EDC Fixed Blades: What and how do you carry?

[Elwin]

That should cause an internet singularity or something.

It’s certainly caused some confusion on my end!

Being told to so something more than once means I have to regardless of whether or not it’s in the budget right?

[Totem Polar]

That should cause an internet singularity or something.

Or, at least the purchase of a DE CP.

Which will, by extension, cause a hurricane in Gnarabup, Australia (halfway around the world from Jackson, MS…)

[NH Shooter]

Spartan Blades Alala in one of my Foreman's pocket scabbards, with an EDCLB 18650 Bodyguard.




The "Foreman's Pocket Scabbard" are sheaths that I make designed to carry larger fixed blades in the front-right zippered pocket of Duluth Foreman's Pants (thus the name). At eight inches overall length, this rig disappears in the pocket.

The Spartan Blades Alala is made by Ka-Bar: the 1095 CV steel, black epoxy finish and rough factory edge finish give that way immediately. The rough edge cleans up to a mirror finish with some time on a Work Sharp Precision Adjust Knife Sharpener. The 3-3/4" blade has an edge angle of 25 degrees on the 0.195" thick blank, so in a sense it's a "pry bar with a sharp edge." If it has to be used as such in an emergency, it should do the job.

I consider this a nice addition to my selection of EDC tools, and since it's so easy to carry it will likely remain as my first choice.

[Malamute]

My Randall. I believe I got it in about 1982. Its had a lot of miles carried daily. It never bothered me to slide under the truck to check on or work on something, or dig bullets out of the ground or whatever. Its the one that always goes in the mountains with me. Im thinking I may do a new sheath for it, maybe a pouch type with some tooling or beadwork.

I dont recall the model, Little Bear perhaps?

[Bruce Cartwright]

Spartan Blades Alala in one of my Foreman's pocket scabbards, with an EDCLB 18650 Bodyguard.




The "Foreman's Pocket Scabbard" are sheaths that I make designed to carry larger fixed blades in the front-right zippered pocket of Duluth Foreman's Pants (thus the name). At eight inches overall length, this rig disappears in the pocket.

The Spartan Blades Alala is made by Ka-Bar: the 1095 CV steel, black epoxy finish and rough factory edge finish give that way immediately. The rough edge cleans up to a mirror finish with some time on a Work Sharp Precision Adjust Knife Sharpener. The 3-3/4" blade has an edge angle of 25 degrees on the 0.195" thick blank, so in a sense it's a "pry bar with a sharp edge." If it has to be used as such in an emergency, it should do the job.

I consider this a nice addition to my selection of EDC tools, and since it's so easy to carry it will likely remain as my first choice.

NH Shooter:

That is an interesting sheath. I have pretty much gravitated away from folding knives (my son calls them "Broke" knives). Would you please provide some details on how you draw the knife from the sheath and possibly some photos of how it sits in the pocket? I have been experimenting with carrying a fixed blade in a trouser pocket.

Thanks in advance!

Bruce

[NH Shooter]

NH Shooter:

That is an interesting sheath. I have pretty much gravitated away from folding knives (my son calls them "Broke" knives). Would you please provide some details on how you draw the knife from the sheath and possibly some photos of how it sits in the pocket? I have been experimenting with carrying a fixed blade in a trouser pocket.

Thanks in advance!

Bruce

Bruce, the pants are pretty much the key to success: the pocket has to be roomy enough for the knife & sheath to fit comfortably, and for the hand to reach into the pocket and grab the knife.

In the case of the Duluth Foreman's pants, I carry the knife in the front-right zippered pocket. Below is a photo of another slightly larger knife and how it sits in the pocket;












To draw, I simply reach into the pocket, grab the knife handle and eject the sheath off the blade with the thumb: the knife comes out and the sheath stays in. To "reholster" requires two hands and pulling the sheath from the pocket to insert the blade. It's pretty much a "deep concealment" setup, but with the zipper already pulled down it's quite speedy to get the knife out. In terms of concealment and comfort, no one (including me) knows it's there.

