How do you feel about pocket clips on a folding knife?

Maybe it’s a generational thing, but I’ve had a long love-hate relationship with them. I vividly remember a time when none of my knives had pocket clips. I think the Spyderco Delica I carried early in my police career was the first I owned that had a pocket clip and the first I owned that provided for one-handed opening.

A flap pocket on a uniform shirt was a good place to clip a knife. The flap covered the clip so it wasn’t visible and tempting to uncooperative “customers.” And I could reach it with either hand, standing or sitting, so I could get to it if needed to cut my way out of my seat belt in the event of a car accident or collision with a suspect’s vehicle. Both are real possibilities in the law enforcement business.

There are some drawbacks with a pocket clip. It shows anyone who notices what you’re carrying and where. It can constitute open carry in jurisdictions that forbid that. You might lose your knife with a pocket clip that’s too loose. And you might be hampered in deploying it quickly if the pocket clip is too tight. And those things can be dependent on which pants you wear.

Yes, a pocket clip keeps the knife separate from other things in the pocket and you’ll know where it is without thinking about it, even under extreme stress. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to deploy it under stress quickly and reliably without fumbling it. That brings us to the whole tip-up vs. tip-down debate. It’s not much of a debate as more knives than not position the pocket clip for tip-up carry.

Naturally, I have to be contrary. I can grasp only about half the knife when I reach for it from a tip-up position and have to readjust my grip completely in order to reach the opening mechanism. After much experimentation, I prefer either tip-down carry or not using a pocket clip at all, both of which eliminate the need for me to do much if any readjusting of my grip on the knife.

If I do use a pocket clip, I need it to be reversible. That’s because when I’m carrying a concealed handgun on KNIVESILLUSTRATED.COM INSTAGRAM: @KNIVESILLUSTRATEDMAGAZINE EDITOR’S EDGE my right side, my knife goes in a left-side pocket. Then I can reach it if I’m in a struggle for my fi rearm with someone who doesn’t respond to the soothing comfort and understanding techniques many would prefer we use as an alternative to physical self-defense.

In the end, you do it your way and I’ll do it mine. Let’s not have unkind gestures fly in either direction. Anyway, I settled the whole pocket clip issue for myself by switching to a small fixed-blade that will fit in a front pants pocket. Right now, it’s a Spyderco Enuff. It allows me to get a full grip on the handle from the get-go—no readjusting necessary—and lets me thumb-off the sheath as I draw the knife.

NOT JUST NUTS AND BOLTS

We all want to know the specifics when we’re reading a knife review, especially when the knife is something we’re considering for a future purchase. But there are lots of interesting people and fascinating stories behind the sharpened steel. We’re going to make sure you hear about them. This issue provides a chance to meet some of those who toil, literally, at the daily grind to bring us the blades that fulfill our passions. Let me know how you like it.

Steven Paul Barlow

Editor