Deployment: Faster from in-pocket carry than from clipped

If you are referring to a self defense situation, which it really sounds like, then fine. I concede in that regard that speed does matter. Situational awareness, avoidance, de-escalation techniques, and knowing where and how to strike are much more important than just carrying and pulling it quickly. If you get jumped you won't have time to get to it regardless, at least until you can create some distance, and this is done by learning how to protect yourself unarmed. Just know that you're potentially setting yourself up for major legal problems by using a knife for that purpose.

There have been lots of reports where someone was stuck many times with a knife and they survived. There was a guy in my hometown that got punched, I can't say if it was the punch or his head hitting the ground that killed him. Likely the latter, but no weapons were involved.

So many people ignorantly dismiss unarmed combat by saying "Just carry a knife or go buy a gun" but never consider that there are places they can't be carried. NEVER underestimate what a good solid punch or joint lock can do. Brain damage and torn ligaments are a thing.
 
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In the places I can't CC, a nice hardwood cane that I'm very familiar with gives me a lot more comfort than a pocket knife.
At 68, it even looks right. No problem getting on a plane or going through security.
I have several but my favorite I made from hop hornbeam and work out with it regularly.
 
I think it's all about indexing the knife before you open it. I find it far quicker to draw and open a knife clipped to my right pocket with the tip up, because that's where my knife usually is, and I'm already indexed to it. I prefer 3.25-3.75" folders, and when I draw them, I usually reach into the pocket with my thumb, and use my other fingers to lift it by the clip, or I pinch the butt of the knife with my palm. when the folder comes out, my thumb is right near the thumbstud or auto button, or my pointer finger naturally falls on the flipper. I know that I'm already indexed on the knife.

If I carry the knife in the bottom of my pocket, I either have to fish around for it, figure out how I grabbed it, then orient my hand to open it as I pull it from the pocket; more likely, I'll just pull it out, look at it, re-orient it in my hand, then open it. Either way, it's slower.

If I have the folder clipped on my chest pocket, I prefer it to be tip down, because once again, I find it easier to orient my finger to the thumbstud or flipper without looking.
 
It’s much quicker and easier for me to get the knife out from being clipped to the pockets. At times I’ll put it in my back left pocket or if I’m wearing bibs I’ll put it the the front bib pocket. For me I usually have screwdrivers, pliers, etc., in my pockets so it’s harder to get to the knife if it was floating around the bottom of my pocket. I haven’t carried it lately (mainly it’s just been sitting on the dash) but my SAK electrician is usually in my right pocket everyday. It would be much easier to grab if it was clipped.

And just on a side not it drives me crazy having a knife loose in my pocket. They normally turn sideways on me. The SAK is too small to notice
 
Decades ago , as a young volunteer EMT, working on a busy urban Volunteer Ambulance Corps, I and most of my colleagues, carried s stout folding knife to cut jammed seat belts and even heavy clothing our bandage shares couldn’t handle. My choice was a Gerber Folding Sportsman II, with a brass handle and clip point 440 C blade. I carried it, folded & tip up, in my back pants pocket , standing up next to my wallet. It never moved, despite active work, sleeping on it and sitting on it.

I fidgeted a lot with that bade during downtime on a shift., opening and closing it as I read or watched TV. I even polished and oiled , the rocker on the bottom of the blade. Soon enough , one hand opening , via thumb and a bit of early third-finger and despite the lack of any opening stud or other aid, became butter smooth. The heavy brass handle, with its back bottom point , also could smash tempered side window glass.

Scrambling around a wrecked , sometimes burning car, I could deploy that FS II as quickly as any belt mounted fixed blade, to assist in victim extrication. I could also depress the back locking lever, close it against the back of my thigh and reinsert it in my pocket, in one quick movement. I’d probably still EDC it today if I had the need ( I m too old for active EMT-A work) and if it weren’t so darn heavy. But I still have the FS II and looking at it occasionally, still brings back proud memories.
 
I discovered this myself years ago, and I never clip in anymore. I even take clips OFF some of my knives. Another thing for me is I'm a BIG guy, and a knife clipped on a pocket causes problems. Once case I walked by a shelf closely in Lowes Hardware, and the knife caught on a shelf and launched across the floor. MANY times I've stood up from lawn chairs or resin chairs and "stuck" where the clip catches part of the chair. I also have a problem with my man size hands getting past a clipped on knife in the top of the pocket.
 
This is highly subjective but IMO if you’re only talking draw to presentation speed, fixed blades are fastest. Then waved folders, then probably clipped autos, then clipped manual folders, then anything down in a pocket.

I wouldn’t carry anything down in my pocket because it’s fast (it’s not fast for me), but I do for other reasons. I carry this one down in a pocket and it’s slow to get to, but quick to open with that stout leaf spring.

 
I carry these days where it's the most convenient.
My "Cat-like reflexes that allow me to whip out my steel" - are a distant memory.

About the only thing, I feel the need to deploy my blade against anymore is a "Pittsburgh Style" filet mignon... :D
 
I carry my knife clipped in my right back pocket. Never really thought about speed but ease of availability.
 
Thanks OP for starting an interesting conversation. Always enjoy the exploration of possible techniques and methods that could better Edc items.

This topic may fall in the realm of person preference. There’s a lot of different opinions in the replies, which I enjoyed reading. It represents how we all carry knives differently and the reason we carry them.
 
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