Vest pocket carry ?

Hickory n steel

Hickory n steel

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I've started thinking about how I have some medium-ish sized folders that I still like but rarely carry because my pocket organizer doesn't fit them well.
I still favor the small ones most but would give the others some attention otherwise.

Long story short I've been interested in wool vests lately as a very practical garment that's great for layering so I found me a nice vintage wool vest in good condition for cheap on Ebay to try out, I haven't had a vest since I was 7 so it'll be fun to see how I like it.
It has just dawned on me that vest pocket carry could be great, I'm a lefty so the watch pocket which is decently sized on my pants is of little use to me and breast pockets are not a natural place for me to keep a knife.

Does anyone here wear a vest and do vest pocket carry for their pocket knife?
If so, what's it like?
It seems the knife would be much easier to retrieve when sitting down for sure.
 
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I remember reading someplace a long time back, that the cowboys wore vests for that very reason; to carry stuff that would overload pants pockets. Things like pocket knives, tobacco pouch, pencil and paper for tally counts, watch. A vest is a handy holder of extra pockets for all kinds of stuff. John Moses Browning invented the 1908 .25acp 'vest pocket pistol' for that express purpose.

You could be onto something!
 
finishing this chain soon

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I always have flannel shirts with breast pockets and jackets with pockets which is wear I put my wallet, but reaching up into a pocket positioned that high to retrieve my pocket knife doesn't seem too natural or convenient so I can definitely see that being a reason for a cowboy to wear one.
I do not have a pocket watch or a tobacco pipe or anything like that, but for my knife and maybe a better place for my little flashlight it should be great.

I don't know if this sherpa lined wool vest from Cal-craft ( the same brand as my childhood vest ) will exactly be the most ideal choice, but it's a vest and the price was right so I bought it.

I can't say buffalo plaid is necessarily my favorite, and I was looking for more of a plain wool only vest like you'd get from Filson or stormy kromer ( really hoping for a woolrich, may keep looking if a vest becomes my thing )
But something about this vest appealed to me.
 
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I like to wear vests myself, particularly in the fall. Some light weight ones are also good for summer, especially when travelling. The ones I have come with all manner of pockets. I find they give me the opportunity to carry a larger pocket knife than I would normally drop in a pants pocket. Something like the Case Tribal or Back pocket pictured.
I like that Buffalo Plaid!
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Hickory n steel said:
I always have flannel shirts with breast pockets and jackets with pockets which is wear I put my wallet, but reaching up into a pocket positioned that high to retrieve my pocket knife doesn't seem too natural or convenient so I can definitely see that being a reason for a cowboy to wear one.
I do not have a pocket watch or a tobacco pipe or anything like that, but for my knife and maybe a better place for my little flashlight it should be great.

I don't know if this sherpa lined wool vest from Cal-craft ( the same brand as my childhood vest ) will exactly be the most ideal choice, but it's a vest and the price was right so I bought it.

I can't say buffalo plaid is necessarily my favorite, and I was looking for more of a plain wool only vest like you'd get from Filson or stormy kromer ( really hoping for a woolrich, may keep looking a vest becomes my thing )
But something about this vest appealed to me.
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That vest looks very warm! :thumbsup::thumbsup:
But then I wonder if you'll wear it all day, or just when "commuting" and hang it up somewhere when you're home or at work. I think I'd find it kind of inconvenient or annoying if I wanted my knife and it was in the pocket of my vest in a closet or on a coat rack or in a different room than I'm in when I need the knife. Pants pockets are an ideal place for a knife because you tend to keep your pants on pretty regularly! :rolleyes:

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
That vest looks very warm! :thumbsup::thumbsup:
But then I wonder if you'll wear it all day, or just when "commuting" and hang it up somewhere when you're home or at work. I think I'd find it kind of inconvenient or annoying if I wanted my knife and it was in the pocket of my vest in a closet or on a coat rack or in a different room than I'm in when I need the knife. Pants pockets are an ideal place for a knife because you tend to keep your pants on pretty regularly! :rolleyes:

- GT
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I won't wear it to work because it would be wrecked with grease and such in no time, and in general because I just use space heaters in my house I tend to forget I still have my jacket on so I might actually wear it all day.
It very well could prove too warm and I'll see how it goes , I really just intended this as a trial vest anyways though.

I agree pants pockets are about the most ideal place for most cases, but there are downsides that a vest seems to solve provided you have one that's suitable to leave on all day.
 
