What is a lanyard for on a pocket knife?

Hickory n steel said:
FYI I was admitting to being wrong about the sog / rat1 China thing, not about thinking that this knife has a major design flaw.

I probably shouldn't have called this guy an idiot, so I'm sorry for calling him an idiot because he messed up on one knife.
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Geez....You are hard to follow man. He did not mess up on the grip. The lanyard hole is not ideal. I know. I've had 6 or 7 of them. How did you find the lanyard hole on yours? You cannot say one of the top makers and designers messed up a knife when it is one of the top selling knives from any American knife company. And you certainly shouldn't call him an idiot multiple times. He's got more knife knowledge in his spit than most of us combined.

I'm done responding to you on this. It is a waste of my time.....
 
Hickory n steel said:
FYI I was admitting to being wrong about the sog / rat1 China thing, not about thinking that this knife has a major design flaw.

I probably shouldn't have called this guy an idiot, so I'm sorry for calling him an idiot because he messed up on one knife.
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Yes. The Griptilian. What an epic fail that knife is. :rolleyes:
 
I don't think the knife is a failure as can't dispute it's high sales , I was just pointing out a flaw.
Did he even design the hole to be there or was it an afterthought by the marking board at benchmade ? ( would make more sense to me )
I'm going to apologize one more time for calling him an idiot, that's not really what I meant .
I chose my words poorly and figured people would know exactly what I was saying. I should have just said plain and simple that the lanyard hole on the knife should be moved or removed and left it at that.
 
marcinek said:
And, yes, unless you can stick your arm or head through it, its a fob.
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marcinek said:
Of course, you are free to call them whatever you want, but it isnt a question of what it is more or less accurate to call them...they arent lanyards unless they go around your neck,shoulder, or wrist. Not "less accurate" to call them lanyards.
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Excepting the cannon lanyard, for one. Like the knife "fob", it is not a loop (for neck, arm, wrist, shoulder, etc) and is attached so it can be pulled.

U.S._Army_Spc._Rich_Musser,_center,_pulls_the_lanyard_on_a_M777A2_Howitzer_cannon,_launching_a_155mm_round_downrange_in_support_of_infantry_operations_at_Yakima_Training_Center,_Wash.,_Oct._9,_2013_131009-A-ET795-159.jpg


You can look into deceleration lanyards too, if you so choose.
 
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leghog said:
Excepting the cannon lanyard, for one. Like the knife "fob", it is not a loop (for neck, arm, wrist, shoulder, etc) and is attached so it can be pulled. You can look into deceleration lanyards too, if you so choose.
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Don't think I'd want that piece of hardware either in my pocket or around my neck. :p
 
marcinek said:
Of course, you are free to call them whatever you want, but it isnt a question of what it is more or less accurate to call them...they arent lanyards unless they go around your neck,shoulder, or wrist. Not "less accurate" to call them lanyards.
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As a pedant I take a backseat to no man, but... The definition of a lanyard is not as rigid as you suggest. While I would agree that the loop is the most commonly cited elemental characteristic, it's less than a consensus. Given the wide acceptance of the term among knife people to encompass "fobs," I wouldn't be so quick to judge it as wrong.
 
I use one specifically on my work knife for retention when extracting. I'm up on ladders and scaffolding a lot so I like having the extra surface area so I have a better grip and not drop my knife.
 
I can se one on smaller knives but my hand drops right on m=the middle of the griptillian in my pocket so no fumbling around at all. I can't even have the clip on as it causes res to have a less then great grip. my hands suck for sure. I had to get rid my my barrage because it was not grippy enough and the effort to shut it caused my hands to wrap around it too much and get my fingers. well I found the perfect place for the lanyard
 
steve.knight.792 said:
I can se one on smaller knives but my hand drops right on m=the middle of the griptillian in my pocket so no fumbling around at all. I can't even have the clip on as it causes res to have a less then great grip. my hands suck for sure. I had to get rid my my barrage because it was not grippy enough and the effort to shut it caused my hands to wrap around it too much and get my fingers. well I found the perfect place for the lanyard
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Were you trying to close the Barrage one handed? The Axis Assist on Benchmades AO knives is quite strong and takes a strong hand to do one handed. I actually de-assisted my 581 and it has become my absolute favorite production EDC.
 
