How do you wear fixed blade knives comfortably?

eyeeatingfish

eyeeatingfish

Joined
Dec 9, 2003
Messages
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I havent found it comfortable to wear fixed blades. The F1 is not to bad but it shows too much. I have a seki cut rainbow fixed blade seen here
http://agrussell.com/seki-cut-rainbo.../SEKhhhSC167F/
and it doesnt really show when worn on my belt and its a beautiful knife, however the knife handle digs into my side sometimes. If you wear them high then they can be uncomfortable, if you wear them low they can be seen pretty easily. Its legal here but still we have sheeple. As for horizontal belt wear in the back, i could jsut never get used to the feeling of something back there when i sit.
 
I have a Kydex sheath with a piece of para cord attached to it. The knife is inserted between my belt and pants and the cord is looped around my belt. Cross-draw. ;)
 
If you are trying to conceal the fixed blade, the only way I know of to carry one is cross draw with your shirt hanging loosely over it. Most will not even notice a knife cross draw even without the shirt if the blade is smallish.

The F1 maybe a tad large.

Take a look at Bob Dozier's knives. He offers his "sheath A" as a cross draw kydex sheath and is it is the best I have used. He used to make or fashion this sheath for other knives, but the last I asked, they declined making a sheath except for their own knives. Guess they are really busy making knives.

An alternative is the Moran model offered by Spyderco carried at about a 30 degree tilt toward your strong side. The sheath is not as nice as stuff Dozier makes, but it works.

I'm not familiar with a lot of different options, but I present the ones I'm familiar with.
 
I found that a high riding sheath made of leather with double belt loops like a pistol sheath is very comfortable. It doesn't interfere with seat belts and it hugs the body snuggly without slipping around.
 
I think a small neck knife(3.5 inches) in an upside down sheath can be concealed by paracord round the waist and under the shirt so you can reach it easily. I find this to be one of the fastest deploying systems.
 
The Seki Cut Rainbow is small enough for pocket carry, but the sheath doesn't look very good for that. The pocket sheaths made for the smaller Bark River knives should work and the AG Russell Woodswalker sheath might also fit.
 
Normark's Concealex sheath for the F1 carries very well and unobtrusively. He can also make you up a sheath that can be carried horizontally, vertically, or canted, IWB or out. a High riding leather sheath with a long belt loop, so you can slide it up when sitting, or down when moving around, is another practical solution for carrying unobtrusively.
 
Back or front pocket works fine, provided the knife (and sheath) was designed for that mode of carry...

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I've seen some pictures of soldiers who carried their blades in 'Nam; inverted and on a slight angle on the chest. I imagine you'd need some sort of webbing and a solid retainer, but It's an option anyway. I have never done this, but it looks like it would be easy to draw quickly, even in a confined space.
 
Have you looked into the merc harness or, if the knife is smaller you can use a pocket sheath.
 
I carry a Rinaldi Matrix cross draw , people never know I have it. I can carry a Simonich Raven strongside with longer shirt and it hides well , though the blade length is outside of the legal concealed length here. :(
 
I carry mine horizontally on the small of my back. Technically I guess it's on my waist, not my ass so I don't ever have the problem of sitting on it. Maybe if you sat in a chair it would hit, but just slouch ;) I have used this method camping for years without issue.
 
Not taking concealment into account. This is the most comfortable and quickest deployment on a small knife for me. It may not be for others though.

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Here is a little set-up that I alternate between belt and neck carry. Remove the chain, and this little guy slips into your front pocket without the least bulge. Breeden kat knife with set of Normark sheaths.

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the best way to carry a FB is imho SS IWB behind the pistol holster, if ya have a pistol holster anyway lol.

easiest carrying one i have tried is a bud nealy amoeba with the abbreviated handle.
 
I EDC a Greco boot knife in a Red Hill Kydex sheath with small techlock, horizontal cross draw on my belt.With shirt untucked it conceals nicely. Extremely fast access and deploy.....:thumbup:
 
A trick I read about in a hunting magazine many years ago is to hang the knife off the belt and tuck the tip of the sheath into the back pocket. It keeps the sheath from flapping around and also helps with a faster draw of the knife.
(The article mentioned that guys who used to have pack mule trains would carry their knives that way for convenience and also for a lightning fast quick draw in case they had to cut the rope connecting the mules in case a mule slipped in the mountains - wouldn't pull the rest of the train down with 'em.)
 
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