When did the vest fall out of style/fashion?
From doing living history events covering the fur trade era (the late fur trade ear from 1840 -1855 is the period I did) and Civil War reenactments (1860 ~ 1865), I know that at least from circa 1800 to 1895 ~ 1900 a man wasn't "properly dressed" if he was vest-less. Even farmers and laborers wore a vest when working.

Judging from the popularity of "boy's knives" with a bail equipped with a button end (and "gentleman's" watch chains that also held a small vest pocket knife) through at least the Great Depression, did vests got out of style during WW2, or just after?

(wish I still had my historically accurate/period correct 1800's vests ... I think they got lost when I moved from Tennessee to Kansas (AKA: "Hell") in 1990/1991.)
 
5K Qs said:
That vest looks very warm! :thumbsup::thumbsup:
But then I wonder if you'll wear it all day, or just when "commuting" and hang it up somewhere when you're home or at work. I think I'd find it kind of inconvenient or annoying if I wanted my knife and it was in the pocket of my vest in a closet or on a coat rack or in a different room than I'm in when I need the knife. Pants pockets are an ideal place for a knife because you tend to keep your pants on pretty regularly! :rolleyes:

- GT
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Good point, Gary. Speaking for myself, I still have my normal array of pants pocket cutlery. I've also developed the habit of emptying my pockets whenever I remove a vest, jacket or coat. When I'm at home that is.
 
Peregrin said:
Good point, Gary. Speaking for myself, I still have my normal array of pants pocket cutlery. I've also developed the habit of emptying my pockets whenever I remove a vest, jacket or coat. When I'm at home that is.
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I tend to take other things out of my jacket pockets when I take them off too.
Except my wallet, because I'll end up forgetting it when I put my jacket on and make a quick run into town otherwise.
 
At work I’ve carried a 110LT in my vest or coat pocket and it works really well with larger knives. I’ve at times carried a slimline trapper, 501 or a 302 all single blade with thinner handles and they carry well in the vest pocket.
 
afishhunter said:
When did the vest fall out of style/fashion?
From doing living history events covering the fur trade era (the late fur trade ear from 1840 -1855 is the period I did) and Civil War reenactments (1860 ~ 1865), I know that at least from circa 1800 to 1895 ~ 1900 a man wasn't "properly dressed" if he was vest-less. Even farmers and laborers wore a vest when working.

Judging from the popularity of "boy's knives" with a bail equipped with a button end (and "gentleman's" watch chains that also held a small vest pocket knife) through at least the Great Depression, did vests got out of style during WW2, or just after?

(wish I still had my historically accurate/period correct 1800's vests ... I think they got lost when I moved from Tennessee to Kansas (AKA: "Hell") in 1990/1991.)
Click to expand...

You may be on to something. Looking at old historical photos, it seems like WW2 was a turning point for a lot of things. The years just after the war was a huge population shift from rural to urban as millions of service personnel came home with new skills and no desire to go back to plowing the back 40 on daddy's farm. The new phenomenon of the Suburbs came into existence because of the massive shift of jobs to the city, and the need to house all these people, and clothing styles became more casual.

Through the 1950's, things changed even more. From 1950 to 1960, it was almost a total transformation of American society. WW2 broke a lot of molds!
 
I've worn vests for years, my favorite being the C C Filson wool vests (expensive but the one I have now is 30 years old and looks new). I also like the sweater vests by LL Bean and Orvis. I don't carry much in my vest pockets because I normally carry only one medium size pocketknife in my trousers LFP and nowadays (semi-regularly) a bigger pocketknife with a clip in the RFP. I endorse the vest idea though (with or without a knife in its pocket) because layering works well in cold and cool weather. OH
 
Lesknife said:
At work I’ve carried a 110LT in my vest or coat pocket and it works really well with larger knives. I’ve at times carried a slimline trapper, 501 or a 302 all single blade with thinner handles and they carry well in the vest pocket.
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My slimline trapper and 302 are exactly the knives I had in mind.
Probably my Camillus 99 scout and my mercator " small brass ".

The 110lt would be great too, but I gave mine to my buddy a few months back.
 
Vests are fairly popular where I live. I pretty much live in a sherpa lined Carhartt vest for three seasons, you see plenty of those up here in rural OH. It'll keep you warm enough outside but you don't have to take it off indoors. Extra pockets are a huge plus of course. I've been known to clip a little fixed blade into the interior pocket or slip a jframe in there.
 
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