Ever met another EDC'er?

Clipspotting, very fun, but difficult in NY. I usualy only see pos gerbers, the occasional kershaw. Walmart knives.

 

I know what you mean, whenever I see someone with a pocket clipped knife I usually linger about for a couple of moments in the most incognito way I can (avoiding direct eye contact or obvious "scanning", twittling with cellular phone, pull out water bottle and have a swig, looking at the crossstreets like you're trying to figure out how to get where you're going) whilst trying to get a positive ID. I have seen knives that were obvious "dollar store" or "walmart" knives (the term doesn't work that well here since the closest walmart is in Jersey and most people won't go that far on a regular basis), but I've also seen quite a few quality folders.

Once I was walking home in Brooklyn, from Court Street 12 Cinema in Brooklyn Heights. I was walking southbound on Court and turned left onto Bergen and there was a young man who was white, age between 21 and 24, wearing blue jeans, a tucked gray collared shirt with dual pleated chest pockets, a black leather belt, and 6'' black timberlands accompanied by a brunette in a red blouse and khaki capris with black pumps who he was rather obviously in a romantic relationship with. The man had a SS Endura Clipped inbetween the pants and the belt in a rather odd fashion. I thought about approaching him and informing him about the NYPD's friendly and accommodating stance on pocket knives, but I decided against it- seeing as how approaching someone after midnight and talking about their pocket knife could be badly misconstrued.

Another time I was in Manhattan in that big intersection of Astor Place and I spotted a female cyclist with the helmet and elbowpads and all that snazzy bicycling gear wearing a Leatherman Charge Tti in the belt pouch it comes with and a pocket clipped knife with the distinctive SOG clip (the kind that very obviously says SOG in big cut out letters). I was pretty surprised at the time, it was the first time I'd known of a woman with a tactical folder, much less a TF + MT combo carry. I should've made a pass at her, but alas I'm afraid I just kept on walking to my internship.

One last example, I was in a subway car on the 5 train headed Uptown up to the bronx and there was a young black man sitting down wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt over a graphic tee (affliction? had skulls all over it) prefaded jeans and white Nike sneakers playing games on his Ipad with those distinctive red ribboned Dr Dre beats earbuds. In his right pocket there was the distinctive profile of one of those benchmade clips like on the 551 (I'm not familar enough with BM's catalogue to know how many knives it's featured on) this time I did approach the guy (after timing it so that my stop would come up immediately afterwards lest this backfires) and discreetly tell him that cops would stop him for the clip- he took the point in good humor and I got off at my stop.

I've got plenty of other examples but writing this stuff out is tiring...

 

In LA i have seen a few odd type's of carrying of a folding knife from the socalled wally world special to a high end Strider model on a person bag or body in the downtown area. Me i carry a Zero telerance 0300 folding strider in my pant's pocket when i'm walking around downtown area in my socalled business clothing ..

I once saw a bum type with a Emerson Specwar Commander cliped to his pocket and knew right than and there he was a undercover police officer ..I later walked by him and give him a dollar in change and told him that knife say your not a bum as i droped the change into his cup ..

I see him the next day and the knife was gone and he looked at me as i passed by like ok you have spotted me now what ..I keep walking down to my local place i like to get my morning cup of tea from ..This went on for about a week time frame every morning at 8.am he would be sitting there at the one spot watching this building ..I saw on the new's that night a few people where busted for a ID theft and they where printing up the fake document's there in the building where he was watching it ..

He came into the office in a suit and tie and clean shaven and asked me a few question about how i could tell he did not fit into the area .. I told him this ..You had the bum part down but the a $200 dollar knife was a dead give away that he did not belong in the area because very few homeless type's or the old timer's in the area culd not afford something like that ..

He goes ok and walked out of the office ..

To me if you are going to be undercover in a area where alot of people hang out that is homeless or bum's type most of them have cheap wally world specials as there basic knife not a $200.dollar plus knife cliped to there pant's pocket ..

Like the one guy who see's it alot in the NYC out here in La there is the same type you see it here and there by the clip of knife maker brand stand's out from the rest of the socalled EDC of a pocket knife

 

Last time I went to a flea market I kept running into this other guy at the booths that had knives. I think he was doing what I was and searching through all the junk to see if anyone had anything good.

He might not have been an EDCer but he was at least a knife enthusiast.

 

I just got back from a two week vacation in Southern California and Disney. Didn't see a single tactical bag the entire time I was there. Almost disappointing really.

