EDC vs FK

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,270
Well, I have the first part ;) but I've been thinking a partner to that EDC would be one of the FK but being moved out of production may take a while to find one on the secondary market, that plus building up funds for one will take a while too, but it seems like a good combo.

Here are some shots of mine taken today, a nicer small fixed blade you'd be hard pressed to find I think, so very well thought out, edge taken down to a great slicer and handle contours that hug your hand back, a great knife. Combine that with the special 3v treatment, win and double win...Nice Nathan and Lorien !

IMG_4415 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

IMG_4417 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


IMG_4416 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


IMG_4419 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


So for those of you that have both, how's that been working for you? While this fills my small fixed blade niche, I also carry a thinner handled Murray Carter neck knife sometimes as well, since the EDC handle is fuller but that also makes it more sure footed too.

But I am lacking a larger fixed blade to round out the setup.

Add your photos here if you would, we always love seeing more photos of Nathan's work and Lorien's designs

G2
 
I think everybody is out doing something fun in the sun except you and I, last of the diehard couch potatoes (I've had enough crazy traffic for the moment).

That FK you posted : YAH ! I'd use that. Looks like what I was trying to make from my 3V Cold Steel Pendleton Hunter.
 
Gary, as always I love the quality of your photos :thumbsup:

What did you take down the edge to? IIRC, they come from Nathan's shop at 18 degrees per but he had commented somewhere in the past that he had taken his own EDC down to 13 degrees which gives him both an excellent slicing edge plus retaining the edge durability. I forgot to ask him then if he had done that to his D3V, D2 or both.
 
Wowbagger, that is an EDC Gary has posted. He'll be looking for an FK in due course.
 
Yep it's an EDC and I've only had to strop the blade as the edge is still excellent shape
G2
 
Here's my 4V EDC doing grilling duty last night. :thumbsup::)
lILiRci.jpg
 
I can't fall in love with the EDC. I did with the FK though.

I've embarked on a small fixed blade and sheath shopping spree to explore if it is just the size, or a CPK EDC specific issue. Admittedly, these small blades that are in and around the same size as my beloved Shiros, have stiff competition indeed.
 
Can't say that I fell in love with the EDC at first. Handle felt short. Palm swell added unnecessary girth. Accompanied with a sheath that did not conform to the norms that I was familiar with (integrated belt loop, imperfect spacing for third-party attachment systems). This allowed me to use it harder than I would have had its perceived shortcomings not been present. In short, I did not care for it so I did not care what was done with it. I reprofiled without worry, induced lateral stresses without fear, scraped concrete residue off of stucco walls with abandon and added micro bevels of varying degrees to deal with micro chipping and less than stellar edge retention. In the end, as I learned more about CPK D3V and 4V within the confines of the applied geometry, I began to figure out if, how and where the EDC belonged in a workflow. And then I started to like the EDC pattern. A lot.
 
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Initially I tried the EDC in the kitchen, although it was not primarily intended for that purpose, but it was a no go as it squished most things. If the early adapter forumites recall, the EDC was primarily designed for a workman's tool belt: contractor, electrician, plumber, HAVC technician and so on. I use my D2 for cutting to size and then eviscerating boxes. I used my CRKs just for sh*ts and giggles a few times for those purposes and it was more like sh*t than giggles!

TBT, if I found myself abandoned and wayward in some backcountry place and only had an option of one knife on me with the selection being out of my EDCs / CRKs and the Spyderco Millie, I would take the Millie with CF/Ti in S90V without any hesitation. I would then take the EDC over any CRK without a hesitation! The CRKs are nice urban folding knives but I would not want them out in the boonies. But when in a SHTF situation, I would like to have my LC, my FK and my EDC as an all can do crew. Of course things may change up a bit when the NASK comes to Papa Bear ;)

Edited to add: of course no folder that I own would stand the lateral test and the tip strength of Nathan's EDC but I would like to see a slightly bigger version of the EDC with a longer blade just like the one that Nathan had depicted on his computer. I am not quite sure as to when and how an EDC 2.0 would likely trespass into the future FK 2.0 territory!
 
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adamlau said:
less than stellar edge retention.
Click to expand...

Can you expand upon this a little bit please? We are always focused on edge retention, a lot of what we do revolves around that. To read "less than stellar edge retention" is disturbing to me. Can you elaborate on this a little?
 
