attaching a knife to back pack

I recently purchased a new backpack. It has a hip belt that interferes with wearing my Buck 119 knife on my normal belt.

I have seen soldiers with their knives attached to a shoulder strap, pointed down. This seems like a convient way to carry it.

What is the best way to attach the two? Some look like they just use duct tape or something similar. I would prefer something a little cleaner and neater.

Any suggestions?

Consider using robust zip ties. I use two at each attaching point for redundancy. If you mount the knife with the handle down on the shoulder strap, you can draw it with either hand, a trait which could be handy.

I have the Buck 119. The total length of the knife is 10.5 inches and you can add on a bit more for the sheath. That is lot of knife to be hanging off the shoulder strap of a backpack. That said, when I carry the Buck, it goes in the top external pocket of the pack and although it is not fully and readily accessible, it is still not that difficult to get to if needed.

Hikermor mentioned zip ties. However I am not sure they would work if the newer sheaths are like my old sheath which is fairly thick, stiff and very slick. The zip ties to hold the sheath 100% in place upside down would need to fairly tight to not squish the sheath to the point that the knife is difficult to remove/insert back into the sheath.

With the sheath and most backpack straps being black,you may want to utilize a couple or 3 narrow strips of black duct or gaffers tape in order to keep the neat appearance you are looking for.


Edit: Curiosity got the best of me. I tried the zip ties (only have white.) As I suspected, I would really have to crank the ties up tight in order to keep the sheath from eventually working it's way lose. Although that could be mitigated by adding another tie around the sheath right under where the handle strap is.

Still I would rather keep the knife in the backpack pocket as that knife is too big to be carried in this manner for me.

Did you Consider,Strapping your knife,Laterally to Your Hip-belt or Installing Grommets onto the Sheath,to maximize the Carrying versatility? Good luck!

Is that a hard rubber handle on your 119??? You lucky duck you!

Looks like hockey tape, I do that too on any slick handles.

I've never tried it but was told by many people that handle down while look cool, is a good way to lose your knives.

Duct tape is what we grunts would use. Well actually we carried more electrical tape than duct tape b/c it was easier to carry tape down random clips and things that jingled.

Now of course MOLLE gear takes care of that but your talking about a military application on civilian gear. It's something people with combat arms backgrounds are always trying to blend together. At least IMHO.

No it is not a hard rubber handle. As jzmtl mentioned, it is black hockey tape. The handles on the 119 are just too slick and when your hands are cold and wet, it is all too easy to have the knife slip and possibly cut you up.

heavy duty velcro tie wraps, one side hook, other side loop and hooks to itself???... more flexible than cable tie

I would suggest doing a drop leg solution for your knife to get it out of the way of the hip belt.

While attaching it to the shoulder strap would work and would keep the knife near you while you had the backpack on, once you remove the pack you don't have the knife.

From my old SAR days, the philosophy was that if you didn't have it ON you, you didn't really have it. That type and style knife is a great tool one that I would rather have on my body than have to say "where is my pack" when I need it. Speaking of "where is my pack" if you take off your bag and it decides to go on "walk about" down a hill/ into a river or anything like that, well you get the picture.

Aside from all of that I would use Electrical tape to attach the knife to my shoulder strap. Just be VERY careful when you put the knife back in the sheath..

Mounting a knife on a strap handle down looks cool. Pretty freaking useless, but cool. If the strap restraining the knife hooks on something, or the button on your buck opens, the knife falls and you may not notice. No knife. Leads to dirty words.

The upside down knife may or may not look cool - I really have no idea. I encountered this technique in cave diving, where you fairly regularly encounter situations where you really need a knife, and quickly. Drawing with either hand is a worthwhile advantage.

You are certainly correct about more easily losing the knife in this position. I would rather attach the knife to the waist belt of the pack, or just keep it in the pack. Another option is to simply slip a SAK into your pocket. It will do 99.9% of what the larger, more bulky blade will accomplish.

