How do you carry your folder?

[Safetyfirst]

My ZT 0301 just arrived last week.

The blade is 3-3/4" S30V steel with a Tiger Stripe Tungsten DLC coating.

The handle is 3-D machined G-10 Ranger Green scales on the front and titanium on the back. The frame lock is also titanium.

In short, this thing is a tank at a whopping 8 ounces. Loving the feel and form, and the weight is reassuring if anything. As far as EDCing it (which I plan on), it has a quad mounting system. I'd like to know what the majority of the community does for carrying. I was thinking tip up on my right (strong) side. I highly recommend this knife, it's sharper than Stephen Hawking. I feel like even grazing my arm hair would slash my jugular open

 

[ugaarguy]

It depends on the knife. For a push button auto opener, or a manual or assisted knife with a flipper (like your ZT 0301) I carry them tip up on whichever side it's going to be carried. On knives without flippers my choice of tip up or tip down (when it's an option) is usually dictated by which position provides the deepest ride in the pocket.

I'm glad you like it. Let us know how it holds up after several months of real world use.

 

[bikerdoc]

Spyderco Native

 

[JohnKSa]

I carry two different folders on a regular basis. Regardless of the knife, I carry it on my strong side.

One is configurable for tip up or tip down carry and I have it configured for tip up carry. I've found that minimizes the amount of gunk that ends up in the hinge.

The other is carrried tip down because it can not be reconfigured.

 

[lemaymiami]

Regardless of whether there's a clip or not I much prefer to carry a blade in my pocket instead of using the clip.... On the few occasions when I'm forced to rely on a clip I'm indifferent to whether the blade is tip up or down.... A few years back I lost a very nice Al Mar folder because I relied on the clip and after running more than 20 miles into the backcountry on my skiff I found that it had worked off of my waistline.... Working on small boats forces you to find out the hard way whether things work or not, this was just one more lesson for me. I've never lost a blade kept in a deep pocket.

By the way, I can usually tell at a glance if someone I'm dealing with is carrying a blade when they rely on the clip unless an overhanging shirt conceals it... For defensive purposes I want any blade to be as concealed as possible up until it's in use....

 

[snapshot762]

I carry strong side tip up.

 

[hso]

Understand that while the blade length of your knife is less than your state and campus carry limits you must always be discrete and show good judgement in how you carry and how you use a knife.

As to how the rest of us carry, it depends. For you it will depend on what you're comfortable with. Do you find that you need to empty out your strong side pocket to balance against the weight of the knife clipped there, or will you carry IWB between "10 and 2", or even at "5 or 7" above your back pocket. It is wholly a matter of what you're most comfortable doing.

 

[JohnKSa]

lemaymiami,

IWB carry with the clip over the waistband but behind the belt addresses both of your concerns.

 

[lemaymiami]

That's where it was.... with the accent on the last word... I work out of a 17' skiff configured as a bonefish skiff where you sit on the rear deck when running and stand up on a poling platform when fishing. A few years back I up-graded that beat up old Maverick skiff with really nice comfortable bass boat seats (three across with me in the middle). The moment when I realized that my knife was gone was not a good one -but I had three additional work blades onboard so it wasn't that great a problem.

I've done all kinds of dumb things (both on the street as a cop, as well as years and years on the water - including falling or getting blasted off of my skiff in one mis-adventure or other) but never managed to lose a good blade with it in my pocket.... That's why I'll leave carrying by clip to others.

 

[Tirod]

On the other side of the coin, the only knives I lost slipped out of my pocket because they weren't clipped. Like when hooking up an inoperative car to a wrecker, laying on the pavement to see what was a frame member rather than a tie rod.

22 years Army Reserves, training, etc, plus all the civilian work, remodeling, working on cars, clipped knives were never lost. Some deserved it, but it still wouldn't happen.

One difficulty with the survey is that some knives can't and don't offer a means to change the orientation of the clip. You get it and use it the way it is. No choice - like the BM Risk, I would prefer tip down, it comes tip up and you're stuck with it. I leave it the way it is, because in real life it makes no effective difference - the human body gets used to it and familiarity will be achieved. Plus, on the Risk, there is the difficulty of putting the larger end of the knife at the pocket opening, which makes it more restrictive to get your hand in. There are tradeoffs in every orientation - there is no "best," just what works better for that knife and the carrier.