The sheath is my own creation intended specifically for this mode of carry.

[Bruce Cartwright]

Bruce, the pants are pretty much the key to success: the pocket has to be roomy enough for the knife & sheath to fit comfortably, and for the hand to reach into the pocket and grab the knife.

In the case of the Duluth Foreman's pants, I carry the knife in the front-right zippered pocket. Below is a photo of another slightly larger knife and how it sits in the pocket;












To draw, I simply reach into the pocket, grab the knife handle and eject the sheath off the blade with the thumb: the knife comes out and the sheath stays in. To "reholster" requires two hands and pulling the sheath from the pocket to insert the blade. It's pretty much a "deep concealment" setup, but with the zipper already pulled down it's quite speedy to get the knife out. In terms of concealment and comfort, no one (including me) knows it's there.

The sheath is my own creation intended specifically for this mode of carry.

NHShooter:

Thanks for posting the photos and educating me on your set up. I am leaning heavily towards carrying a small, fixed blade knife as opposed to the various folders I have used over the years. My concern is that I have had folding knives fold when they are not supposed to and want a more rugged system. Likewise, I prefer fixed blades for back country use because they tend to be simpler/stronger/require less maintenance. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Bruce

[Elwin]

After working a bit on and off with fixed blade stuff I think I'm coming to the conclusion that OWB/belt wrap carry just isn't for me currently. I do much better carrying a knife vertically IWB at 11:00, which I don't do when I've got spare mags there carrying an auto but works great when carrying a revolver. I still need to ponder whether I want to go to the effort of somehow still adding a blade to the auto setup, but at least for IWB carry paired with the wheel gun I'm leaning towards eventually getting something bigger. I can get away with a lot more knife than the Izula or a Clinch Pick in that carry position, and actually it would help with comfort due to the "keel principle."

So, any suggestions for a knife around the 4" blade mark that would be good for vertical IWB carry that is a) affordable (preferably around $100), b) readily available, and c) preferably comes with a kydex or plastic sheath I can attach a DCC clip to? Other preferences are avoiding an overlong handle compared to blade length and generally preferring a non-reverse edge.

So far I'm looking at the CRKT Ramadi, but NH Shooter's Spartan Blades Alala looks pretty close even if it's a bit outside the ideal price range, and I'm open to other suggestions - I don't have a ton of knife brand familiarity.

[centex]

Once of my focus areas in 2023 was working on developing a deep carry setup. There seemed to be a lot of information on how to run a revolver or semi-auto for deep carry but not a ton of info on how to do the same for a fixed blade. What I was hoping to accomplish in my experimentation was find a way to carry an accessible fixed blade below the beltline so that I could theoretically conceal a small handgun and a fixed blade that was truly imperceptible even if my shirt rode up. The ideal NPE setup, if you will.The whole purpose of deep carry seemed incomplete to me if I needed to carry a fixed blade on the belt, which would be visible if my shirt rode up, in order to EDC a knife as well.

A thread around here on about tiny fixed blades pointed me to the True Mycro and from there ideas started to develop. Using a tegris accessory clip from Henry Holsters allowed me to convert the stock sheath to work on the Enigma belt and the below idea was born. While I don't carry this way every day, I've found it to be a viable path to deep carrying a knife and small firearm below the belt when the situation arises.

[vcdgrips]

Following thread with great interest.

While I was a relatively early adopter of the CP, There are times that a smaller fixed blade in the pocket would be ideal. No clip showing would be superlative but not necessarily an absolute deal breaker.

Unfortunately, the one that PB so graciously shared from CSAT seems sold out.

Any other recommendations for a turnkey sheath/knife set whereby I presume the sheath falls away as it hooks the edge of the pocket in a similar manner a a pocket holster for a j frame etc?

PS-NH where is the stealth for your spartan blade?