Emerson Wave feature...while wearing suit?

I

IcedNote

Joined
Sep 3, 2016
Messages
11
Hi everyone,

First post...and yes, as a long-time forum user in other topics, I know how it looks when a guy shows up on a forum to ask a specific question. Just not finding much luck via Google, etc... I also spent some time searching this site for an answer but didn't see anything. (But hey, at least this is better than showing up with some boneheaded general question!)

In any case, I do Eskrima, and I'm a fan of the Emerson Wave feature for quick deploy. When I'm in casual clothes, it's not a problem. However, my job has me in a suit fairly frequently in a big city, so I'd like to somehow still carry my knife on these occasions. Now, I can't just keep the blade in my front pocket because...well...it would look ridiculous and go against the image I need to convey for work. Not to mention what it'd do to the fabric...

I'm hoping there's some kind of holder that could attach to my belt (i.e. concealed under the suit coat) that would hold the knife and still "catch" the Wave upon draw. But all I find when I look are sheaths and pouches that don't quite do the trick. Any ideas?

Thanks much, and I hope to stick around a while!
 
Concealed under coat, not iwb my bad. Reading comprehension escapes me sometimes. Definitely check out that lingerie though, I'm sure there's a sheath maker that could help you out.

What knife do you carry?
 
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Yeah, not sure I want to go fixed IWB, partially because I like training and carrying with the same knives -- Emerson CQC7AW and Fox 599 -- and don't want to learn another one.
 
If I needed to quickly deploy a knife, I would not be concerned about my image or the fabric of my suit.

My suit pants are loose enough for me to carry whatever folder inside my pockets and not show. I just don't clip the knife to my pocket.
 
Haha, I get what you're saying. But I can't have the ring of my karambit sticking out of my suit pockets, know what I mean? And I don't think I'd want to carry my knife *in* my suit pants pocket since the fabric is so thin and it'd show through. Guess it's possible I'm being to fussy, but I wanted to explore whatever options I could.
 
Like CCW'ers, people overestimates what the average person sees...which is very little. They'll notice you have something in your pocket, but they truly don't care.
I work in a professional environment and I carry a knife, light, lighter, pen and a dip tin. Nobody realizes it until I empty out my pockets.
 
IcedNote said:
Haha, I get what you're saying. But I can't have the ring of my karambit sticking out of my suit pockets, know what I mean? And I don't think I'd want to carry my knife *in* my suit pants pocket since the fabric is so thin and it'd show through. Guess it's possible I'm being to fussy, but I wanted to explore whatever options I could.
Click to expand...

Mike Janich once wrote about keeping a sheet of kydex trimmed to fit inside the pocket and clipping the knife to it as a way to deal with NPE hellholes like New York City. The knife would not be outwardly visible depending on how high you made the sheet, but would still be able to be drawn. The problem would be the vastly accelerated wear on your pockets. Waves eat jean pockets, which are far more substantial than suit pockets. Worse, suit (and slacks) pockets are cut incorrectly--vertical instead of horizontal--which limits their use with waved knives. This means they can only be used at the outside edge of the pocket for forward grip edge down or reverse grip edge in. If you have them set up for opposite-side carry (e.g., left-hand carry position in the right pocket for forward grip edge up or reverse grip edge out), they're unsafe as putting your hand into the pocket can open the knife.

Your best bet would be some form of harness underneath your shirt with a Speed Dialer-type sheath. There's a length of paracord on the sheath that actuates the wave on the draw. The linked page has been down for several years--I'd heard Noeldechen was no longer making sheaths--but it gives the clearest indication of what I mean. These could also be mounted for IWB, but I personally wouldn't be comfortable with a knife opening up there. This type of sheath is most suitable for the Spyderco versions which have the deepest and highest waves.

If you go the harness route, look into having some of those replacement buttons added to your shirt. You cut off the existing button, and they are permanently attached through the button hole with velcro behind them, to allow faster access to the harness. Either that, or wear the harness over the shirt and never take off the jacket.

BTW, the horizontal carry rig depicted above is made for 110-style lockbacks, and has been on the market since at least the 1970s. They used to be known as biker rigs. Hopefully all this has been clear.
 
Just to muddy the waters some more, I would say you could try a leather pocket-insert. It would certainly blur the outline of a knife, though it might also make the pocket bulge more--depends on a lot of factors. You can buy one or make one, depending on how crafty you want to get.
 
