Tip UP or DOWN Carry

[J32A2]

Hi everybody, 1st thread & 1st question. What difference does it make which way the tip is orientated? Up or down carry? All my 's are tip UP only I believe (Dodo, Yojimbo, Caly3). I am right handed, so I carry my in my right front pocket(RFP??). It just seems natural to have tip UP, because when I retrieve the knife, BAM its positioned in my hand for fast one handed opening & use. If carried tip DOWN, that means the Spyderhole is up top correct? That does not seem optimal for fast easy one handed opening.
Can you guys chime in and school me on this? Why do some knives allow you to carry tip DOWN? Is it safer to carry it one way or another?

Thanks
Brad

[Th232]

Some guys carry tip-down so that they can grab the knife by the hole and do a Spydie-drop, where you hold the knife by the hole, and flick the knife open.

Then there's safety, which I'm not so sure about. Personally, I carry tip up so that the spine of the blade is against the back seam of my pocket, and will hopefully not move.

Oh, and waves only work with the knife in tip-up position.

[Gollum]

A question I was gonna ask one of these days because it seems most (9 out 10 ? ) prefer tip-up, whereas I prefer tip-down.
The reason being when I reach into my pocket to pull the knife out, my thumb is already on or near the hole. It just seems more natural to me.

[Capt. Carl]

It doesnt really matter for me. I like the tip down ones for the feature of the spydie-drop.

[GradeMaker]

I find tip up for the shorter blades (3" or less) does allow easier/quicker deployment. Tip down on these smaller knives causes me need to sort of flip the knife over to get to the hole. For larger blades (mili, police) the tip down orientation doesn't seem to be as much of an obstacle as the knife is large enough that with a slightly different, but still natural movement, I can deploy easily. With the Mili, Police, DoDo, Yojimbo and Caly3, though - you don't have a choice of tip up or tip down carry. If Sal made it so - so be it.

[yablanowitz]

My problem is I carry too many knives, in too many pockets

That said, I prefer tip down for most knives, simply because I have had tip up knives open in my pocket a few times. It is less important on lockbacks where there is a strong bias closed, but in liner locks and compression locks, once the blade opens past the detent, it stays open, leaving the razor sharp edge exposed.

Tip up, spine against pocket seam is alright for a knife carried in a front pocket. It doesn't work as well in a back pocket, or the ruler pocket on carpenter pants, which are two of the places I carry knives all the time.

I should add that I don't carry knives for self defense. I carry for utility, so speed of deployment is not critical to me.

Welcome to the forum

[Firefighter880]

I prefer tip-up carry, but usually I can adjust to the knife... like the Millie. The Military tip-down does not bother me. Reason I like tip-up more though is because it just seems more natural for me to grab and open. I guess it really comes down to preference.

Some will say that tip-up is more dangerous for fear of the blade opening in the pocket... and that is probably true. However, I always carry right front pocket and back left pocket, so the blade is always against the pocket seam, and hopefully cannot open.

[clovisc]

under three inches, tip up... anything bigger, tip down!

[zenheretic]

For the vast majority of normal knife carriers that are honest with themselves, speed of deployment is so darn close between TU and TD that you can't tell, assuming equal practice with both methods. If you can swallow that then you just have to consider personal preference is the main factor for TU/TD. Most people's preference is firstly dictated by the first clipit knife they owned and whether it is TU/TD and second by any particular bad experiences they had with either method (accidents are possible with either style) and third by any particular training philosophy they cling to.

TU/TD both have their pluses and minuses, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter because you will eventually fall in love with an old Spydie that only comes in the carry method you don't prefer. At that point you will have to adapt or live without.

[Michael Cook]

Or carry clipless in the pocket like I do with my wonderful caly jr.'s with the horrible tip-down only option.

[Monocrom]

It really is a personal preference thing. Whichever one feels more comfortable for you. Tip-up is a split-second faster when it comes to drawing & opening your knife. that's it though.

[dedguy]

I don't care really, I like either.

[Dr. Snubnose]

If it's a Spyderco I clip it tip up...if it's a neck knife..tip up...only time my knife tip is down is on a sheath knife...whatever works for you is just fine...Doc

[Mr Blonde]

I'm a big Tip-Up fan. Apart from personal preference, I've also found that you get to keep a more solid grip on the tip-up knife during the opening sequence, as opposed to a tip-down folder which requires a 'pinch-grip' during the draw. Personal preference is IMHO the most deciding factor. I love the fact that most Spydies that come out these days offer the 4-way clip option, makes everybody happy.

Wouter

[WOTANSON1]

Tip up for me on Spydies, in fact I won't buy one if it's not! Previously I bought a lot of tip down Spydies (Starmate, Caly Jr. micarta etc.) and sold the lot, guess I just couldn't get used to scratching the back of my knuckles trying to get something other than my Spydie out of my RFP. It all boils down to personal preference.
Cheers,
Rob

[TK]

I like both, but prefer tip-down for the spyder-drop reason.

[spydutch]

Tip Up for me

It just feels more comfortable to me when deploying the knife(less fumbling )

However, just what Zenheretic said, I looove carrying my SS Police/SE( I think even more when it was tip up )

[dialex]

While I have no problem with either carry method, I must confess I begun to favor tip down carry, for several reasons:
First, it's safer (especially when it comes to linerlocks or complocks). It is true I didn't experience accidental openings so far - not with Spydies I mean, but one never knows.
Second, it seems more comfortable to me. In tip up carry, you grab the knife at the butt of the handles and then you have to let it slide in your palm till the hole gets near the thumb. In tip down, when you pull out the knife, it is already positioned in your hand.
Third, and this applies only to certain models (like the Military or the Adventura, for instance): the clip is positioned in such manner, that when you put the knife on a table, in open position, with the clip facing downwards, the knife stays in balance on the clip, so neither its blade, nor the handles touch the surface of the table. I found this particualry useful when you spread jam (peanut butter, you name it) and the dirty blade may leave traces if it comes in contact with the table. A minor thing, it's true, but sometimes minor things make the whole difference

[Jordan]

The only reason I would consider buying a tip up knife is to take advantage of the wave. I've been poked in my fingers too many time by knives that opened a bit in my pocket... not spyderco knives mind you, but once bitten twice shy and all that.