Why tip up ?

When I buy a knife, I am not looking if it is blade up or down. I have had knives in the past that were up and down. Really no preference.
However, I have heard of some knives tip up coming open in the pocket. I don't remember the make or model of the knife. But I can say that in 20 years of carrying knives, I have never had this problem.
 
If you put the folder at the seam closest to the zipper then tip down, if you put it at the back corner of your pocket you will prefer tip up.
 
Because I prefer an edge out reverse grip.

 
Because if the folder is all the way against the corner of your pocket closer to your rear then when you reach in your pocket your hand will grab the folder in an overhand manner. When you grab the knife this way tip up makes it more natural to flip or thumb open.
 
Interesting that most responses are addressing percieved issues pertaining to carrying front pocket. I guess we'll have to start another thread on front vs back pocket!

For the record, about half my knives are tip up, half are tip down. I prefer tip up, because it simply makes the most sense: you pull the knife out of your pocket, and it's already in the correct position in your hand, thumb resting on the stud, ready to open (unless you have a damned deep carry pocket clip...). That said, I have never bothered to switch my favorite carry, the Kershaw Blur, or any other knife that came tip down, to tip up!

I have also never had any knife magically open in my pocket, whether tip up or down, back pocket or front, assisted or manual. This phenomenon lots of people are concerned with, simply a non-issue.
 
chiral.grolim said:
This has been discussed quite a bit, you can use the BF search function to find threads on the topic. It is mostly personal preferences, but here are a couple quick points you may read:
1) Tip-up puts the spine against the seam of the front pocket, preventing accidental opening of most modern folders which may have weak detents or, very common now-a-days, flippers and/or assisted-opening springs.
2) The spine of the handle is usually more comfortable for my hand to pass across when reaching past the knife for other items, vs running it along the spine of a blade.
3) Some knife handles have a "birds beak" at the end, which can catch on things in the pocket in tip-down carry.
4) coins/keys/etc. can become lodged between the blade and scales in tip-up carry due to the open-face of the handle facing inward ratehr than against the seam of the pocket - this too can lead to accidental opening.
5) When I reach into my pocket for my knife, I usually actually insert my thumb and index finger into the pocket itself. When i draw out the knife, I can immediately flip or flick open most modern folders without having to re-position my hand or rotate the knife.

FWIW, I am currently carrying a Gerber Order in my front pocket, a knife that can only be carried tip-down.
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100% agree with this.

If you carry tip down, more power to you, but ease of opening and having the spine of blade up against the seam of your pocket (which prevents fully or even partially opening of a knife with a weaker detent) are HUGE bonuses for tip up carry. All in all it's a matter of preference, but why you'd prefer an inferior method is well beyond logic to me.
 
`br4dz- said:
If you carry tip down, more power to you, but ease of opening and having the spine of blade up against the seam of your pocket (which prevents fully or even partially opening of a knife with a weaker detent) are HUGE bonuses for tip up carry. All in all it's a matter of preference, but why you'd prefer an inferior method is well beyond logic to me.
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If you carry large knives, tip down gives the ease of opening. Tip up, you pull the knife out and you are holding onto the end with the lanyard hole, a long way away from the opening device. I have big hands and if I try this with a knife the size of the Military, my thumb ends up 3" from the opening hole. With tip down when I pull the knife out my thumb is right on the opening hole. I used to carry a tiny knife tip up and it worked fine, with bigger knives it doesn't.
 
Reswob said:
I have also never had any knife magically open in my pocket, whether tip up or down, back pocket or front, assisted or manual. This phenomenon lots of people are concerned with, simply a non-issue.
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I had a Spyderco P'kal, set for right hand carry but carried in the left pocket.
Some would say "carry it towards the zipper!", but that was really uncomfortable, so I had it back towards the seam.

Well, one day I got off the bus, and my leg felt sort of...itchy.
I reached in my pocket, and the knife had opened completely! :eek:
Completely open, all the way; the lock was even engaged.

Now sure, it had a very light detent, and I guess the wave-bar must have caught on the pocket fabric as I sat or stood up, but that was very disconcerting.
I traded it off.

So is it common?
Probably not, but it happened to me.
Tip down would have been better in that instance.

Luckily it was only scratching my leg with the blade tip, but if I had raised my leg it would have sunk in quite deep, and that would have rather sucked.
 
bdmicarta said:
First caveats:
Most people carry right front pocket so common arguments are with respect to that method. Any other way you carry could work differently with different clip positions. Reading these threads over the years it seemed that half the people carried one way, the other half the other way. Then there was a poll and it came out something like 80% tip up.

The first clipped knives produced many years ago seemed to all be tip down, then Spyderco started making their knives with molded FRN handles and they had to be tip up to work. The popularity of these models seemed to sway most people to tip up.

If you carry a waved knife it has to be tip up to function. Or if you use a lanyard it has to be carried tip up to be useful.

People argue that it is safer to carry tip up. I have read as many or more people that sliced things carrying tip up as carrying tip down. Your knife can move around in your pocket and the seam of the pocket won't protect you anymore. If a person is scared of their knife opening in their pocket then they need a different knife, or carry your knife in a sheath.

