I used to be a knife nut. My knife nut days go back to when I was a kid, fascinated by the blades. As an adult, I collected more knives that I ever had any use for. I had some customs like Randall's, a few Morsheths, and some others. In my 30's I became sort of an EDC nut. But as I aged, and went through life and had more life experiences to look back on, both my knife nut obsession as well as my EDC, and gun nut obsession faded. I ended up selling off and giving away most my stuff, and just went back to carrying what I did when I was a young guy roaming mourned, serving in the army, and having all sorts of misadventures that I somehow survived while being under equipped. The EDC stuff has become like the knife thing, woefully over done. I guess some people think you need a 17 round Glock, a backpack of gear including a grappling hook, to run down to the corner store for a quart of milk. My everyday knife now is a keychain size little SAK, and theres a beat up 15 year old Fenix E01 on my keyring that has given me enough light to find my way in a wide variety of places from a dark trail in the woods, to a black stairwell in a office building that had a major blackout, to helping Metro Rail employees guide people out of a stalled D.C. Metro train way under ground. The one time I actually had to crawl into an upside down old Datsun B210 that the moron driver rolled and was hanging upside down in her seatbelt, a 1 3/4 inch blade with cardboard box glue still smeared on it, cut the seatbelt just fine, dropping the hysterical obese driver on her head while crawled backwards out of the smoking wreck. Seat belts really can be cut through with a Victorinox classic if its sharp. And contrary to what some knife manufacturers would have you believe, you don't need serrations, just a decently sharp blade. A box cutter will do fine. My pockets are lightly loaded these days, but I seam to be able to survive that day without 50 yards of magic paracord, a tactical knife, a backup knife, two backup flashlights, a full torx driver set, and all the other junk the makers of the EDC stuff would have you think you need. Like all things, moderation is the key. Any small pocketknife, a AA or AAA flashlight, a Bic lighter, my wallet and small EDC handgun, and I go about my day. So far, so good.
Thank you for your story. I seem to be on the same path. Looking for more functional carry items and less "tacti-cool" items. I have a drawer full of knives that I'm starting to pare down to the bare essentials.
I'm a bit older than a lot of the people on this sight and I'm a firm believer in moderation. I always remember what the people like my Dad used to EDC back before there was EDC. Cigarettes in his left shirt pocket, pencil and small note pad in the right one, Zippo and keys in his right pants pocket, handkerchief in his left one, wallet in his back left pants pocket and finally a two bladed jack knife in his rear right pocket. There wasn't much those old guys couldn't deal with on a day to day basis.
Being a recovering edc addict myself, and having gone through much of the same process as that described here, I have to say that I love reading these down to earth, realistic approaches to edc My edc is now down to basics...Victorinox Explorer Plus knife, single cell AA flashlight, Leatherman Squirt, Bullet pen. I still feel a little excessive carrying both the SAK and the Squirt, but the two tools compliment each other well and are pretty easy on the pocket compared to one of the larger one size fits all multi tools. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I'm in my 70's now, and I remember my dad in those post ww2 years that were the 1950's. A Case peanut, one of those chrome Everready AAA penlights that looks like a fat fountain pen, a Sear's 4-way keychain screw driver on his keychain, a P-38 in his wallet, and a Zippo. Dad was one of those old depression era guys who after getting through the Great Depression then went off to fight WW2. Somehow he got through it all with just a few basic items in his pockets. I replaced the Zippo with a Bic, more reliable and I can see when its low on fuel to replace. A small notepad in short pocket with a gold pencil or some kind of short pencil stub.
Besides keys and wallet and phone my basic EDC is a SAK Walker or Opinel#6 small flashlight, Clipper lighter and a Glock G42. I adjust as needed work calls for a bigger light . Working security at church calls for a different gun I may a Fisher space pen and notebook . Going to the woods a Mora Kansbol etc.
I always enjoy your posts JK, over in the traditional forum. I have also downsized to a small swisschamp, wallet and a little Seecamp. I have a small flashlight by the back door in case I need it.
im going through a similar phase. I blame the lockdowns and improving products and cheaper prices for driving down my demand for so many things. I get by with just a folding "utility knife" box cutter ,a pen , a comb and a mirror. I am home more often and never far from an actual toolbox and seldom need a tool anyways. I might treat myself to the more "Gucci" tier gear but really just out of impulse. Its a bit of a conundrum I have lately that I don't know what i want to spend my money on. I have also become weary of buying stuff that might break and fall apart.
I've got a drawer full of leathermans that have barely seen daylight, I'm much happier with a two layer sak or smaller. I'd sell them if I thought they'd sell.
This is interesting in a number of ways Everyone EDCs, even if they know it's a term for it or not. Those who knows are probably compensating for something. Sure, we benefit from our tools to some extent, but lets face it, we are not spending time on this and / or other forums because the improvements we are able to make to our EDC because of it, and as such neither because the efficiency improvements in our day to day life outweighs the time we invest in this research. For most, the ROI is wildly negative The things society needed in the 40s and 50s were men doing manly things. I'm sure men (and women if applicable) of that era would choose some of the modern tools we use today if they had the selection and resources we have, but just because it was better, and not to inflate their manliness. Some of us might live really interesting and challenging lives, maybe to the degree where the type of knife or flashlight you carry can make a real difference, but for most of us, it won't. I think most of us would prefer to not live our modern sedated lives as we do, and our EDC might be a tool to make that into something more real. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If it actually fills you with motivation to do something with your life, or if it's just for fueling your fantasy and the pleasure of creating content on Instagram. If it brings value to your life - rock on! Whatever the motivation, be real about it. Don't get into a race with the Joneses and sacrifice the improtant things in life or acquire debt just to play with the big boys on Instagram. I've always preferred to have very little on my person, and even though I enjoy this game of looking for the "right" tools and in the process have accumulated more than enough, I won't carry more than necessary at any given time. I appreciate both traditional gear and modern gear. The former mostly for their looks, and the latter for their functionality. I have place in my life for both. Tactical and modern is hardly synonymous, and I'm not intrigued by bringing tactical (in it's typical definition) gear into my everyday life. What I've also learned is that for much of my younger years I was probably more dependent on others than I come to consider as healthy and responsible. I grew up in a protective society and always having someone look out for you, lowers your guard in an unhealthy way. With time I think I've found a reasonable balance. I'm now reasonably self reliant, but without going overboard. My actual EDC is probably not shrinking. It was never much to begin with, but my collection of tools will slowly shrink as I gain experience with what works or not, what I appreciate and not. And I'll go on to perpetually reduce and refine accordingly.