In a lot of situations, off trail in dense brush or in technical climbing situations, a slim uncluttered profile is a most important consideration. I can't ever recall a situation where I really needed the quick draw capability of the upside down mount. But if the QD is what you want, attach it handle down.

Here's a question that I know has been brought up in the past.

What if you carry your pocket knife in your right pocket and your right arm becomes disabled, how do you get to your knife?

Reach around with your left arm, it's not that hard lol.

"Reach around with your left arm, it's not that hard lol."

it may be a little more difficult than that, esp. if wearing jeans, other less-than-loose pants, or not in cargo-type pockets.

i tried it once - had to drop the pants to access that pocket. knife or other items were then relocated to the left.

Tyber,

Although the leg mount looks tactical (and is very practical when you are tactical) it is a very poor way to carry anything while hiking. You are effectively carrying about 5 times the weight of the objects on your thigh because you are lifting them with every step. Not very useful for a long walk. If you don't need it often, keep it in the pack. If you need it regularly, mount it on the waistband or packstrap, or in my preferred position, alongside the pack (I mount it in the ski slots under the side pockets of my pack) upright so that I can reach it over my shoulder. A large knife or machete is easy to carry this way and accessable quickly.

Yes, SAR philosophy is ON you, which is why you keep your 24 hr. pack with you at all times.

Respectfully,

Jerry

use to carry a large knife in that position. i used velcro strips, normally used for securing computer or other electrical wires. the kydex sheath had attachment holes that accommodated them. after several years i relocated it to inside the pack. i felt i had no need for immediate use - useless against bears, lions are faster, and outside carry might antagonize knuckleheads. and i've read that in a knife fight, someone dies.

I cheat.. I carry a knife in my left back pocket, in adition to my right front pocket. and ocasionaly I even carry a knife in my right back pocket. all are one handed openers and ocasionaly the left handed knife is an assitted opening knife.

I have been in a situation where my right hand was holidng me up while I was climbing industrial shelving and I couldn't reach my knife with my left hand. That is why I now carry at least two single handed opening knives.

I can't see pictures at work so I'm assuming since my Buck 110 Sheath has a belt loop that the 119 would too. I think thats what hikermor was intending, put the zip ites through the belt loop on the sheath not around the whole sheath then the sheath can't fall. Or are you saying the knife works it way loose from the sheath.
Maybe this is where the idea os the small neck knives came from, son't want to put your big heavy knife on the strap so get a small knife to go on the strap.

One simple solution is to simply unthread the lower webbing of the pack strap, thread it through the sheath's belt loop and then re-thread it through the buckle. Then the sheath rides on your side, approximately where it would on your belt.

It's possible that I am larger around the middle than yourself. I don't find this easy or quick.

Is there any reason you cannot just mount the sheath directly to the hip belt or the stabilizer straps? When I backpacked in bear country, I had the bear spray holster attached to my frame pack this way.

Obviously it's not going to be easy or quick, since the premises is about injured or otherwise unavailable right arm. As long as you can actually retrieve the knife with your left hand, the end result is the same.

It would be a lot easier though if your knife is clipped to pocket or hang off belt, than if it's deep in bottom of your pocket.

I going to be as civil and unoffensive as I can, b/c I don't like flaming people but I'm sorry, this question is ridiculous. You just gotta figure it out.

unless the sheath is horizontal belt carry its going the wrong direction though since a pack strap is verticle and a belt is horizontal.
Works well for say my blackberry case where the belt clip rotates.

such a great and simple idea. thanks!

been there. bad words are what happen!

I am in the "form follows function" crowd. I would try to answer questions like these:

First, identify what functions are served by carrying any knife.

Second, identify what type of knife or knives best serve those functions.

Third, check your local knife laws to see what restrictions they may place on what knife or knives you can carry, and how you can carry them.

Fourth, within what is legal, identify what type of accesss to knife or knives is necessary to serve the functions previously identified.

Fifth, consider what impression you wish to convey to others, particularly children, by your carry and display decisions.

