What is EDC? Extra Delicious Cutlery? Evil Devil's Chili? Nope, EDC is Every Day Carry.
Knives and guns go together like peanut butter and jelly; coffee and cigarettes; brandy and cigars. I thought I would show off my new cutlery next to some bear essential protection gear, and perhaps make a habit of it with some similar posts every now and then. Perusing threads like this one at AR15.com and this one at Bladeforums gives many new ideas that may make your life easier.
My day to day carry gear depends on the situation; if I'm going out for the day with my family I'm gonna be armed to the teeth - I double up on everything. Sometimes though, you aren't going to gear up with your 6" 1911 in 10mm and Springer EMP in an ankle holster just to go out to gas up the car. I know, I know, that's precisely when the tangos will spring on you; I'm here to tell you though that there will be times when grabbing something small will be the way to go. When you have to run out to Food Lion for baby formula at 0300, small things work.
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Just the bare essentials. I can drop that stuff in the pockets of my jammies in about two seconds and be on my way. I will not, however, be getting into a running gunfight with suicide vested terrorists to save the day; this set up is anti mugger/banger gear only.
The Benchmade 3550 represents a watershed moment for me - normally I carry at least a 4" knife. Like most people, I consider a knife a useful tool first, and a last ditch weapon second. I've read about incidents where a knife was successfully used to stop an attacker, but I'm rarely without a firearm, so I think of the knife as more utilitarian. Smaller blades are great for opening boxes and such, but a larger blade offers more edge for useful things like cutting up vegetables for my lunch.
Nowadays there is all this super steel out there that is great for everything but sharpening. Since I use a knife every day, I can't afford to be sending the thing back to the manufacturer once a week for a touch up; I use bench stones for that. My Cold Steel Recon 1 has been my EDC knife for over a year now, and the AUS-8 steel is good working steel. It may not hold an edge quite as long as S30V, but it takes only a minute or so to bring the edge back with the help of a translucent Arkansas stone. This new Benchmade has 154CM, which in my experience is also good working steel that takes a fine edge. It cuts carrots well, too!
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You will not find me clothed without a knife. There are very few circumstances in life where I am without this simplest of tools; it is something that separates me from the animals. With a good knife in my pocket, I can survive anywhere under basically any circumstances, with much confidence. I could start my very own civilization sans people with one well made knife, if I had the time. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
If you get a chance, dig through some of those threads linked above; you would be amazed at how smart some of this gear has become. I was browsing yesterday and found out that the 15 lumen Surefire E1e that I bought four years ago is ancient technology, and that there are many palm sized lights out there that could kick its ass. One will be in the mail shortly.
So, what's your EDC blade/heater combo? Is your knife for cleaning your nails and skinning bucks, or do you envision it more for reaching the frontal lobe of a determined zombie after you've ran your carbine and sidearm out of rounds? My plan is to put together some sexy glamor shots of old knife and blaster teams that I used to carry in my day for your entertainment and commentary. Stay tuned!
5 comments:
My pocket knives are always cheap. I just lose too many of them. My personal favorite is pen knives. Having 2 blades with a good edge is just the bee's knees; however, I am now carrying an MTac folder that costs about 5-7 dollars depending on where you shop. It has an okay working edge, and is easily replaced.
My big guilty pleasure though is lights. The gun/knife/light combo is the trifecta I take everywhere.
the Akoray 109 is an okay light that is under 15 bucks, and runs reasonably well on CR123a rechargables. That or my solarforce L2 goes in the pocket.
I'm testing out a new citadel officers sized 1911 for carry- so far so good, but it needs a lot more range time before I make any major decisions to replace the LW commander.
how are you toting your spare mags?
Right now for the Kel-Tec just dumped into my pocket, which is definitely not ideal. Lint can build up if you're not careful and jam things.
For the 1911 I use a Blade Tec single OWB clip on which is wonderful. Goes on and off in seconds, but stays put for drawing. Blade Tech makes some really good inexpensive stuff.
I'm a light geek too, and I'm ashamed that I didn't picture my Surefire E1e. At this point though, I see Surefire as way behind everyone else; I've got a Fenix PD20 on the way and it kicks every Surefire light's ass that I have. 180 Lumens with 6 modes and one CR123 battery for about $60. A comparable Surefire would be $150+.
I bought a cheap Kabar folder, carried it for about a week and lost it.
Right now I'm carrying a Kershaw Black Vapor. I usually carry a Benchmade Mini Pika, but it's about 8 years old now and it's time to buy a new one.
Like you I'm never without a knife. A pocketknife and my Streamlight Microstream go with me everywhere.
Fenix makes great lights. I have a TK1 that I love. I want the Pd20, but i'm holding off for a while longer. I think there is a coupon code on ARFcom good for the rest of the month for fenix goodies under the industry tab.
Mike- I'm not sure whats worse, losing the knife and being annoyed, or not noticing its gone until you actually need to cut something :p
Ooooh, I'm goin to ARFcom - I'm looking to buy some more Fenix goodies! Thanks for the tip!
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