorite knives are tip-up.

 

[Ken44]

Tip up is much quicker, and makes it much more comfortable to put your hand in pocket.

And BTW, you won't cut yourself more one way over the other. Tip up EDC for 20 years and I've Never cut myself. Now my cuts from using a knife, and being a meatcutter is a differant storey,lol.


I do have a large Millie I carry from time to time, but usually keep it in back pocket. I'll evenually get around to getting a tip up clip put on it for front pocket use.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Tip up for me.

 

[enderwiggin]

It depends on the knife, but overall, I prefer tip up.

 

[Shawn B.]

I prefer tip-down since it makes opening easier when I grab the knife from that end. The thumbstud is readily at hand with little contortion.

I agree with this statement whole heartedly. I prefer tip down but I can live with both styles of clip location.

 

[GRIM 62]

I voted tip down.I got use to it 20 years ago with the spyderco police in Gin-1.

 

[RetiredGuns]

I carry my Para for a while and tip down is as natural as can be. I then carry my Griptilian and I end up spinning it around 3 times until it is back to tip up! Get comfy with a knife and it doesn't matter.

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

I was "Raised" on tip down, but have since graduated to tip up. The final straw in tip down was while doing some knife related martial arts training and my clip for the ground down tip down folder was jammed into my hand, cutting my pinky. Not possible with tip up configuration.

I would like to know how those of you that have cut themselves on tip up did it. My knives are always in the corner of my pocket and the seam keeps them from opening unwanted. At least that is my experience from carrying every day for the last 15 or so years.