My "show off" pair, in G10. (My user EDC wears maroon micarta, my going to use it someday FK is in black micarta).
http://i.imgur.com/8pbs78x.jpg
I really like the EDC; but I've got several knives in that "3-just under 4 inch" size range that I also like; so it hasn't left the competition behind (speaking of carry time, not performance - I honestly haven't put it to "hard use")
*edited to add: I gave the blades a quick wipe - guess I should have let them dry completely before the pictures.
 
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I was lucky enough to land an edc in 4v. For me the edc was love at first grip. The only thing i wasnt crazy about at first was the sheath but after wearing it around for a few weeks and getting used to it, and i like it. I build elevators for a living and i use it at work to strip sheathing and process boxes. The 4v keeps an edge forever. I liked it so much i ordered a second one in d2. Now i just need 1 in d3v to round out the set.

The fk is super comfy in hand and has great blade geometry. Its just a little big to carry daily. If i was going hiking id definitely take the fk over the edc. They're 2 great blades that fill 2 different roles for me and i highly recommend them both. Would i pair them together probably not, they're too similar in size. Id probably do the edc with something like the hdfk or lc.. maybe a axe if i know im going to be doing a lot of wood processing.
 
my edc gets used in the kitchen all the time, not the best tool for every job, but it works pretty well for a lot of stuff
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Can you expand upon this a little bit please? We are always focused on edge retention, a lot of what we do revolves around that. To read "less than stellar edge retention" is disturbing to me. Can you elaborate on this a little?
Click to expand...

Adam usually shows up pretty late in the evenings (CA resident so on West Coast time, plus the new house and two younger kids to put to bed) so hopefully he will then be able to expound. I have had private conversations with him and I understand that his usage on construction sites may be more demanding from the EDC than most. I have not heard from him regarding the 4V version but I think that he tore up the edge on his D3V rather quickly. Let's hope that he will come by to elaborate later on tonight.
 
IMO if it's a matter of scraping against hard abrasive material, the edge needs to be way more obtuse. Like 20-23 dps is where I would start.

No way I'd expect retention with significant lateral forces at 13, 15 or even 18 dps.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Can you expand upon this a little bit please? We are always focused on edge retention, a lot of what we do revolves around that. To read "less than stellar edge retention" is disturbing to me. Can you elaborate on this a little?
Click to expand...
That particular comment should be read within the context of having reprofiled as the edge down to ~12 dps on both D3V and 4V offerings without a micro.

Casinostocks said:
...I think that he tore up the edge on his D3V rather quickly.
Click to expand...

Correct. Deinstalled door kerf weatherstripping before painting a double door. Jamb was of paint grade pine. Paint overspray settled into the kerf and solidified as it dried. New and unused EDC in D3V was used to clear the kerf of latex paint residue before the reinstallation of weatherstripping. Edge would catch on gobs of solidified paint which necessitated a twisting motion to dislodge the residue. By the time I was finished with the kerf on one side of the jamb, the edge along the tip was catching light. Being that I wanted deeper penetration into the kerf and hoping to improve slicing ability, I went about other tasks for the rest of the day and came back the next day with a 12/15 edge. More of the same along the tip. Finished up and moved to scrape off concrete splatter on smooth finished stucco. That was an absolute edge killer. Which leads to...

JustinFournier said:
IMO if it's a matter of scraping against hard abrasive material, the edge needs to be way more obtuse.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I currently keep the D3V at 12/20 and the 4V at 12/15. I probably perform more work (as far as the use of a sharpened edge is considered) along the lines of scraping and residue removal than anything else. While I could have used a utility blade, a hot knife and a scraper to perform the tasks above, I wanted to attempt a single tool resolution. My thoughts regarding the EDC is a work-in-progress, mostly due to not having to use an edged tool daily. Use is intermittent as I am not a tradesman performing repetitive cutting/scraping tasks on the hour, every hour in the field. And I do not believe I use the EDC any harder than anyone else as we all have our own use cases. Perhaps a poor analogy, but I liken the EDC to a Corvette ZR-1. You can get it back from Lingenfelter (reprofiled at a lower angle) with slightly reduced reliability (edge stability) over factory, but will still lose Sonoma Raceway (task) to a Formula 1 (task specific tool). It would be fun to run, regardless.
 
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