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Carrying a folding knife in a pocket? Instant solution for protecting your pockets and making access to the knife faster.

Blue Sky Country

Urban Cowboy
Full Member
Minuteman
  • So, like most people here are doing, you are carrying a folding knife as part of your regular EDC, right? Doesn't matter if they are passive swivel types, slick assisted openers, or automatics, they are simply the best choice for complete concealability.

    Yeah, yeah, I get it. They have belt clips built into them. But the clips on many models, even high end knives, are not exactly reliable on the long run and I know many people who have lost knives and flashlights relying on the clip alone. One of my fellow contractors had his brand new Fenix PD35 TAC light wiggle loose from it's clip and drop over 3 stories from a rooftop HVAC unit we were working on and it's headcase shatter completely. He ordered a new one and I reminded him to get a Fenix hardshell holster for it as well. I actually gave him one of mine because I have a shitload of them and it doesn't hurt to have a few extras on standby... And clips still stand out and anybody trying really hard will notice that you are carrying a knife.

    Pockets, especially dominant hand side pants pockets, are the best way to carry a folder for fast deployment if need be. But that presents it's own set of problems. One, a heavy duty folder continuously riding around in your pocket is going to wear a hole right through them after a while. And two, they are loose inside, which means they can settle horizontally into the bottom of your pocket and that makes reaching for it a bit awkward, especially if your work pants have just been freshly laundered and are a bit tight.

    Well, that is not a problem anymore.

    INTRODUCING: THE REVOLUTIONARY POCKET PROTECTOR. Nah, just kidding. It is just an ordinary faux-leather smartphone and passport/ID top opening wallet that you can get at any discount store. Remove any of the partitions inside normally set aside for IDs and such because you are not using it as an ID case, shear off any top straps if they have any. Then take one of those cheapo nylon drawstring bookbags, cut a nice big piece of fabric out of it, fold it up tight and press it into the bottom of the "holster" to beef up the bottom a bit, and now you got a perfect inside the pants pocket carrier for your heavy duty knife.

    shopping.jpeg


    The carrier keeps your pockets from wearing out. No more ruined work pants.

    The additional bulk of the carrier expands your pocket a bit, and makes reaching into it much easier too.

    The added tension and smaller space in the carrier also keeps that folder upright all the time with the swivel end down. You can be assured that thing is always in the position for instant drawing.

    And on top of all that, these things are cheap. If they get buffed up and worn to tatters over time, simply get a new one...

    This is my SOG Seal XR, a beast of a folding combat knife, inside my ad hoc pocket carrier which is around $2.50 or so and takes about 2 minutes to modify.

    #PocketLivesMatter

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    I quit losing knives when I started buying Benchmade. They have actual beefy clips on the griptillian.


    I guess I never go into anywhere I'm worried about someone knowing I have a knife.


    Seems like a solution looking for a problem to me.
     
    I quit losing knives when I started buying Benchmade. They have actual beefy clips on the griptillian.


    I guess I never go into anywhere I'm worried about someone knowing I have a knife.


    Seems like a solution looking for a problem to me.
    You don’t live in NYC either. It makes a difference, when you live in a city that has banned most things and an open carry pocketknife will get you in trouble quickly.
     
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    I get it if you need to hide the clip in commie states but down in the pocket is also slower to deploy and you basically lose the ability to shove other shit in that pocket. You should loctite the screws and check them as well as the clip occasionally, knives aren’t maintenance free.

    I can also second that I’ve never had a Benchmade clip stretch out and require being bent back. My Adamas and Infidel which I EDC haven’t even had to have the screws retightened in the 2 years I’ve been carrying them since I put orange loctite on them right away.
     
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    I seldom use the clip and just slide it into my off side front pocket. I have used a sheath on a few slip joints over the years, but not these days. I do carry a spare mag in a pocket sheath in the same pocket from time to time.
     
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    I've been carrying knives with a pocket clip for over 20 years now. Never worn through a pair of pants (though I do notice extra wear of course), and never needed an accessory for it. Knife stays right where it's meant to be, and there's no extra stuff to keep track of for the purpose of carrying a knife. YMMV however.
     
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    I stopped carrying a knife in my pocker years ago when I lost my Uncle Henry trapper, pretty sure I know close to where it's buried. This custom horizontal sheath is EDC & holds my Leatherman surge & streamlight microstream.
     

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    You don’t live in NYC either. It makes a difference, when you live in a city that has banned most things and an open carry pocketknife will get you in trouble quickly.

    I do avoid Communist shit holes.
     
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    I get it and understand, but there are good solid people who do live in the cities. These people survive and prosper in a different way than you do. They haven’t run or moved away, but have stood where they are, refusing to give any more ground.


    After leftist deviance and decadence has pushed most cities into a new realm of fuckery, the traditional designations of "civilization" and "frontier" have been reversed. Now the cities are the frontiers. And like all frontiers, threats originating from there can impact civilized areas inland. If something is found in the social media and local channels here that can pose a threat to flyover country, we make sure to send out alerts and get people to know and spread the message as fast as possible, like during the 2020 riots. I hope my situational dashboard that I had up in the Pit during that time helped out a lot of Patriot militias who were trying to find out where the mobs were active and doing damage and where they were potentially heading if they were moving.

