Lanyard Hole in stock
A lanyard hole is an opening at the butt of a knife handle for a cord, thong or fob. It gives you a way to retrieve the knife from a deep pocket, secure it against loss, and add a little bulk for grip.
Three things, mostly. Pulling the knife out of a tight or deep pocket without fishing. Tethering the knife so it cannot be dropped overboard or off a ladder. And adding a bead or knot that fills the hand slightly on a small handle.
On fixed blades a lanyard through the butt is also a genuine retention feature for wet or cold-hands work.
Keep the lanyard short enough that it does not tangle and long enough to actually grab. A common length is just past the end of your closed fist.
Do not use a lanyard as a wrist loop while cutting hard. If the knife slips, being tethered to it is worse than dropping it. Compare a bail, which is a fitted metal loop rather than a bare hole.
The term is not academic here. 547 of the products currently on our shelves describe this feature in their own manufacturer specifications, across all nine brands we stock. Examples in stock right now include Boker Trppr Micarta, Böker Lockback Thuya Wood, Böker Applegate-Fairbairn Fighting.
Everything below is pulled live from the catalog, so what you see is what is actually in the Woodlawn warehouse today.