Explain why you carry the way you do

J

Jigged Bone

Joined
Jun 26, 2009
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Ive been thinking about the various rationales for carry style. Why do you carry the way you do? Is it based on whim or do you have a rationale developed through experience?

Alot of people build their carry style around a medium sized edc utility knife. with other knives or multi tools functioning in a supportive role. The centerpiece knife is usually a folder that has exellent performace and carry attributes, that the user has come to favor through experimentation.

Still others carry a larger tactical/fighting style of knife for dedicated self defense use and team it with a utility folder.

Some have through a process of elimination and perhaps evolving taste, eschewed folders altogether and embraced traditional small slipjoints. But Im curious about why those people choose to carry what they do as well. Why the trapper in a belt sheath and a barlow in the pocket? why that combination for you as oppossed to some other style?

Others are in constant experiment mode, carrying a different folder or slipjoint or fixed blade everyday? Why?

Then there are others who carry, the same way a kid might go to bed with all his toys, they carry all their knives like friends with them. The knife is a kind of companion imbued with a personality and its somehow wrong to leave it home .

The opposite are people who carry thier knives strictly as tools, though I think this must be the most rare on these boards because we all see knives as our hobby. So if we related to knives as purely utilitarian objects we would nt be posting here.

Thanks in advance for anything on the topic
Jigged Bone
 
Welcome to Bladeforums! :)

Y X Y ? I do what I do because it works for me, I'm used to where I wear my knives, I know what I'll find when I reach for one.
 
for me, it's process of elimination by experimentation in search of an EDC to cut open boxes and plastic bags, mostly (many times a day). it should be chemical resistant (i'm a mechanic) and offer excellent ergonomics, one-hand open and close, and be easy to draw and replace from a pocket. i prefer aluminum or metal handles over other materials, so handle shape should assist with grip and retention.

thus, my EDC knife progression:

i started with a Boker Toplock 2. rubber insert on left handle scale eventually fell off and i haven't really been successful at reattaching it. handle shape led to a couple drops. locking/unlocking button falls right where you'd put pressure under hard use, so accidental unlocking became a problem.

i progressed to a small CRKT Crawford/Kasper folder with metal (i think aluminum) handle scales. the selling feature for this knife was the LAWKS which is a lock for the liner lock. love the handle shape. hardly intentionally used the LAWKS feature, but under harder use, my hand tended to engage the LAWKS by itself, which was a comforting happenstance. at some point i bought another, except this one came with zytel handle scales.

i purchased a kershaw tanto blur because i've always been fascinated by tanto blade shapes. i rediscovered the kershaw speedsafe feature after fiddling with the demo leek at varios knife shops. LOVE the speedsafe. i hate the handle insert material, which is like the top of a skateboard. it makes drawing the knife from a pocket feel like it's tearing your pants up, and it makes it difficult to put back in your pocket. the whole knife is also pretty big for me and very agressive looking, so perhaps not the best for EDC and use as my main tool. i carry it now when i'm not planning on needing a knife.

i recently got the itch again and ordered a kershaw shallot. hopefully it combines the features i love from the CRKT with the speedsafe feature and if it does, it'll become my EDC
 
On a normal day I carry two knives. Normal is defined as any day that I'm leaving the house for an extended period of time.

The knives have changed over the years, but my constant every day setup is a larger, single blade, locking folder in my right pocket for any heavy work that needs to be done, and a smaller knife in my left pocket for food.

Currently, I'm carrying a Spyderco Paramilitary as my heavy use EDC. It just replaced a Benchmade 710 because I was ready for a much smaller knife, and the Paramilitary is the perfect size for what I need.

In my left pocket is a Victorinox Soldier. I use the blade for food and the tools whenever I need a screwdriver or, more times than not, a beer opened.

This setup allows me to have a clean knife at all times for food if the situation arises that I need to cut food somewhere where there isn't a knife. The Soldier's blade rarely touches anything other than food (it may open the mail every now and then), and the Paramilitary never touches food. I can keep the Soldier clean, but don't really have to worry about how clean the Para is.

I don't rotate EDCs... I don't have the patience for that. I've carried the Soldier for well over six years, and I'm thinking the Paramilitary will be in my pocket for a long, long time as well (I said it before, but this knife is damn near perfect... I don't see myself ever needing more for an EDC).

I have no need for a self defense knife and never make a purchase or carry decision based on defense. Nor do I feel the need to carry an extra "sheeple friendly" knife. Why add the weight when I've never encountered someone who was afraid of a knife?

When I'm bumming around the house, I don't keep a knife in my pocket, there's no need. If something needs to be cut, there's plenty of knives within walking distance that'll do the job.

I do take my EDCs with me on vacation, but only because I'm a creature of habit. I throw them in my pack and most of the time that's where they stay.

