Why do assisted and regular clips exist?

B

Blackf77t

Joined
May 20, 2020
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54
I haven't heard of anyone liking assisted or regular carry. If you do, please tell me why.

regular versus deep carry clip
Most knives still come with a regular clip and branding. This is a common complaint in knife reviews and I have to agree with them. I would rather have a deep carry clip with no branding. Most people will ask for a deep carry clip. I have never heard of someone getting a deep carry clip and contacting a manufacture for a regular carry clip.

Manual versus Assisted
The difference in deployment is negligible. Its harder to maintain, harder to use one handed, and potential legal issues. Some people deassist their blades.
 
The fact that assisted knives sell extremely well is all you need to know. Normal people (non-enthusiasts) seem to like assists, and it makes it easier for a manufacturer to produce a knife than to dial in a manual action. I think it's easy for us enthusiasts to forget that KAI sells way more assisted Kershaw dknives as they do a more expensive ZT, and the best selling ZT is always the assisted 0350.

I like regular clips and deep carry clips, but for different reasons. If I'm in a city around other people, I prefer deep carry, but in any other circumstance a regular clip usually offers better ergonomics and makes it easier to retrieve a knife.
 
marrenmiller said:
The fact that assisted knives sell extremely well is all you need to know. Normal people (non-enthusiasts) seem to like assists, and it makes it easier for a manufacturer to produce a knife than to dial in a manual action. I think it's easy for us enthusiasts to forget that KAI sells way more assisted Kershaw dknives as they do a more expensive ZT, and the best selling ZT is always the assisted 0350.
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Its weird that the more popular version is the less beneficial one. I have a Kershaw Clash and Kershaw Knockout. If they came out with a manual version, I would buy it. I was pretty disappointed when the Kershaw sprint was an assisted Leek. I would have considered buying it, if it was unassisted.



marrenmiller said:
I like regular clips and deep carry clips, but for different reasons. If I'm in a city around other people, I prefer deep carry, but in any other circumstance a regular clip usually offers better ergonomics and makes it easier to retrieve a knife.
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I like my privacy, so it didn't make sense to me.
 
I think the issue is that you're interpreting your own preferences and opinions as facts.

I prefer regular clips for the most part. Deep carry clips have their place, but they can make it annoying to actually retrieve the knife from your pocket, whereas a properly placed regular clip leaves a bit of knife to grab fairly easily. That said, I own more than one knife with a deep carry clip and I carry them as well.

I enjoy assisted knives as well, though I prefer manual. Thankfully, I don't have to choose one or the other and happily own both. Assisted knives are fun and snappy and really not difficult to maintain or close one handed if you're at all used to them.

Variety is the spice of life and I enjoy owning, carrying and using a variety of knives. Even knife features I don't particularly like I still like to see because they give me more options and that's always fun.
 
Blackf77t said:
I haven't heard of anyone liking assisted or regular carry. If you do, please tell me why.

regular versus deep carry clip
Most knives still come with a regular clip and branding. This is a common complaint in knife reviews and I have to agree with them. I would rather have a deep carry clip with no branding. Most people will ask for a deep carry clip. I have never heard of someone getting a deep carry clip and contacting a manufacture for a regular carry clip.

Manual versus Assisted
The difference in deployment is negligible. Its harder to maintain, harder to use one handed, and potential legal issues. Some people deassist their blades.
Click to expand...

The vast majority of knife buyers don't actually care about whether a bit of their knife sticks out of their pocket, not to mention deep carry is harder to pull from your pocket and it seems like it would be harder and more expensive for knife makers to manufacture as well.

Branding is standard on just about ever product ever made, again the vast majority of knife buyers don't actually care about that sort of thing; it's often a badge of honor to carry around a blade with "Spyderco" or "Benchmade" visible on the clip.

Assisted is simple, easy, and cool, if it didn't sell manufacturers wouldn't keep making them. De-assisting a blade is really only a knife enthusiast thing; the standard knife buyer doesn't customize or change the blades they buy.

Using Bladeforums members as stand-ins for the knife-buying public is just not accurate, we are basically the 1% of knife buyers and are not the type of people to set the standards or trends in knife-buying.
 
I prefer deep carry clips on my assorted Benchmades. They give me a better purchase on the knife than a shorter clip. I asked Benchmade to replace the short deep carry clips on my Bugout and Mini-Presidio and the regular clips on the three Mini-Grips I'd bought over the years.

As to assisted opening, don't need it or want the extra complication. Benchmades are easy to adjust.
 
