Up is my preference, but I’m happy just to get the tip in.

On a tip down carry, pull the knife from your pocket by pinching the pivot and letting the weight of the knife rotate it into your palm. Your hand should be in the perfect position to deploy every time. That being said, regardless of how you like to carry you will adapt to it with practice. Tip down only has a slight advantage in helping to keep your knife closed in your pocket if the knife has a design flaw that would allow it to open

Here's my rule: tip up in a pant pocket (basically belt level or below), tip down if its on a vest carier or a shoulder strap (basically above the waist).

"I wear a XL glove that's an average size hand". Shots fired.

it would be silly to carry a knife using the emerson wave tip down.

Thanks for this video! I've been a tip down guy forever since most my knives came thst way. But I realized I pull my knife out of my pocket differently. I just grab the end that sticks up and rotate into my hand. So all tip down knives are in position for deployment. I might have to rethink this as I start to expand my collection but I never found the need to put my hand into my pocket to grab my knife.

I use tip up primarily but with tip down, like the socom or military, I don't reach in as far as you were saying. I just grab right at the pivot and rotate into my hand. In the flipper tip down thing, back pocket works best so the blade still sits towards a seam. Another great video. The only time I've had an issue was I cut my finger on a blur that opened in my strong side rear pocket tip up.

Love this video discussion and the topic! Like you MC, I wear jeans most of the time, and I prefer tip up carry for my knives because for me it’s more comfortable! I’m also in a wheelchair and it’s difficult for me to deploy a tip down carry because of the way I’m seated, which changes the way I grab my knife! Just my two sense, and I wish more channels touched on the subject! 👍🏻

Tip down is how I cary for a few reasons 1. It’s how I always have and I find it hard to get used to tip up 2. I’m underage so a knife is my only option for self defense and in a self defense situation tip down is in general better 3. When I pull my knife out of my pocket my fingers are already up at the top and it’s faster/easier to grip the knife

When I started getting into knives, I thought this was a silly discussion. "Who cares?!" But as I acquire more and more knives, and since I have settled on Tip-Up....just having a random Tip-Down knife annoys me because it is DIFFERENT. It's like having the turn signal on the other side of the steering wheel. Sure, that could work too...but I'm not used to that! But all said and done, if you put the blade against the back of your pocket, as Tip-Up will do, it's going to keep the blade in place no matter what random event might TRY to open it. Period. It just makes more sense safety wise to me.

Nick Shabbaz once reviewed a dual bladed knife that was both tip up and tip down at the same time.

Ive been warming up to tip down now that I've gotten more thumb stud knives. It also works pretty good for my 5th pocket knife. But hey it's whatever works for the user.

All my Para 3’s and anything of similar size I prefer tip up, but all of my PM2’s are tip down. I find those configurations the quickest way for me to deploy when I pull them from my right front pocket. I’ve got deep carry lynch clips on all of those.

I think either works fine in extracting from the pocket; it's just a different finishing motion. In the hand though I think it's easier for a tip down to interfere in the grip, the fiddliest part of which up is in the thumb and forefinger area. Tip up clips cause me fewer issues down there at the bottom, typically going unnoticed.

Back pocket? Tip down with spine against the seam. Front pocket? Tip up with spine against the seam. Notice the pattern? Always spine against the seam. As my hand rotates past 3 o'clock, it becomes more natural to pinch and extract via the pivot. I carried the para 2 tip down as per factory for a few days and appreciated the extra space in my front pocket, but then noticed the clip was rubbing on the car seat as i got in and out and went right back to front pocket, tip up carry

I have found that in my personal experience tip down is the way to go. I carry my knife on the inside of my belt so the clip is facing outwards and the knife is strapped underneath my belt, once I pull out my knife I use my thumb and pointer finger to pinch the pivot of my knife in such a way that the (still folded knife) pivots into the palm of my hand with now the fold of my pointer finger on the flipper, doing it this way from the moment I touch my knife to the moment it’s opened takes less time than it takes to raise the knife up so I basically have the knife folded out immediately. This way makes it for me the same to carry fixed blad or folding because both are ready to cut before you can reach whatever you wanna cut. Granted I have never carried tip up but now that I have my way of carrying it’ll take a lot of practice and getting used to for me to be as quick with tip up carry.

I only carry most knives "Tip-Down" and here's why: I've had knives open in my pocket on me (at least part way). If its "tip-down" and I go to pull the knife out of the pocket, the motion of pulling the knife out of the pocket is probably going to force the blade back into the closed position. If it's "tip-up" and it's partially opened in the pocket, the tip is going to catch on the fabric of your pocket, and probably stab you pretty good, or you'll just stab yourself in the hand reaching into your pocket for something else. It comes down to personal preference, but it seems like when I'm knife shopping, I have a hard time finding a good knife that even allows for tip-down carry. Your options are much more limited for tip-down.