My other thought was put the big knife in the pack and something small like the Hartsook on the strap.
Excuse to by another knife, right

I wouldn't carry any large knife around the torso area as accidents can be quite severe if you fall over etc and the knife become loose or the sheath splits. Just keep your large knife in your backpack as chances are you will most likely want to remove your backpack (for improved comfort and stability) to carry out any knife work. If you need a large knife (machete parang etc) for moving through a jungle environment then this video might be worthwhile watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMLI6BhFV2c

Bottom line here is that your hiking gear is telling you that you are carrying too much knife. It is getting in your way and weighing you down. Leave it behind and the problem disappears. Stuff a folder in your pocket and get on with life.

Honestly, I just can't imagine having a large knife strapped to my pack strap. It seems like it would get in the way too much when the pack goes on & off.

This reminds me of a story. Once my dad took me and my brothers to a threshing show. This is where the demonstrate the way farming used to be done with these huge, steam-powered tractor-thingies. One of these threshers scared up a rabbit which took off running. A dog (not ours) broke free from the kid holding it and took off after the rabbit. It was a big dog, mostly black lab but with something else mixed in, maybe springer of some sort. Anyway it was FAST and was soon on the rabbits tail. The rabbit was freaking out, zigging and zagging, the dog was rushing after it and the kid was running after the dog. The rabbit circled around like they always do (which is a good tip for rabbit hunters) and headed straight back towards the maw of the thresher. The dog followed the rabbit and the kids followed the dog. Everyone was screaming at the thresher operator to shut it down but it was too loud for him to hear them and the machine was too big for him to see over the front at the oncoming disaster. Suddenly a one-armed man (I can't remember his name but he and his family always sat behind about three rows in church) rushed out and scared the rabbit away from the thresher, followed by the dog and the kid, then he jumped out of the way of the thresher.

I'm not sure in which pocket he (the one-armed man) kept his knife.

-Blast, subtly trying to make a point about the difference between a useful answer and a pointless one...or maybe just babbling after being awake for three days.

I vote babbling, but entertaining, too.

Is it just me, or do "useful" and "pointless" have this sneaky way of being up to each of those who consider them? [My babble.]

Get some rest, Blast.

More pointlessness - was the one-armed man left handed or right handed?

And now, the rest of the story.

The one armed man lost his arm as a boy when he chased a dog chasing a rabbit into a threshing machine. The dog belonged to his finace and he had to choose between his arm and the woman he loved. Sadly, while he was recovering in the hospital she ran off with the deaf threshing machine operator.

...then the one armed man killed a doctor's wife, and they made a TV series out of it...

I have carried a large knife, a 3' long machete for trail cleanup, but I have never worried about getting it out quickly. Usually I slide it in its sheath down the tunnel under the side pockets, lash the belt loop on the sheath to the load control strap and catch the sheath under a couple of compression straps. Being 3' long it is really too long to pull out with my arms.

If anyone is dead set on carrying a Rambo blade you can use a drop strap so it hangs lower to avoid the backpack belt. Lashing it to your calf or boot is a popular choice for military folks. Any way you do it your going to look like a dork if you aren't in a combat zone, hanging with survivalists, or people pushing the mountain man look. There is no accounting for taste.

IIRC upside down shoulder strap carry was addressed in an early version of "everybody's knife book". It was indicated that it was thus for combat access, and wired in place with copper for jump security that could be overcome with a firm tug in emergency. The author hoped that the reader would live in peace and never be required to wear his knife inverted.

+1 with what NurseMike just said.

Soldiers sometimes wear a knife upside to give them quick access in combat. But unless you feel directly threatened and you are using your knife for self-defense - then this is not your best solution for survival purposes. Better to just attach it to your pack ... maybe the sides, or the back, of the pack. Try zip ties or small leather straps.

Large knives, machete's and parangs can be useful in some environments (esp. jungle) - but they tend to be heavy. Take a look at the knife that Bear Grylls uses - it's not that big (Bear uses a Bayley knife, can be seen at Bayleyknife.com, but they cost a small fortune!).

otherPete