I'm finding that whether I like deep carry or regular clips depends on the knife, depending on the size of the knife, how grippy the clip is and how rough the knife handle is. There are three things I want from a clip:
  1. Knife stays in my pocket when clipped
  2. Knife is easy to grab from my pocket when I need it
  3. Knife is easy to slide back into my pocket clipped
I've hated clips for failing at any one of those three things. The best clips nail all three so well that you never think about them at all.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
I think the issue is that you're interpreting your own preferences and opinions as facts.
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I don't think that is entirely true. My preferences and opinions are based on facts.


Insipid Moniker said:
I prefer regular clips for the most part. Deep carry clips have their place, but they can make it annoying to actually retrieve the knife from your pocket, whereas a properly placed regular clip leaves a bit of knife to grab fairly easily. That said, I own more than one knife with a deep carry clip and I carry them as well.

I enjoy assisted knives as well, though I prefer manual. Thankfully, I don't have to choose one or the other and happily own both. Assisted knives are fun and snappy and really not difficult to maintain or close one handed if you're at all used to them.

Variety is the spice of life and I enjoy owning, carrying and using a variety of knives. Even knife features I don't particularly like I still like to see because they give me more options and that's always fun.
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Until I read your post, I thought that regular carry and assisted knives were forced on us.

I can't see myself buying another assisted knife. I wish they would sell knives with the option of regular or deep carry. The knives I do have with deep carry don't seem to be hard for me to get in or out of my pocket.

I wouldn't want to prevent buying or selling of knives just, because it doesn't appeal to me.
 
Blackf77t said:
I haven't heard of anyone liking assisted or regular carry. If you do, please tell me why.

regular versus deep carry clip
Most knives still come with a regular clip and branding. This is a common complaint in knife reviews and I have to agree with them. I would rather have a deep carry clip with no branding. Most people will ask for a deep carry clip. I have never heard of someone getting a deep carry clip and contacting a manufacture for a regular carry clip.

Manual versus Assisted
The difference in deployment is negligible. Its harder to maintain, harder to use one handed, and potential legal issues. Some people deassist their blades.
Click to expand...

I don't like deep carry clips at all. They make it way harder to get the knife in hand when you need it.
 
Blackf77t said:
I don't think that is entirely true. My preferences and opinions are based on facts.



Until I read your post, I thought that regular carry and assisted knives were forced on us.

I can't see myself buying another assisted knife. I wish they would sell knives with the option of regular or deep carry. The knives I do have with deep carry don't seem to be hard for me to get in or out of my pocket.

I wouldn't want to prevent buying or selling of knives just, because it doesn't appeal to me.
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Glad to hear it! You phrasing, asking why they exist certainly seems to imply you think they shouldn't. If you're frustrated with a clip I recommend aftermarket variants, as they're very common in you know where to look.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Glad to hear it! You phrasing, asking why they exist certainly seems to imply you think they shouldn't. If you're frustrated with a clip I recommend aftermarket variants, as they're very common in you know where to look.
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I came into this with the assumption no one liked assisted or regular clips, so why make them. I was surprised that some people do. I wouldn't want to take an option away from anyone. I would like to see knife markers offer both options by default, so consumers could chose the option they like rather than end up with a wasted clip.
 
If it sticks out a little I'm ok with it, but not like Hinderer style. I also don't do assisted. Manual or automatic for me.

Living in Chicagoland I don't like to draw attention to the fact that I'm carrying a knife, which is why I've swapped many of my clips that have branding on them. I like thinner clips as well for this reason.
 
I work construction and with my tool belt on it can be a pain in the a$$ getting stuff out of my pants pockets. I never carry deep at work. As for manual versus assisted I always go manual because I also think the difference is negligible but to each their own.
 
Blackf77t said:
I haven't heard of anyone liking assisted or regular carry. If you do, please tell me why.

regular versus deep carry clip
Most knives still come with a regular clip and branding. This is a common complaint in knife reviews and I have to agree with them. I would rather have a deep carry clip with no branding. Most people will ask for a deep carry clip. I have never heard of someone getting a deep carry clip and contacting a manufacture for a regular carry clip.

Manual versus Assisted
The difference in deployment is negligible. Its harder to maintain, harder to use one handed, and potential legal issues. Some people deassist their blades.
Click to expand...

You are asking why these exist. you are assumng no one likes them. Im genuinely curious... what is your guess? Why do you think these exist?
 
KingMC said:
Using Bladeforums members as stand-ins for the knife-buying public is just not accurate, we are basically the 1% of knife buyers and are not the type of people to set the standards or trends in knife-buying.
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I agree. There must be a lot of knife buyers out there who like partially serrated edges, but I wouldn't know it from this forum.
 
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They exist because they sell at a viable rate for manufacturers to invest in, produce, and market.

On a personal note, I view assisted knives as a fidget function, not for me but if that’s your thing I’m glad someone makes and sells it.
Same for deep carry clips, they make it more difficult to draw a knife, not for me but if that’s your thing I’m glad someone makes and sells it.
 
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