Good job metal.Interesting topic,first time seen it disd. in length.Little different take on yours.When I draw the knife out of pocket,Grab the knife clip at the bottom and thumb inside pocket along knife pulling straight out.No issues knife not coming out.Works for tip up or down.Average size edc knives like ZT 0562 and smaller u can reach down farther securing knf.. Ur xm24 & Microtec get easier to grab tip dwn.all assisted knf.B.M Torrent thumb std is right there.Practice enough both ways are natural. Had SoG Flash open in pct.1x B.M Torrent never in 20 yrs of carry.Have had waves deploy a little early. JMHO

When I was a youngster I only had top down knives since I've grown up and discovered I prefer tip up but I still have some top down knives. I think tip down requires more fiddling with orientation to open than a tip up.

Some folders are also specifically engineered for a particular carry style/deployment that demands a particular orientation. This tends to be mostly the case for the more defensive oriented folders. The Spyderco P'kal and the Gunting come to mind as particular examples. You'd lose the functionality of either orienting the knife the wrong direction.

Just a heads up, if you order a Hinderer sheath for the XM24 he molds them for tip down.

In some states (e.g. Colorado) if you go beyond a certain blade length you need to legally carry outside the pocket. I prefer tip down in that case since gravity helps tip-up open the knife if it’s knocked (more likely outside the pocket). Also useful to note that the shark lock will self-close until you get beyond about 60 degrees (in any orientation).

and recommendation for a tip up/r with (full) serrated blade or at least 2/3 serrated at the tip, not the base?

extra movement in both ways but with tip up you are doing it with open blade .. or postpone deployment till you reach correct position. Personally .... I`m tip up guy, but my first knife I carried for a long time was thumb stud tip down only and it was faster and more natural to deploy. You reach in pivot area, so your hand is already there for any type of opening method and you just rotate the knife into your palm before deploying it. Which you do in one fluid motion as you are taking it out of pocket (before whole knife is out of pocket it is already rotated to correct position as you dot pull straight up, rather up and left). All my other knives are tip up (by my choice) and I always need to make my way up to pivot area to open them (front flipper, hole, thumbstud even flipper). Also tip down is nice for small knife in 5th pocket

Ive just started collecting and most my kives only have one way to carry which is tip down. Which i do find comfy because when i pull it out my hand is typically ready to deploy

I know my pm2 deploys a heck of a lot easier tip down. Pull spydie drop cut and return. Presidio 2 I don't even want to carry is so slow and clumsy to get out and ready.

It kinda falls in with the T6 vs T8 screws. I would prefer Tip up, but is Tip down going to stop me from trying a design? Hell no.

Depends on the knife; side note you would love the esee izula II's size of handle.

@metalcomplex Great video as usual. I would love to hear you talk about left handed carry in your videos. Tip up/Tip down especially with Hinderer presents a unique issue for up lefties!

That really doesn't make sense. If you are carrying tip up the first thing you grab with your fingertips is the top of the knife body. If it is open slightly for whatever reason you have a good chance of cutting yourself. However in a tip-down carry if the blade becomes open even slightly it won't matter because I am not ever going to reach all the way down into my pocket to retrieve my blade. That would be unnatural. I am always going to pinch the top of my knife to get the first purchase on my blade.

Tip up is my preference. Depending on the knife. I got a boker klashnikov for Christmas and love it.

Never saw the mini crooked river in that color, I LOVE IT

I prefer tip down since I have my knife in my back right pocket. If it's in my front right pocket then I'll do tip up. My biggest problem is almost all knives I want do tip up and since I almost always have it in my back pocket that becomes a problem with accidental deployment. This is why I love knives that have 4 options like some Kershaw's (cyro series comes to mind) Tip up for right and left front pockets and tip down for right and left back pockets. In the Kershaw manual it will demonstrate this.

tip down. pull with forefinger and thumb right at the pivot.

Does nobody carry in the back right pocket? I find tip up works for front right and tip down for back right pocket, keeping the spine of the knife against the pocket seam in both cases.

Valid points and good video. I love carrying my 3.5 Xm flipper tip down.......I like to live dangerously :)

Tip up is safer in the pocket,easier on the hand when slipping past and you'll run into "tip up only" way more often so you might as well get used to it if you planning on buying several knives, if your in the undecided category.

Flipper, tip down, if thin enough in the back pocket, blade against the seam if right handed, problem solved. I have had a tip up knife deploy in my pocket and was cut. If the knife had a tip down option that my choice and companies that accommodate that option I appreciate. But at the end of the day I not skipping over knives because their tip up. You mileage may vary

You convinced me, I carry a flipper tip down and it recently deployed in my pocket and luckily I noticed before I stabbed myself but I was wearing sweat pants idk if that had something to do with it either

I am a lefty and only carry RH folders and prefer tip up (tip up for ice fishing also), gotta keep the LH ready for proper carry

I carry against the front seam, because I wear carpenter jeans and use the thigh/tool pocket for my knife, pen, and light. I draw almost exclusively with a pinch grip, so tip down means my hand is already in a good deployment position. However, I am not high speed low drag, and I find tip down clips to be aesthetically and ergonomically (during use, if not draw) displeasing.