I carry this way because, again, I'm a creature of habit. It works. I always have the right knife for what I need without carrying too much weight.
 
I carry what I have found to work for me.
 
I carry a locking folder tip up in my right front pocket and a slipjoint usually in the left front pocket but sometimes in my right along with the other knife. In the woods I either have a fixed blade on my belt or in my pack with me. For those times a slippie is still in my pocket.
 
At school...
Spyderco Dragonfly due to it's small size. Pocketable, makes a great keychain and does not have an intimidating look. The FFG goes through paper, packages (boxes, clamshells etc.) and science experiments (plants, small animals) very very easily. Wish they made them in another colour other than black and white. This is the only knife I carry when I'm teaching.

Weekends (active)...
A Spyderco Endura PS. My main carry for active weekends... Fishing, boating etc. I love combo edges on a larger knife like the endura. Not too heavy and still pocketable. Pretty corrosion resistant too but the lockback does collect a fair amount of gunk which can be hosed out.

Weekend (inactive)...
Just got myself a Wayne Goddard recently and this is my go to knife for laid back weekends. For when I'm out with the GF cycling, to the beach or going around town. White micarta handles looks very nice and it is very light because there are no steel liners. Hollow ground blade means a very keen edge. Not too large or tactical looking to scare non knife people.

I seldom find the need to carry more than 1 knife other than when camping. In which case it'll be the Endura and a SAK Farmer. I'm toying with the idea of getting a pliers based multi-tool to complement my knife at school and during active weekends. Still unsure which model to go with but it'll definitely be something from Leatherman.

What I carry depends largely on the following...
  • Need (circumstances that I foresee the knife will be used for)
  • People (or more appropriately how they will react to that knife)
  • Law (how I could justify carry the said knife)

ETA: I carry only Spydercos and only lockbacks as I've gotten used to them and I more or less have build up muscle memory opening and closing them. No point fumbling about when I need the knife deployed.
 
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unfortuenately, my main consideration for EDC has to be the question "what is it legal for me to carry?"
so anything with over 3 inches blade lenght or a locking or fixed blade are out.
anything dangerous looking is also out.

the second consideration is avoiding making the knife look like a weapon.
end result is I'm carrying nothing but a swisscard (technicaly illegal, but far as I can tell it's considered an exception to the rule)
 
Almost every day, there is a small SAK with 2 or 3 layers in my pocket; Soldier, Spartan, Climber, something like that. It is a habit, just like carrying my watch, glasses, cell phone and wallet. Usually that SAK is all I need, but I do rotate between my SAK's, mainly because I like them. An other reason is that I like to solve problems with my SAK, I like to think about how I can solve something by using my SAK.

When I am camping or helping my father on his farm, then I also carry other knives. Mainly because a SAK its blade is sometimes too small or to weak. On the farm it is usually a working knife, like a Friedrich Herder or EKA Swede 60. Strong knives that I can use for heavier tasks. When camping I take a bigger folder and/or fixed knife with me.

I don't carry knives for self defense. In fact, if I would be under attack, I wouldn't know how to use my knife to defend myself and I am not interested in learning that. My knives are tools and toys that I like.

And since I live in a very crowded country, with lots of people everywhere, I prefer carrying knives that don't scare people too much. A SAK, an Opinel or other traditional knife usually doesn't scare people.
 
I carry a clinch pick next to the belt buckle with handle down, it works wery well for its intended purpose.
 
I carry couple of folders, could be considered tactical I guess but they serve utility purposes for me (ZT 350 / BM 530). That's the urban carry for me, knives that I take when I go around doing whatever I do in everyday life or when I go travelling.

Then I escape the city to countryside, where there is naturally more freedom to use fixed blades. I either use my finer knives around the habitance or if I take a daywalk I may take something light such as Mora 2000 with me. I do plan on getting a proper slipjoin or two to fit the countryside theme. :)

I like all kinds of knives really. My feeling of carrying certain type of knife changes compared to enviroment (urban/country).
 
Indoors/in warm weather my mainstay is a mid-sized locking folder in waist band to keep handy and to conceal at the same time - no knives allowed here so secrecy is the key. No visible clips either, but most of the time you can get away with a multitool in plain sight. Not in my line of work, though. So the EDC only comes out in private, in an emergency or when a sheeple-approved, legitimate excuse for using a knife appears. Even then I have to pretend that I'm "getting a knife from some place legal" like a drawer and so on. Pathetic.

In supporting roles a small sheeple knife (normally a Dragonfly but I'm warming up to SAKs in that role) in left pocket and a Leatherman Micra with keys and Photon light in the right.

Outer layer of clothes: a FB suited for SD in right pocket, a flashlight in left, a multitool or bigger SAK in breast pocket.

