Custom Low Rider Pocket Clips:

SHOP IS CLOSED RETIRED AS OF 2014

Pocket view. Note how the knife disappears in the pocket. This answers the question of why folks want a low rider. My clip is less noticed due to difference in 'foot print' size also. 

STR Low Rider mounted

Factory clip set up 

Superimposed view of my clip over the factory clip for this model

Close up of STR Low Rider

Side view STR Low Rider

Jan, 2016.  JYD II, Leek, Southard by Spyderco, Military and Para Military original and Para 2 low riders available until the bags of blanks found are gone.  Keep in mind the Para 2 pattern does fit on other knives as well, such as the Delica 4 and others. I still do the mini titanium pry bars but max two per order per person per day please.  The rest here is for nostalgia only. Thanks  The clips or pry either or are $35 each via check or money order and 40 each for the first via pay pal and each additional is $35 each after that. Thanks pay pal me here http://paypal.me/StephenRice  Contact me at STR@bladeforums.com

One of the things I used to get asked to do more than anything else is to make one of my custom low rider pocket clips fit a favorite everyday carry knife for a customer. This is one of the few things I do involving production folders anymore and something I will always do at least as long as I can or as long as customers want them from me.. As many of those following my work know, I used to do quite a bit of modification work on production folders and repair work for some manufacturers as shown here in my blog in past posts. Most all of those production knife jobs have been discontinued by me with the exception of my custom pocket clips.  I am a pocket clip fan and I enjoy making these for folks when it involves knives already equipped with a pocket clip and I offer something to fit. (edit: with the exception of the Buck 110/112/55/501/503 series knives and some older Gerber Sportsman models and the clip and thumb stud conversions which I have started doing again on those.) see here: Buck 110 conversions
see here for Gerber: Gerber Sportsman Thumb Stud and Clip conversion

Some models such as the Spyderco Military, the Kershaw Leek, or Junk Yard Dog II folder (shown) and the Benchmade Mini and full size Griptilian folders are frequent requests that come my way for fold over or also known as 'low rider style' pocket clips.

One of the other things that has come up is confusion for what I do exactly. I do not manufacture as in mass produce pocket clips. I custom fit them to fit an exact mount for a specific spot so they fit, that is so they bury the knife or come as close to doing so as I can make it. If you want a generic one size for all this is not what I do. So even tho you may have a pattern, say a Emerson folder clip and you think that is all I need well, I need more. I specifically fit it to your folder. So if my folder has the clip mounted in a different spot further away from the end of the handle than yours, which it undoubtedly will if its a different model, then the clip won't fit. It must be made to fit by folding in a different spot than I would for my own model. Therefore it is customized to fit the knife you carry not mine. So my clip I build for you may not transfer to another model and fit correctly or as well even tho it mounts. It may off hang on another model and if tip down carry on some it can interfere with blade opening if it was made for tip up carry or it might not bury that one like it did the one I made it to fit even if the clip hole pattern is the same. On most knives the hole spacing is the same from tip up to tip down but if you note, on most the distance is different from the end of the handle in tip up vs down. This mean the clip I make you is for the most part what you would term 'location specific' for the knife and position it was made to mount.

Also, tension may be different from smooth models vs grippy ones so I tend to take that into account to fit it also. If you want the clip to fit the knife so it buries it and its custom made within the parameters of what will work to your specs I'm your guy. If not and generic will do well, they are available also but why? I mean the entire point is to hide it right? Or make it less noticed so why buy one that won't do that? I should say to conceal better what you carry the clip can be custom fit to bury that knife down even if it means covering over the lanyard hole because that is less important to you than lowering the knife in your pocket. Say you carry a big knife and you don't want it so obvious its big. So we make the clip smallish. That way if someone does see it, it doesn't look like big knife in your pocket based on that little clip. I also make replacement clips for knives no longer made that you may own that you lost a clip for. At times manufacturer reps have referred customers to me for this for knives they sold the customer but they no longer manufacture. That is what I do, what you are paying for and hopefully what you wanted also. In addition color coordinated clips can be done to match slacks and jeans at work and this kind of thing. You can find convenient color choices to go over using the side arrows right and click the Feb 2011 post and scroll down once open.

