EDC vs Survival : philosophies on what to carry, when to carry, and how to carry

PitchAndMoment

PitchAndMoment

Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
146
My fascination with knives started from researching the best survival knife to buy before embarking on a weekend survival training school last year. I bought a "survival knife" - a big, thick, heavy blade that can be useful for nearly everything, but is perfectly suited for nearly nothing. Most specifically, it is ill suited for everyday carry.

While I do keep that knife handy in a backpack or a vehicle whenever possible, given the inherently unexpected nature of an *actual* survival situation, there's a strong chance my pound-of-steel survival knife won't be handy when its needed most.

My lifestyle / fashion sense / employment situation is not conducive to carrying anything on my belt, so I always have a folder on me: Kershaw Clash when in work attire, and a smaller, more delicate, more concealed Boker Plus (model unknown) when in street clothes. While these are great for opening packages or cutting through take-out, I wouldn't want to baton through timber to access dry firewood with either one.

There are many smallish fixed blades on the market I would love for JIC-EDC (Tops Delta Unit 3, Alaskan Guide Vanguard, BK16, etc) but all share the conundrum of "How do I carry it?"

How do other people reconcile EDC with Survival? White collar professionals? Travelers are always in airports? Work around machinery and tight quarters? What do you do?
 
For EDC, I go with folders or small fixed blades that I pocket carry.

I IWB carry a pistol, so I don't like things on my belt.

My BUG out bad contains larger, more substantial knives.
 
Most white collar guys will never need to baton firewood - especially in a survival scenario. I think you'll find that you can get by just fine with a lot less blade than you think. Our dads and grandpappies survived just fine back in the day with nothing but a Case traditional. Consider maybe a good mid sized folder like a Benchmade 710 or Spyderco Para military 2. They are small enough for EDC, but big enough to take care of business if the need ever arose.
 
powernoodle said:
Most white collar guys will never need to baton firewood - especially in a survival scenario.
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True if you work downtown in a big city, but I'm sure there are those who work in or travel through more remote country, but still have to dress in a manner not conducive to carrying machete on the hip!
 
For my modern day EDC it's my Benchmade 707. Small sleek folder. Perfect for 95% of realistic day to day tasks for me. I don't live in the woods or hunt my own dinner. Hehe

If my life ever depended on a knife, it sure wouldn't be a folding knife no matter how strong the lock may seem. Obviously I don't EDC large fixed blades, hence I don't carry a survival knife.

And just to throw in the 3rd classification... I don't carry or buy into the whole "tactical" knife thing. It's a load of crap. A small EDC folder wouldn't be very well suited for an offensive encounter I grant you, but anything is better than nothing. At the very least it can be an intimidation factor.
 
PitchAndMoment said:
but I'm sure there are those who work in or travel through more remote country
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True dat. But thats where a 20 gallon tupperware container in the trunk of your vehicle comes in to play. You load it with all of your goodies. Consider the limited range of true survival scenarios in the woods: mostly hunters, hikers and maybe (rarely) someone drives down the wrong road, gets lost or stuck, car breaks down, etc. Maybe thats where one's preparation should be targeted. Odds are that you won't end up in the woods with a suit and tie, and only the survival tools you have in your pockets. You had to get there in a vehicle, so you keep your survival gear in the car. Its always a smart idea to have knife, light, phone, etc. on your person at all times, but the 12" bowie knife can stay in the car. Just my take on things.

:thumbup:
 
Try heading out once with a small folder. I use a CRKT Drifter or a new slim Kershaw(forgot the model) I picked up that is sweet. I beleive using the melon more than the blade and you quickly realize you do not have to baton anything if you prepare properly. You can whittle a wrist size branch to dry wood and work it down from there to get a fire started. All reamining issues can be addressd with small notches cut out of a limb. I find what is more important is I carry a firesteel on my key chain. Picked up from firesteel.com as one that laces into you boots. I threw it on the key chain with a mini pry bar and I am good to go. If I am ever in a situation that bad where I am in my work dress slacks then everything has gone horribly wrong in this country. So being stuck in the woods would be a good thing.
 
I agree with much of what the others have said here. For a while I got caught up in buying lots of stuff in preparation for shtf scenarios, but I got tired of buying stuff that I really had no regular use for. Nowadays my EDC consists of the following basics (all of which are easily pocketable), which are helpful in everyday life, and would help quite a bit in a shtf scenario also.
 
my main Edc is a spyderco military in cpm m4 steel. I can't imagine a "survival"scenario it could not handle. then again, some people foresee their survival scenarios much differently than I. I consider it emergency wood work for fire and shelter, so splitting, fuzz sticks, kindling, tent stakes, limbing, etc.... as well as food work, maybe cutting some heavy cloth or seat belt, etc.... something pretty much any decent knife can tackle.

I don't foresee myself having to chop through an airplane fuselage to survive any time soon....
 
powernoodle said:
True dat. But thats where a 20 gallon tupperware container in the trunk of your vehicle comes in to play. You load it with all of your goodies. Consider the limited range of true survival scenarios in the woods: mostly hunters, hikers and maybe (rarely) someone drives down the wrong road, gets lost or stuck, car breaks down, etc. Maybe thats where one's preparation should be targeted. Odds are that you won't end up in the woods with a suit and tie, and only the survival tools you have in your pockets. You had to get there in a vehicle, so you keep your survival gear in the car. Its always a smart idea to have knife, light, phone, etc. on your person at all times, but the 12" bowie knife can stay in the car. Just my take on things.

:thumbup:
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Agreed. I don't get these survival scenarios people throw about. Somehow they are always mysteriously teleported into the middle of woods that contain no small branches.

If you are in the city, a cell phone, some cash, and a multitool are really all you need to get home.

If you are in your car, fill up the trunk, like powernooodle suggested.

If you are planning on walking around the woods...prepare. Bring the stuff you need. Carry a fixed blade. Nobody cares...you are in the woods.

It's all pretty straightforward, once one accepts the idea that, by preparing, they wont just end up in a "survival" situation.
 
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You would be surprised how much knife you don't need to survive. When I was in boy scouts growing up I had a chinese SAK knockoff and I never needed anything more than that on any camping trip I have ever been on. It cut tinder and small branches, opened cans, bent a hook in a car antennae so we could get into our locked van, and filleted a few fish along the way.

Between my Leatherman wave and Kershaw piston it would be like rollin' in a ferarri compared to that, but it still got me by for years.
 
For my EDC i have been carrying a Kershaw Tremor lately. Some people would consider its size excessive (and it really is) but I love big knives. I don't worry too much about self defense in an EDC blade because i'm a big guy, and I think rather handle a situation without resorting to deadly force. It would be alright for basic survival tasks, but in the woods, I like to carry a Cold Steel Bushman. I like the Bushman because it is tough enough for batoning or chopping all day, but it's super light and as easy to handle and carry as a much smaller knife, with some practice.
 
Here in Miami it's polo and slacks daily. For a number years it's been some type of thumb opening clip folder in the back pocket. No one ever said anything about it even in the time it's been the Leatherman sidekick.

My SAK Bantam arrived today and I'm going to try that for a month, clipless and no one handed opening. We'll see. Out and about I've only ever used the blade on the Sidekick and was barely able to use the can opener to open bottles lol.

Survival? Difficult to get away from people down here haha.

But to entertain that idea I would belt carry my Workchamp regularly. A suit coat would cover it.

I suppose you could ankle carry something.
 
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