Wow-that looks like the old O'Dell knife holster. Tried everything from a Buck 110 to Western cutlery and never found anything that would work
smoothly with the thing.
 
SharpMetal said:
What about a fixed blade in a pocket sheath?
Click to expand...

It makes a lot of sense, of course. But at least at this point, I prefer to learn as few knives as possible, and I already train with one regular knife and one karambit (both folders). So yeah, adding a fixed blade would be another knife I'd have to get used to. Again, that'll probably appeal to me at some point, but not at the moment.
 
average gimp said:
Mike Janich once wrote about keeping a sheet of kydex trimmed to fit inside the pocket and clipping the knife to it as a way to deal with NPE hellholes like New York City. The knife would not be outwardly visible depending on how high you made the sheet, but would still be able to be drawn. The problem would be the vastly accelerated wear on your pockets. Waves eat jean pockets, which are far more substantial than suit pockets. Worse, suit (and slacks) pockets are cut incorrectly--vertical instead of horizontal--which limits their use with waved knives. This means they can only be used at the outside edge of the pocket for forward grip edge down or reverse grip edge in. If you have them set up for opposite-side carry (e.g., left-hand carry position in the right pocket for forward grip edge up or reverse grip edge out), they're unsafe as putting your hand into the pocket can open the knife.

Your best bet would be some form of harness underneath your shirt with a Speed Dialer-type sheath. There's a length of paracord on the sheath that actuates the wave on the draw. The linked page has been down for several years--I'd heard Noeldechen was no longer making sheaths--but it gives the clearest indication of what I mean. These could also be mounted for IWB, but I personally wouldn't be comfortable with a knife opening up there. This type of sheath is most suitable for the Spyderco versions which have the deepest and highest waves.

If you go the harness route, look into having some of those replacement buttons added to your shirt. You cut off the existing button, and they are permanently attached through the button hole with velcro behind them, to allow faster access to the harness. Either that, or wear the harness over the shirt and never take off the jacket.

BTW, the horizontal carry rig depicted above is made for 110-style lockbacks, and has been on the market since at least the 1970s. They used to be known as biker rigs. Hopefully all this has been clear.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for all of that. I've been wondering about the harness idea, but I'm not sure how deploying it quickly would work, especially if contact had already been made. The Speed Dialer is an interesting idea, though, and I'll definitely give that some more thought.
 
Inam pretty sure somebody could make you a pancake style leather holster that would catch the wave upon draw.
 
IcedNote said:
Thanks so much for all of that. I've been wondering about the harness idea, but I'm not sure how deploying it quickly would work, especially if contact had already been made. The Speed Dialer is an interesting idea, though, and I'll definitely give that some more thought.
Click to expand...

No problem. As to drawing after contact has been made, as Janich says, "You've got to earn it." Meaning, you've got to use empty-hand skills to buy time and distance to make the draw. Otherwise, you've got to draw early and conceal the tool in hand. In such instance you're better off without a Speed Dialer as you can't draw without opening the knife as far as I know.

BTW, Noeldechen's linked pages are all down so I guess he really is out of business, although there were rumors he was selling on Facebook, where I won't go. Not sure why that page is back up, though.
 
I have carried my utility folder (Emerson Super Commander, waved) tucked IWB on suit pants, no problem. If you give the knife a twist as you pull it from the waistband the wave-shaped feature will deploy the blade as well.

There is also a sheath that Ernie Emerson demo'ed that mounts on a Denny Chalker rig and fast-deploys via wave-shaped feature on the draw. You probably don't want to don a Chalker rig under your suit but a variant of this method would be easy to rig up under a suit coat. There are videos of this demo at Emerson Knives Inc. and elsewhere.

Good luck,
Mark
 
My son-in-law is a long-term SWAT cop, and has always carried his Lone Wolf waved Endura in his left rear pocket. It is a backup weapon for him.
 
Sonnydaze said:
My son-in-law is a long-term SWAT cop, and has always carried his Lone Wolf waved Endura in his left rear pocket. It is a backup weapon for him.
Click to expand...

Rear pocket, hey? Hadn't thought of that. Still the issue of the fabric, but it'd definitely be concealed by the jacket... Thanks! Will give that some thought, too.
 
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