For most of these above models I can make a clip without the need for having the knife shipped to me because I have some of my own folders in these same models which can be used to make pocket clips for others. Many knives in the industry use the same clip pattern. On some if can identify the pattern for the hole placement I may already have what I need. If someone owns something other than these knives I may need the knife in question to do the pocket clip. It depends on several things I need to know. Sometimes it helps to see pictures of a knife in question and from all sides to decide if one of my clips is a possibility. Pictures can tell me a lot usually so if you have some of your knife or a link to your knife model that helps me to determine if we can proceed or not on a pocket clip project. Also when I don't own the model knife that you own or keep up with it there have been changes made to them I was unaware of and by the manufacturer. In the industry we call these, "running changes" and they can easily sneak up on me and quite honestly I don't like it anymore than the customer when I make something for a knife I've been doing jobs for for some time and find that something is different on new year models but it happens.

This can happen when I own or the model or if I don't own the model and the company changes screw size or handle built and stuff like that I have no way of knowing until I run into it or read about it just like you so when these issues come up. They also change handles and often if I set tension for what I think is a frame lock well, its too tight for a textured handle so I like to know what you actually own not just the model. There are variances as you all know so these all play into proper fit for a clip.

This JYDII folder here was set up to take one of my custom fit low rider pocket clips made from .045 thick titanium. I normally use .040 for most clips for factory knives. This so all screws fit universally. Otherwise I would have to supply screws and the variance in lengths alone make that impossible let alone metric or standard among other size related issues such as threading. I use the same knife maker grade of titanium for my clips as I do for my knives tho so its the best I can offer you.  You can see the side shots for both factory and upgrade to my clip as well as the difference in look and fit from one to the other. I try whenever possible to use the factory pre-threaded holes already in the knives. In the event I have to drill and thread new holes for mounting the clip somewhere other than the factory mountings I would need the knife. (please note this is no longer offered as something I'll take commissions on as I only work with factory drilled holes now and no longer modify knives at all) T

Anyway, this has been something I've been wanting to do ever since this customer of mine sent me these pictures and posted them on my forum to show what the before and after for one of my low rider or fold over style pocket clips did for his Kershaw knife. As you can see from the pocket shot the knife buries deep and completely disappears with one of my clips. This is not always the case as some models won't allow me to make the clip such that it can go clear to the end of the knife to do the fold over due to their specific design but no matter it is still better for how it sits than a factory set up. Sometimes its necessary to weave the stem of the clip between the lanyard hole and a button lock or some other mechanism which forces me to stop the clip short of going to the end. At other times if it looks like the fold over would overhang off the spine I am forced to fold it over before it would overhang to keep the clip as invisible in the hand as possible. So in these cases I cannot bury a knife as deep as one may envision but usually its pretty close.

Some customers elect to have me anodize their clip a color, usually khaki or brown, or perhaps blue jean blue to allow the clip to blend with slacks a little better in the work place giving their carry knife somewhat of an urban camo thing going on. Some customers that carry larger knives prefer to have a smaller than factory clip made to fit their knife. This gives the illusion that the knife they carry is much smaller than it really is. So occasionally I'll get an order for an almost "pen" looking pocket clip rather than one as large as that shown. Most frequent is stone wash or tumbled finishes and I can also etch the clip which gives it a very similar if not identical look to being blasted, particularly if it was tumbled first which most are unless specifically ordered otherwise.

If you navigate my blogger a bit using the menu to the right you can find older posts I did on my low rider clips also, both in May and August of 2010. However, if it interests you further you can see still more of my work in my forum at http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=810 in the makers section. Once on my forum, just find the pinned posts at the top pf the page somewhere with the other pinned posts there titled "Low Rider Clip Picture thread" or "The Picture Thread" and you can see more. Both of these threads and the other pinned posts are always there on page one somewhere at the top of the page on my forum so they'll always be easy to find in the event you want to see a picture again or see what new pictures have been added. Lastly, if you need or want to get in touch with me about how to get one of my clips simply email me at STR@bladeforums.com

Thanks for stopping by my blogger.
STRs