NorthernSouthpaw said:
Were you trying to close the Barrage one handed? The Axis Assist on Benchmades AO knives is quite strong and takes a strong hand to do one handed. I actually de-assisted my 581 and it has become my absolute favorite production EDC.
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one handed I could manage somewhat. th spring I agree was too strong of me. but what really go me was if I used my leg to close it when I was holding it one handed then I would get my fingers in the way more. Plus the thing ate holes in all my pockets with the thumb stud. the griptillian seems to fit better in my hand and it is easy to close one handed. a little shorter too is a bitt thing in my pocket.
 
Mike45ACP said:
It really helps me get the knife out of my pocket, but the one on that mini grip would be to short for me.

Mike
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That was my first thought too. OP can't see the usefulness because that's not tied in a useful way. It's short and it's fat towards the knife and then thins out.

For me, a lanyard should be thin where it ties to the knife and then after a short length, terminate in a bead or a knot. When I reach into my pocket, I make sure the bead/knot is secure behind my pinky and extracting the knife is made a lot easier.

Especially helpful on super deep carry knives or super small knives.
 
HappyDaddy said:
As a pedant I take a backseat to no man, but... The definition of a lanyard is not as rigid as you suggest. While I would agree that the loop is the most commonly cited elemental characteristic, it's less than a consensus. Given the wide acceptance of the term among knife people to encompass "fobs," I wouldn't be so quick to judge it as wrong.
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I have to disagree. The term is used incorrectly with any "lanyard" used for a knife, sword or sidearm, unless it allows you to secure the item against loss. A "fob" is properly used as an aid in gaining access to something. A pocket watch fob would be a common and simple example. I guess you could consider a watch chain a type of lanyard if it secures the watch to your person. However, I have never seen or heard the term lanyard used with a pocket watch. Maybe you have.

Just because something is widely accepted, does not mean it is correct. For example, the term "Crescent wrench" is common place but, the proper term is "Adjustable wrench." Crescent is just a brand name.

My guess is that the term "lanyard" is so common with knife owners is because of marketing. Knives are advertised as having a "lanyard ring" or "lanyard hole".
Sounds exciting, right? You have such an exciting and active lifestyle that you need a lanyard ring! "Fob ring" or "fob hole" just don't sound as high speed so I can see why they would be avoided.

Just my 2 cents.



I am sure this has already been posted but it does support my opinion:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A lanyard is a cord or strap worn around the neck, shoulder, or wrist to carry such items as keys or identification cards.[1] In the military, lanyards were used to fire an artillery piece or arm the fuze mechanism on an air-dropped bomb by pulling out a cotter pin (thereby starting the arming delay) when it leaves the aircraft.[2] Aboard a ship, it may refer to a piece of rigging used to secure or lower objects.[1]
 
HappyDaddy said:
As a pedant I take a backseat to no man, but... The definition of a lanyard is not as rigid as you suggest. While I would agree that the loop is the most commonly cited elemental characteristic, it's less than a consensus. Given the wide acceptance of the term among knife people to encompass "fobs," I wouldn't be so quick to judge it as wrong.
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If a lot of people use an incorrect term, that doesnt make it right. A lanyard goes around the neck, wrist, or shoulder. If your paracord skull bead doodad cannot do that, then its not a lanyard.
 
marcinek said:
If a lot of people use an incorrect term, that doesnt make it right. A lanyard goes around the neck, wrist, or shoulder. If your paracord skull bead doodad cannot do that, then its not a lanyard.
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In most cases I'd agree with you. Not on this one. The usage is far too common (I'd bet that upwards of 90% of people with a dangly thing on their knife would call it a lanyard). When the usage is that common, it essentially becomes correct. http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/02/when-does-wrong-become-right/
 
Well I don't use them but as far as the hole and why one would want one there :

  • On the water or standing in a stream it is nice to have a cord tied to the knife so if you drop it it doesn't go too far / can keep from loosing it (I suppose that goes for operating in the dark as well; spelunking anyone ?).
  • Working high; safer if you have a leash on so you don't drop your knife on a coworker . . . am I right ? And who wants to go down three floors to look for a probably damaged knife ? One of my customers dropped his Kershaw . . . gosh I swear he said 1,500 feet but lets say 150 feet. I said where were you working that you were that high . . . even wind generators aren't that high are they ? He said microwave tower in the mountains. Oh and the knife looked great and was usable; looked like a Benchmade had a tool bit driver built in . . . I don't know Kershaws.
 
I always wondered about lanyards. I like pocket clips personally, never used a lanyard. It seems like one that is long enough to be useful would get in the way and get caught on stuff while you were using the knife, and a short one...? Maybe just for looks?
 
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