Dudes who carry tip-down eat corn on the cob the long way...

What clip is that on the shaman in the thumbnail picture? And where can I get one?

I always carry tip up BECAUSE the clip is out of the way when using the knife. The clip is buried in my palm and the top portion of the handle is more comfortable for my grip and my fingers to move around without the edges of the clip to hinder a proper purchase.

goood points would like possible a part 2 ? on different typs of c,lip carry/left vs right hand thanks & stay sharp,,,,

I have some thumb stud knives that I keep tip down simply because the pocket clip becomes a hot spot switched to tip up. Agree on flippers

I tried tip down just to see if i liked it and it just got annoying for whatever reason. I switched back 3 days in

I prefer tip up with a backspacer. Even if it is purple. Big knives (some ZTs,) without a backspacer have cut my pinky multiple times. Any time you have to re-adjust, you risk dropping the knife. That is why I don’t carry tip down.

My preference is tip down. I typically carry in my back right pocket far off to the outside. The blade is against the seam, the flipper away. I pull any size blade with the same turn you speak of for larger blades so the opening mechanism is always in the correct location regardless of size. My front pocket has my cellphone. I have never had an accidental deployment. My knife is a tool, not a self defence weapon.

Tip up is the Correct way to carry, period. (Actually don’t really care but given the subject, felt we should all take a stand!) lol. Thanks for the Video!

In my opinion Tip up is more convenient, but i had the issue two times that the knife opened a slot in my pocket so when i pulled it out it caught in the fabric and ripped a hole in my jeans and second time it cut my finger, not to bad but yes i can understand people carrying tip down.

I looked pretty hard for this in the comments but won’t say I read them all* I’ve come to think the pocket clip depth may account for accidental deployment. See the pocket clip of the hinderer looks like if you rested the knife at the back of the pocket the flipper would sit above the seam (exposing the pivot hardware). Combined with the comments I read, and my own experience, a pivot pinch can allow your hand to be ready for a full grip just behind the blade (and I can almost use the web of my hand to deploy the knife). P.S. I prefer deep carry, tip down, axis locks…

For EDC, never carry a knife that has the pocket clip on the same end as the hinge for the blade? Under duress of an attack, you should be able to to deploy the knife with minimal effort. If an attacker has his hands on you, you maybe fighting with your strong arm and need to have a knife in your left pocket, as a right handed person.

Why don't we carry our knives on the crotch side of our pocket? I never really thought about it. I probably wouldn't bend anymore clips

Since all my folders are small-to-medium-only (for larger tasks there's the fixed blades), I feel tip up is the way to go, specially since I'm right handed and I always carry my knives in my front right pocket.

Back right pocket, tip down to keep the blade against the side, front pocket: tip up.

To your point of bumping a flipper open in the pocket when tip down, the same risk exists when a lefty left-pocket carries a right clipped flipper tip up, as so often turns out to be the case with so many nicer knives being right-clippable only. Heads up to lefties.

The key with grabbing a tip down is by grabbing it on the pivot and rotating not on the body

I like tip up. But when I carry one of my old Spyderco Police models I am stuck with tip down

If you truly are carrying a knife for self defense, your best option is fixed blade. No questions of did it lock, is it ready?!?

Personally my go to is the tip up tuck, keeps things out of the way and is less noticeable in public

Hey metal complex what do you think about bead blast finishing? Is it worth it or is it just lazy ?

Some knives feel nicer in the hand with tip down and some knives are deeper carry when tip down but other than that I prefer tip up.

Oh man, I’ve been wanting to ask about this specifically because the PM2 is factory tip down. Carried tip down for years because my first Spyderco was tip down. There was a period where I switched to tip up because of the peer pressure of “tip up only” crowd. But after a year of tip up, I still think personally that the PM2 carries and deploys tip down better. Tip up is way more awkward with the PM2. Maybe I’m just use to it. That being said, most other models especially flippers, work more effectively tip up by and large.

Tip up for most smaller knives. However, larger knives work better tip down because your fingers grab the knife near the pivot which is where the deployment method will be located, so less manipulation is required to access the deployment mechanism compared to tip up carry. When you grab a large knife carried tip up your fingers are on the butt of the knife so much more manipulation is required to reach the deployment mechanism. That said, I’m so over flipper knives.

I had a SOG Slim Jim open in my pocket 2 times. it poked my finger the 2nd time. I tossed it in the garbage still prefer tip up

I didnt really care either way till this weekend when my tip up civivi skinned a quarter sized area of skin off my pinky. No more tip up using the clip. Ill just put it in my pocket from now on.