This has basically been my mode of carry for ages, with minor adjustments, and when I get new stuff, I try to adapt the new stuff into my old system and not vice versa. So I don't buy and carry folders that are too hefty or don't have a clip, for example.

When I get home and change, I only take my keys (+Micra, Photon) and phone and leave the rest of my stuff where it is. For home, yard or excercise I grab something from the EDC drawer.

This way I'm never without a blade, a light, a phone and some basic tools. All bases covered.
 
I carry a one hand opener on my right front pocket.

I keep either a multitool on my belt or a sak in my pocket.

Also a leatherman squirt e4 rides on my keychain (which i dangle of a caribeener)

That is usual.

Sometimes I just carry one thing at a time.
 
thanks for the replies! i like knowing what people carry but reading about why they do is even more useful for me.
 
I have a case stockman in my RFP for all around tasks, Vic cadet clipped to my RFP as a multi tool, a Victorinox classic in my watch pocket for the scissors and the toothpick+tweezers, I usually don't carry a one handed folder unless I know I'm going to be using a knife quite often that day.
 
I typically carry a Spyderco clipped in RFP (Exact model varies a lot) for easy access for general purpose cutting, and a 2 or 3 layer SAK loose in my LFP. A little awkward to dig out from among my keys, change, etc., but I only use it for the tools and food prep, and don't need it as much as the dedicated knife. If I have a backpack or laptop bag with me, there'll probably be a plier-based multitool in it as well, for more variety. That hardly ever gets used though; an Electrician, Compact or Climber meets 90% or more of my pocket tool needs.
 
I stick with one pocket knife in the right front pocket. It is always there and always gets put back there when I use it. I don't carry a knife to go armed. I'm too old and slow to count on a knife for that purpose. I'd probably end up cutting myself. If I buy a knife with a pocket clip on it the first thing I do is remove it. Those things are great to have if you want everybody to know that you have a knife and have caused me to lose a knife on several occasions by snagging on something and slipping it out of my pocket.

To me a knife is a tool and one that gets used often. Unless I am hunting or fishing I never carry more than one knife. Being familiar with a knife means I don’t have to think about it when I am using it, so I always carry the same knife until it fails to provide the performance I expect of it. This can take years or in the case of most assisted openers I have tried, from a couple of weeks to a few months. They have too many small parts that don't mix well with pocket lint in my opinion, so I avoid them now.

I have been carrying a knife with a blade of 154 CM for a little over a year. While I really like the knife, that is why I'm still carrying it, the edge doesn't hold up to use very well. At 57 RC it is not as hard as it should be and this one is destined for the drawer of no return as soon as I can find a replacement.
 
Why do I carry?
To have a useful cutting tool in my pocket, first and foremost. There are other reasons, but that's the main one (and I guess the other reasons might simply influence *what* I carry, and not why).

How do I carry?
Well, the how is based on what works. I'm usually not carrying a pack, so my clothing carries my accoutrements. Pockets provide the easiest access (for me) and the least overt display (as opposed to belt carry or IWB, etc.). So, that's usually what I do: choose a knife that fits in my pocket, and still does whatever job I'll need it to do. In that case, a mid-sized one-hand-opening folder fits the bill perfectly, both for work duty and recreational use.
Sometimes, however, that still scares the sheeple. So, I also carry a slipjoint. Usually, that's in whatever dominant-side pocket that's not already occupied by the single-blade/one-handed folder.
Please note: I also enjoy carrying a slipjoint, since I'm drawn to their traditional appearance, the materials used to make them, and their simplicity. I carried a slipjoint long before I ever owned a one-hander, and if I don't *need* my one-hander, then I'll carry ONLY a slippie. Simply a preference.
If I carry a balisong, it takes the place of my hard-use/utility folder, since that's what it is (only a bali is more entertaining, since you can flip it around :D ).
If I carry a fixed blade, it's usually not a regular occurrence, but only when needed. Most often, you'll see me with a fixed blade on my belt if I'm hiking or camping, or if I'm at work and it's very cold outside (I'd rather use a fixed blade than a folder when working in gloves).
Aside from all that, I have a couple knives that are like man-jewelry, and I only carry those if I'm going to dress up.

I think that sums it up. Pretty much.
 
Hmathews said:
I have been carrying a knife with a blade of 154 CM for a little over a year. While I really like the knife, that is why I'm still carrying it, the edge doesn't hold up to use very well. At 57 RC it is not as hard as it should be and this one is destined for the drawer of no return as soon as I can find a replacement.
Click to expand...
Mind if I ask what it is? My current go-to is a Para-Military in S30V, which I've also been carrying for nearly a year.
 
I'm constantly switching stuff around in my pockets, taking some things out and putting new things in. It's all a matter of what I plan on doing for the day. If I plan on staying out later into the night, I'll toss a flashlight into the mix. When it's really hot, I'll try to carry more stainless than carbon steel.
 
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