 

i hope you had one!

 

I had a customer where I work ask about the flashlight holster I have on my belt, then he proceded to ask if I had a flashlight on me. I told him yes I had a flashlight then he wanted to know what kind I told him a Surefire E1B, then he asked to see it and then he showed me the one he was carrying in his fanny pack he had slung over his shoulder. That was a first having someone actually ask if I had a flashlight on me, he told me he collects flashlight then just walked off into the crowd.

 

Most women are EDCers cause they always carry stuff in their bags: from nail products to creams, tissues, bandages, wallets, radios etc. Ask your wife/girlfriend or girl friend.

 

Don't run into many but I have inspired one or two. Co-worker asked what I carry in my "purse" and I show him some of the items. Flashlight, knife, FAK, etc. He starts to ask why I carry each of them. After explaining, I can see the gears turning in his head. He was a fireman and it never occurred that some of that stuff he carried at work could be used outside the station. Now he has a Remora and is slowly adding gear to it.

 

The old man that lives next door to me. I always carry my essentials like a phone, wallet, keys, 4sevens quark mini123 on a retractable key chain hooked to my belt and a leatherman squirt the same way, a knife and a XD9sc pistol. I saw the old man getting in his car one day, with a small bag. So I asked him if he was going out of town, so I could keep an eye on his house while he was gone. He said he was just going to visit a friend for the afternoon. Oh I just saw the bag and thought you would be gone a few days. He just smiled and opened the bag to show me all his comfort supplies (As he called them.) And I thought that's an awesome idea, I need a bag too. I'm running out of pocket space. So here I am. By the way my name is John and I,m an edcaholic.

 

I've run into a couple of folks at work that I suspect are EDCers. No one else would carry the type of stuff they had on them. I also wound up comparing knives with a guy at church and he said his was his EDC blade, then he explained the EDC concept to me. He thought it was pretty cool that I knew what he was talking about.

 

The co-worker that told me about this site is becoming an EDCer. I also meet a EDCer at a garage sale I was having and he asked me if i had any knives or outdoors stuff. Turns out he lives in the back of my subdivision and before we meet i had talked with him on a knife forum. I saw we lived in the same town, never thinking he lived just down the street.

 

I worked with a former Marine who was an EDCer without knowing the term. I showed him the forum and he was off like a shot. We traded knives and gadgets back and forth for about a year before he moved. Our coworkers looked at us like we were insane most days.

 

I was traveling in the metro with some co-students. We were talking about SAKs and MTs, because a friend of mine carried a SAK. Suddenly one girl of our group said, she always carries a big and a small pipe wrench and some sandpaper. We asked her why, and she said it might get handy. That was funny, because we just didn't expected it

 

I have a couple of friends who have a similar mindset in preparation, even if they have never thought of or used the term 'EDC', and through scouting know of many people who are prepared for camping and basic woodcraft (the knife, light, camping gear and so on).

As for meeting complete strangers, I have yet to discover any of the underground hardcore, but have met many people who carry basic things like small SAK's or Leatherman micra's - there was an older gentleman recently in the shop who seemed very happy to see that I had a wee classic SAK for opening boxes (since he didn't think anyone carried them any more) and showed off the micra on his keychain.

 

At Christmas I discovered that my brother has an EDC keychain set up. I had no idea. We don't get to see each other that much and I'm pretty sure he didn't have that last time. I wish I had known in advance because his presents probably would have been a little different.;D

 

I had a disappointing almost moment at work last week. I've been talking to people at work in down time about flashlights, and a little about knives and other EDC stuff. Mostly about how my wife thinks I'm crazy, but partly to find out if anyone has any first hand knowledge of some of the gear I want. I'm don't really have any high end gear yet, so when someone said you need to talk to so and so, he has a really nice flashlight I was excited. Especially since it was a security guard, and even though they don't carry guns where I work, they do get the cool belts and lots of pouches. Turns out it was a no name led that didn't put out any more light then my keychain squeeze light. I was bummed. I tried talking about different flashlight brands with him, but he didn't seem to know any.

 

Met a school buddy at a party last Christmas and I noticed he was wearing brown Blundstone boots (I was wearing black but a different model) and carrying a Maxped fatboy. So I told him how great the boots were and we started talking about his stuff in his Maxped. True enough, he had a light, a knife, a multitool, med kit, etc.

Since it was a party, I only had my keychain with Quark Mini, LM Micra and my Delica 4 with me.