Ive carried tip down knives all of my life (since I was maybe 7, 33 now) with no issues. Ive recently been getting into carrying some more premium knives, and noticed that tip up seems to be the most popular option. Ok, I don't care, until; I was in the barn the other day (two weeks ago to be exact) and went to reach for my Inkosi, and fuck - that feel of one of your fingers getting sliced through just surged. Tip up, knife sliced right into my pinkie when I was trying to grab it; a good half inch gash. As it turns out, ive been carrying my knife in the wrong pocket. Im right handed and have always put my knife in the front left pocket with my wallet. In hindsight im an idiot for carrying in the wrong side, but it always felt natural for me to just pull the knife from my left pocket, hand it to my right hand, and use it. I guess like how you all (right handed) would have to pull your phone our of your left pocket, put it in your right, and use it (and please don't tell me that you put smartphones and knives in the same pocket). Im having a hard time transitioning my phone to my left pocket, but I do enjoy tip up carry otherwise. I bet I wouldn't have had a problem if I just stuck with tip down knives, but drawing and opening with the same hand really makes more sense. Otherwise I still think tip down is safer, but tip up more convenient. I have big hands so tip up blades just feel good. The muscle memory of my past is killing me though.

I prefer tip down, but so many are tip up only that I switched my tip down knifes in the interest of consistency.

I carry 99% of my knives tip up. The only ones I carry tip down are knives that don't give a tip up option. Knives that I have a hard time opening one handed and use two. And knives that are excessively wide on the pivot side and get real narrow on the opposite side.

Back pocket tip down...front pocket tip up, just works that way 4me 🤘🏼🎄❤️

I know the self defense guys who think pocket jewelry is a weapon have preferences on tip direction also some think tip up is safer because the blade opens towards the back of the pocket but in my opinion for just general edc use I just don’t care

I've gotten used to my Socoms. It's not ideal for me, but it works

The best is no clip.

This would really be a concern when you carry an OTF so guess that's why they're always tip down.. although I get that there is a certain amount of "push" needed to overcome the tension on the slider.. but still..

i've had a boker urban trapper open to a 90 degree angle in my pocket more than once. at least 5 times. that's why i dont like flippers. it was tip up. I now have a benchmade 9400 and para 2. those don't accidentally deploy

I think tip down us the best for me, I like switching between my left and right hand, and tip up is just not good for left pocket

Tip down is more for back pocket carry I think. That pm3 will absolutely open up and stab you if you carry it tip up in back pocket. Don't ask how I know.

When I reach for my knife, I am sweeping similar to a pistol draw... so even if the knife has shifted for some reason away from the seam, I will feel it and not stab myself. ✌️😎 I carry tip up.

"TIP DOWN" !!! Can anyone else relate to this??? I started carrying pocket knives at a young age because I was in Cub Scouts and then Boy Scouts. A lot of knives were tip down and all of mine happened to be tip down. I became programmed to pull my knife out of my pocket that way. I just can't seem to reprogram to "Tip Up". Just not ever 2nd Nature for me.

Hi, love your channel! Could you Explain knife Detent?

Thoughtful piece. Never liked the idea of flipper knives flipper sticking out, musch like I'm baffled by the Case Ruslock. While it looked cool I could see it poking holes in my pocket or even worse! Sometime back 2+ years you hinted that you would do videos on traditional folding knives (Slip Joints.) You mentioned that you had several that you could vides on.

Tip up for small to med, tip down for large knives for me.

Tip up especially for side opening automatics.

I Prefer Tip up carry but there are some knifes where Tip down absolutely makes Sense, Like the crkt ceo

What is the definition between left and right hand carry

I just stuck my hand in my pocket when it opened... (tip up) i had put my credit card in my pocket and it had caught on the thumb stud. (Benchmade griptilian)

Just the tip... that’s all that matters!

I'm a wave deployment guy so tip up for life.

Tip down only is a deal breaker for me. I've owned and carried tip down, but I way prefer tip up. I have sold or given away almost all of my tip down knives.

i can see the average fan vs. average enjoyer meme in this video

Great video, my dude!

video would have been better if you had a pair of pants or a animation or something. I don't understand how to pull out a tip up knife and quickly use it.

Leather pants Rob Halford? Haha!

Blade always needs to go to the seam

I’ve never cared, I have experienced both ways and liked some both ways and disliked both some ways. I personally carry my buck 110 tip up in the sheath tho

guy 1: "tip up, for self defense" guy 2: "tip down for self defense" guy 3: **has a gun**

Tip up always

Rambling rambling rambling. by the time you finished with tip up, I forgot what you were talking about. I clip mine in my underwear, but I have a huge package, that's why i carry tip down, lol.