Tip up or Tip down?

I saw this discussed for years. First not knowing what it meant then not caring. Until I got a knife that was tip down it felt all sorts of backwards for me.

With the tip down carry when I pull the knife out of my pocket my thumb and index finger are gripping the knife at the blade pivot, now when I ease my grip the handle of the knife falls into my palm and the blade is ready to be deployed.
If I tip up carry the same knife and pinch it where a lanyard hole would be I need scooch up on the handle or flip it in my hand, I don't feel that I full control of the knife while doing either.

I generally use tip-down, with conventional blade types, which I carry clipped into the right front pocket. This is ESPECIALLY true for knives with thumb studs, or other protrusions, as those things can catch, as the knife comes of the pocket, a lesson I learned the hard way, after I stuck and cut myself a few times. If I really like a knife that is only available tip-up, sometimes I remove the pocket clip, or will just ignore the clip, carrying the knife by a means other than the clip. (Actually, after losing several clipped-in knives, in dense brush and undergrowth, I do not really trust pocket clips, with my more-valuable blades.)

One exception is my Spyderco Assist. Its broad, blunt tip Is not going to stick me. It does feel weird, when I open it, as tip-down is what feels “natural,” to me.

Another exception is my Tarani Master Models Karambit folder. Its curved blade’s tip is buried deep within the handle scales, when closed, and it has to overcome a quite strong spring, so it has never opened without my intentional manipulation. This has been my left-front-pocket knife*, since about 2004 or 2005, so my left hand is used to its tip-up opening. I am naturally more-left-handed, with small tools, especially small specialized tools, anyway, plus, while I use knives with both hand, reverse grip feels more natural with my left hand, while my right hand “prefers” forward grip.

*While a karambit is wonderful for cutting cordage, and such similar shapes such as vines and roots, with pull cuts, and its hook shape is useful for reaching out to grab things, my karambit folder is carried primarily as a defensive tool, pure and simple. This is another reason I carry it on my left side, as my “primary” weapon has generally been positioned at 0300, since I began peace officering, in 1984, and had to decide whether to carry the primary/duty pistol at 0300 or 0900. (Texas did not issue carry licenses to private citizens until the early Nineties.)

Howland937 said:

Both the knives I'm carrying are tip up, both have open assist, one in each front pocket. The easier to open is on my left, since I'm right handed. My left hand needs all the help it can get. Both have ambidextrous thumb release. Don't carry 2 because it seems cool. Working on a car I had in the air, arms above my head replacing the belt. Wrench slipped, tensioner collapsed...spent 20 minutes with my right hand fingers stuck because my left hand couldn't reach the knife in my right pocket and everyone else was at lunch.

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Ouch. That sounds like a bad time.

Obturation said:

I carry a fixed blade tip up on a shoulder rig I use fairly frequently . conceals great. I had used a ka-bar for this holster but switched to the glock knife because it's a bit slimmer and I don't care about abusing it.View attachment 915789

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Can I ask where you got that rig. I can see some situations where I'd find something like that useful.

460Shooter said:

Can I ask where you got that rig. I can see some situations where I'd find something like that useful.

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It's a galco shuka (shoulder holster universal knife accessory )
It's on a galco shoulder rig in place of the double mag pouch that comes on it.
https://www.galcogunleather.com/shuka-shoulder-holster-universal-knife-accessory-_8_445_1350.html

What? There's an option to carry tip-down?

I carry a pocket pistol and a backup pocket pistol in my left back pocket, in a wallet holster. I carry a phone and a wallet and... I'm out of pockets for carrying a knife except in winter when I'm wearing a coat.

I do carry a Schrade OTF assisted opener for my left hand because I'm just not very good at using a fold-out knife with my left hand, and the OTF is tip down