The Clip Is Not an Afterthought
Most people think about blade shape, mechanism type, and handle material when buying an OTF. Almost nobody thinks about the pocket clip. Then they carry the knife for a week and the clip becomes the only thing they think about.
A bad clip means a knife that rides too high, snags on pockets, falls out during activity, or sits at the wrong angle for quick deployment. A good clip means the knife stays put, draws clean, and sits in your pocket like it was designed for your specific pair of pants. For an EDC knife that you touch twenty times a day, the clip is the interface between the knife and your life.
Deep Carry vs. Standard
Standard clip: The knife sits with roughly the top inch exposed above your pocket line. Easy to grab, easy to identify, easy to deploy. The trade-off: everyone can see it. If discretion matters — at work, in public, anywhere you would rather not advertise that you are carrying — the standard clip is not ideal.
Deep carry clip: The knife sits almost entirely below the pocket line, with only the very top of the handle or the clip itself visible. From a few feet away, it is invisible. The trade-off: slightly harder to grab quickly. You need to hook your finger under the clip or into the pocket to pull it out.
For most OTF users, deep carry is the better choice. The knife is still accessible — it adds maybe half a second to the draw. But the discretion factor is significant. Not everyone needs to know what you are carrying.
Tip-Up vs. Tip-Down
Tip-up: The blade end of the knife points upward when clipped. When you draw the knife, it comes out of the pocket already oriented for deployment — thumb on the slide, blade channel pointing away from you. This is the natural carry for OTF knives because the deployment motion (thumb forward) aligns with the drawing motion (pulling up from the pocket).
Tip-down: The blade end points downward. When you draw, you need to flip the knife 180 degrees in your hand before deploying. This adds time and requires a conscious grip adjustment. Some people prefer tip-down because it puts the blade point away from their hand when reaching into the pocket, but for OTFs specifically, tip-up is the functional standard.
Left vs. Right
Most OTF clips are mounted for right-hand, right-pocket carry. Many are reversible — check the product description. If you carry left-handed, look for models with reversible clips or ambidextrous thumb slides. The Stealth Vector and Frontline Switch both offer clip reversibility.
The Bottom Line
When you buy your next OTF from our collection, look at the clip as carefully as you look at the blade. A knife you love to carry starts with a clip that sits right in your pocket. Everything else follows from that.