Basically, the survey really can't tell much when most knives are not configured to offer all the options. It will basically record what fe people will go out of their way to tell you, not necessarily what the majority actually do. That was decided for them by the maker, whether we liked it or not.

 

[hso]

The most secure way to carry would be in either a zippered inner pocket or a belt sheath with a combination velcro/snap closure.

I've used strongside pocket clipped, IWB clipped, sheath, and (with the old 511 Covert Khakis) clipped in a magazine pocket in the zippered security pocket. When on whitewater I've used the inner pocket of boat shorts. There's a time place for all of it.

 

[Speedo66]

No choice in the poll for non-clipped!

I don't wish to broadcast I'm carrying a knife, it stays deep in my pocket without being clipped. It's also illegal to carry clipped (visible) in the closest big city.

For the record, it's a SOG Twitch II.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I carry tip up (hinge down) clipped weak side.
Strong side is where my pistol resides, so that's my go to defensive piece.

On the occasion I carry two knives, the second rides strong side rear of my holster, hinge down, tip up.

 

[alsask]

I allways use a belt sheath. There are no laws against carrying a knife here, other than into a bar or drinking establishment.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I carry Them tip up or tip down in my back pocket or on my belt.

 

[JohnKSa]

That's where it was...

Wow, you must wear your pants REALLY loose. I can't imagine a knife working its way out of my waistband and never noticing anything at all until it was gone.

 

[lemaymiami]

John, perhaps a photo will help.... I'm the fat boy at the stern and this is my office. That fish is just a puppy... Most days I'm dressed like this, face cover, gloves, long sleeve shirts and long pants - even in August...

[/URL]

 

[dayhiker]

I carry my 0301 daily. With a knife this size and weight I removed the pocket clip and carry tip up in the back pocket of my jeans. It just takes up too much room clipped in a front pocket. But I am old enough to remember when knives didn't have clips .

Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk 2

 

[hso]

lemaymiami,

I have the same issue. Skinny guys don't get it.

 

[lemaymiami]

Some months I'm in that old skiff more than I'm out of it....

 

[mdauben]

Strong side, whichever way the tip points.

I've got pocket knives that hang both tip up and tip down and honestly I hardly notice the difference. I think most people make much to big a deal of it.

 

[GCBurner]

In a pocket that doesn't advertise that I'm carrying a knife. I only use a clip on a folder in an inside jacket pocket, so I don't have to dig for it.

 

[Inazone]

I don't worry much about tip up or down, but it's always weak side pocket clip for me. Today it's a Kershaw Vapor III carried tip down in my left front back pocket and a Leatherman Wingman in my left back pocket, which is my typical work EDC. If I was "out on the town" I'd typically wear a Kershaw RJI in my right rear pocket, as it (like the Vapor) as a very low-profile clip and actually can be worn a little deeper.

 

[Rexster]

I use two of the choices, daily, though "strong" and "weak" are no longer so clear. Moreover, I will only carry certain, very specific knives tip-up, because tip-up has caused me to bleed more than once.
If I really like a knife that is only built for tip-up carry, I tend to remove the clip, and carry it tip-down inside a pocket sheath, or in a belt sheath. This is how I carry my Strider AR.

My most consistent EDC is a Tarani Masters Model Karambit, pre-5.11, manufactured in the USA by Blade-tech for Karambit.com, tip-up, in my left front pocket. Most days, I have a Spyderco Rescue, tip-down, in my right front pocket. I often have a Spyderco Civilian, tip-down, high mid-line.

My right side used to be "stronger," and my left side more skillful, but injuries and ailments have changed that, though I am still carrying my "primary" handgun on the right hip, pending what a hand specialist may be telling me in the next few months.

This does complicate my answering this poll, just a bit!

 

[DM~]

"None of the above"

And, that option should have been in the poll...

DM