    The "frontier" today is far more complicated than the past. I cannot just raise a regiment of rangers, do backbreaking farm work for a few years until I earn enough to equip each one with a Thompson M1 and a Stetson hat like what would have been possible a century ago, and tame the lawless nomads with sheer force of presence alone. The threats on the new "frontier" cannot be tamed directly, but rather, attempts can be made to slow, disrupt, and divert with a good communications systems and a constantly present urban activism network spreading the message of the RKBA and helping likeminded and concerned citizens here find effective ways to be safe, and even combat ready if need be.
     
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    That’s a cool idea. I haven’t found a clip that holds up yet, the benchmade clip lasted longer than cheap ones but it too bent.
    But this is cool!
     
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    After leftist deviance and decadence has pushed most cities into a new realm of fuckery, the traditional designations of "civilization" and "frontier" have been reversed. Now the cities are the frontiers. And like all frontiers, threats originating from there can impact civilized areas inland. If something is found in the social media and local channels here that can pose a threat to flyover country, we make sure to send out alerts and get people to know and spread the message as fast as possible, like during the 2020 riots. I hope my situational dashboard that I had up in the Pit during that time helped out a lot of Patriot militias who were trying to find out where the mobs were active and doing damage and where they were potentially heading if they were moving.

    The "frontier" today is far more complicated than the past. I cannot just raise a regiment of rangers, do backbreaking farm work for a few years until I earn enough to equip each one with a Thompson M1 and a Stetson hat like what would have been possible a century ago, and tame the lawless nomads with sheer force of presence alone. The threats on the new "frontier" cannot be tamed directly, but rather, attempts can be made to slow, disrupt, and divert with a good communications systems and a constantly present urban activism network spreading the message of the RKBA and helping likeminded and concerned citizens here find effective ways to be safe, and even combat ready if need be.

    My man, you've got your head on straight. I always enjoy reading your posts.

    On the knife situation, have you tried carrying in your 5th pocket? You know, that little pocket on the front right or do you buy pants without it? I always buy the same pants that have a perfect 5th pocket for knife carry.
     
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    That’s a cool idea. I haven’t found a clip that holds up yet, the benchmade clip lasted longer than cheap ones but it too bent.
    But this is cool!

    How are you failing the clips? I've never had this issue. I can't even imagine a scenario that would cause it to fail. I'm not shit talking you I'm genuinely curious.
     
    My man, you've got your head on straight. I always enjoy reading your posts.

    On the knife situation, have you tried carrying in your 5th pocket? You know, that little pocket on the front right or do you buy pants without it? I always buy the same pants that have a perfect 5th pocket for knife carry.


    Yo much thanks brother!

    Regarding the 5th pocket, some of mine do and a couple don't. The ones that don't however, have a side pocket on the lower thigh where I carry my knives at. The little 5th pockets are a bit too small for large and heavy folders so that is where my Zippo is stored. All of these pants are of heavy duty material and are designed for construction work but when you are climbing ladders, squeezing through crawlspaces, and climbing in/out, on/off trucks for 9 hours a day, even a smooth surfaced old school pocketwatch riding naked in a pocket will erode through them over time. 😂

    ETA: The presence of the carrier/holster around the knife actually expands the pocket opening a bit so it makes access even faster if need be. The Sheffield utility folder with quick change blades on the other hand, rides outside on my belt because I am using that thing every 3 seconds or so, and I have a lanyard attached to it secured to the belt so in case it does work loose during a job, it is just going to dangle a couple of feet and easily pulled back.
     
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    How are you failing the clips? I've never had this issue. I can't even imagine a scenario that would cause it to fail. I'm not shit talking you I'm genuinely curious.
    Well it would be my fault. But when I. Hustling around the shop I inadvertently snag the clip on a cart or machine or some random thing. The benchmade handled a number of snags without incident, until it finally bent. However, the screws never came loose or stripped.
    So I wouldn’t call it a fault of benchmade, even though they will replace it for free, but user abuse.
    Now it rides in the right pocket, and a lighter in the left.
     
    You don’t live in NYC either. It makes a difference, when you live in a city that has banned most things and an open carry pocketknife will get you in trouble quickly.
    I always carry my Benchmade Griptilian in NYC.
    I voluntarily surrendered it at the USS Intrepid on my way in and picked it up on my way out this past July.
    The only time I will leave it in the car is going into the Bell Center for a hockey game or any other NHL arena.

    My issue with knife clips is that I keep scratching my leater steering wheels with them getting into and out of my cars.
     
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    I always carry my Benchmade Griptilian in NYC.
    I voluntarily surrendered it at the USS Intrepid on my way in and picked it up on my way out this past July.
    The only time I will leave it in the car is going into the Bell Center for a hockey game or any other NHL arena.
    Lol, I once was wearing my large folder as we went to a Disney resort restaurant by invite. Then we did a tour of a couple other parks by tram. I never gave it a thought until I saw that they were making everyone walk through a detector and had iPads with cool software that showed where on the person the metal was.

    I quick slipped the clip on behind my metal belt buckle as a reaction. Walked close behind the person in front of me. They got pinged but I was waved through, three times. I did not want to give up that knife and got lucky that night.