I've carried both ways, for a long time. Tip down is significantly faster and safer for me. Granted when I carried a tiny knife it worked about equally well both ways. When I carry a real knife (meaning long knife) it only works tip down. People continually ask for a Spyderco Military tip up, that thing would take you 5 minutes to open.

I searched youtube one time for how to open knives carried tip up. Most of the videos seemed to use slight of hand to prove that tip up worked. The only person I found that seemed to operate the knife normally and make it work tip up was wearing pajamas in the video. I never wear pajamas, even at home, so this didn't apply to me. I wear jeans that are usually pretty tight and nothing goes into my pocket past the knife except the tip of my thumb. All I can grab of the knife is the end that is sticking out. So it seems to me that to make a tip up knife work you need a tiny knife carried in pajamas.

And of course YMMV.



My knives seem to be split evenly between tip up and tip down. Tip up is totally backwards for me. When I pull the knife out it is in the wrong direction for opening, I have to toss it up in the air and catch it after it has rotated a half turn, then I can open it. When I pull a tip down knife out it is in the correct orientation, with the tip of my thumb right on the thumbstud or thumb hole. I tried putting a Military in my pocket and held it where it would be if it was tip up and then I pulled it out. The tip of my thumb was 3" from the thumb hole. No easy way to open the knife from there. I had my daughter take step by step photos of my drawing both ways so I could post them in these threads and I never did, now I have to try to find them.
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I agree with everything in your post. You just took the words explaining it better than I could.

I sliced myself once with a para military 2 with tip up. Now the only knives I carry tip up are fliopers and have to have a strong detent. I bought some flippers with a weak detent and sold them right away.

I also carry a full size Military. Once of the reason I like the regular Military is that it comes with tip down ONLY. Non of those holes on each side which I don't need anyway. Also it works great for front and back pocket without having to change the clip back and forth should you decide to carry back pocket.

With my Sebenzas.. well, they only come with tip up but I like them so I still buy and carry them. Detents are weak on some Sebenzas but I have yet to slice my hand on one reaching into my pocket..
 
Unless you put the knife against the seam closest to your zipper. Then tip down means the soine is against your seam.
 
For me tip up I can draw my knife fast
Tip down is OK I usually carry tip down for my utility knife

Each knife I carry has a purpose
For example

Spyderco paramilitary 2 defense/light utility

Spyderco native utility
 
I've said it many times before, I'm in the tip down group myself. Much of that is because I rear pocket carry, and doing so with tip down places the spine against the outside seam (right side). As someone that prefers tip down carry, it is frustrating that many knives are tip up only. I realize that drilling for both tip up and tip down leaves holes that some consider unsightly, but I guess I somewhat selfishly think that is a pretty minor concern.

That said, I do believe that tip down works for a wider array of sizes/designs of knives. Also, the detent is assisted by gravity, so I believe it may be more safe/secure than tip up in general (not counting on the spine being against a seam of a pocket).

When you draw from your pocket, you only ever need to grab the first inch or so of the knife by the pivot regardless of the size of the knife (which is why I believe it works for a wider array of sizes and types). Then, as you draw it, with a slight rotation/turn of your wrist then the knife is ready to open, as its in your normal grip. If you draw the knife in this way, there is not so much a regrip, as maybe a slight rotation. And as someone who doesn't care about "deployment speed", I guess what while there may be some benefits of tip up (wave opening mostly), I don't care about that enough to give up what I consider to be the other benefits.

I may have my preferences because my first clipped knives were tip down, I can admit that. I do realize it is just a preference, so it it doesn't bother me at all when other people prefer tip up, just like I'd hope that no one really cares if my preference is tip down.
 
I just prefer tip up, and other people have stated the reasons, many of which I agree with; no need to rehash them.
 
I don't really mind either way. On longer folders like the Spyderco Military I prefer tip down. I hate doing the finger shimmy up the handle to get to the thumbstud/hole/flipper. On not so big knives tip up puts the thumbstud/hole/flipper right at my fingers and I like that.
 
I don't have a preference for carry purposes that much, for me it's more in the way the knife feels holding and using it.
Take the blur, it comes tip down carry. Smallish, thin clip that is not intrusive when you're holding it and using it. I left it alone.
The PM2, it also comes tip down. The clip is larger, it bothered me a bit holding it in certain grips. I moved the clip to tip up.
 
It's mostly down to preference. My personal choice is tip-up, because I carry in my right-side front pocket, and when I clip the knife to my pocket, the blade is held closed. I would not carry a knife that had to be clipped in with the blade facing toward my left side, because I shave with my right hand, and that's tough to do with stitches!
 
Ratman79 said:
For me, it's as simple as ease of opening. I carry folders with flippers and when they are tip-up, the knife is already in the position to open it. Tip-down would just mean one more movement after taking it out of my pocket before I could use the flipper. Not a big deal, just a preference.
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Good common sense argument. The safety aspect is minimal to me. If a knife opens in my pocket (never happened), that is the last time it will ever be in my pocket. It may well be headed for the garbage can.

I generally just use them the way they come from the factory. This is mostly true of firearms as well. Don't consider adding a scope on a rifle changing much of anything. I have added different sights in the past. But I don't fool with the innards other than cleaning.
 
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