What makes a good knife pocket clip good.
The first step is to have a strong opinion- it’s a zero sum game it either works pretty
well or it the worst pocket clip ever made.
It’s also proportionate to price.
The more you pay the more likely it is to need a better pocket clip.
What kind of fan are you?
Some bros are wireframe bros.
Others like it as deep as possible.
Then you have microtech and cold steel- they think a good clip should be a eff you to your
fancy boy wool trousers.
So let’s look at a few, then examine what I like and why you’re wrong.
Please note, manufacturers from knife to knife switch up clips.
So just because one clip is sucky doesn’t mean all of them are.
These are overly general observations, and limited to the knives I have owned.
It isn’t intended to be a final word on pocket clips, just some half assed observations-
that may help explain thinking in my review videos.
First let’s look at the pocket shredders.
Cold Steel.
I have had quite a few cold steels in my pants.
Which turns out is a perfect sentence.
Generally they’re stainless steel and hard to lift with your thumb to test their tension.
This is true for the Broken skull, the colossus, the spartan, the holdout, the fuck you folder,
and The eat shit and DaDao.
Ok two of those I may have made up.
The pocket clips on the AD-15 and Frenzy seem to be a little more forgiving.
My single Microtech the Bounty Hunter has that Cold Steel spirit.
Despite it being deep carry, it’s too hard to get it all the way in the pocket.
Sure you can always take them off and bend them, so godspeed.
Often when you slide this into some pants pockets with thick fabric, when you lift the
clip as you slide it can hurt tender finger meat or feel like it’s going to rip off
your fingernail.
Real men walk it off and regrow that fingernail.
Spydercos and Benchmade.
For a lot of their general purpose knives these two companies get it right.
A good functional reference clip for me is the one on the Endura 4.
It’s positionable to all four corners of the knife.
It’s stainless steel , and isn’t too tough on the pocket or too loose.
It isn’t deep carry- but that’s not something I complain about.
I also like the paint wear look.
I know most knife hobbyist jerks these days don’t want something killing their resale
value.
But that’s not why I buy knives…
I’m what you might call a different kind of jerk.
I buy knives to make Youtube videos.
Benchmades I have fondled and put in the pants are pretty good… never found one I hated.
Made from recycled guns of course.
From the comforting split phallus of the crooked river to the simpl clips found on the 940-1
or the deep carry on the pagan.
All very nice, tumbled edges and a good amount of tension.
Except for the 765.
Then there’s the wire clip.
Lot of love for this type.
I think they’re ugly but pretty functional.
I had one on my Sage 5- but I gave that to my brother.
While that isn’t a great story, the story you can tell me in the comments about why
wire clips are the best is probably pretty good.
So what makes a clip pretty good for me?
I’m not super fond of the pocket killers.
Also the Bounty Hunter has to much of a upward bend at the end- it could potentially catch
on something.
It’s pretty though.
I don’t have much of a preference of stainless steel or titanium.
My Sebenza 21 has a great clip, the right amount of spring- not too tough and it’s
titanium.
Best position for me is tip up, blade backward in the right pocket.
That’s ideal- and lefties get shafted quite a bit because some companies don’t make
clips you can move to either side.
The fancy timascus on this Massdrop Orca is nice, and it slides in the pocket easily-
plus it works well with the overall design.
Rather the clip isn’t technically timascus another type of layered titanium called Moku-Ti.
The titanium clip on the MUDD auto also integrates well with the design.
Here’s the spyderco Farid K2 for an example of an ugly clip.
There’s nothing wrong with the clip by itself, but it doesn’t seem well integrated into
the design.
Maybe a tumbled titanium would have been more appropriate.
The clips on the Spyderco Para Military 2, Para 3, Endura, are not as well integrated
into the design but they function well.
Another thing to consider if you like the inside and outside of your pocket pristine…
aggressive G10 Scales like the AD-15 will kill the inside of your pocket, especially
at the point does in the pocket where the clip is pressed against the scales.
Personally I like my denim to have pocket wear, so it doesnt bother me.
I just don’t want something too difficult to slide into the pocket.
And pull out.
Anyway the TLDR is here are some Beautiful and Functional clips.
(orca, Keen, MUDD, Fact, Crooked River, Sebenza) And then just good and functional.
(Para 3, Para Military 2, Endura, AD-15).
And if a knife doesn’t have a pocket clip- you can always go with the clip slip.
A good option for slip joints and traditionals.
Link is in the description and you can see more about them in my Lionsteel CK01 and GEC
Bull buster review.
While this is probably 5 minutes too much about pocket clips, I’d like if you’d
comment, subscribe, follow me on Instagram, Patreon me, like the video.
Say HI to my Patrons, and thanks for watching.