How do you choose what to carry?

BJE

BJE

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Apr 12, 2006
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Here lately I have having a very hard time picking a knife to make my usual edc. I used to put a different knife in my pocket often and just used whatever I felt like that day. The problem with that strategy is that I soon longed for a new knife once I had carried the others for a while.

I have decided I want to limit my knife purchases and put my money towards paying bills and other neccessities. I also want to put some miles on one knife so that it actually shows some wear and I when pass it on some day, they will know that it served me well. Plus I like having my daily loyal friend that is always with me. Consider this my "one and only knfe experiment". I want to try to use just one knife for a while to see if I can do it.

The problem is that I am a knife nut and it is hard to pick the "best one" as we all know there is no such knife for us. I have the choices narrowed down between these three

1. Case CV Trapper with yeller handles

2. Victorinox Tinker that has been slightly modified by me for comfort purposes

3. Victorinox Soldier

I love all three knives. I have had them a pretty long time so they are no longer new and all have been well used. I really like the Trapper as a stronger knife that develops character due to the carbon steel blades and the tarnishable/scratchable bolsters, the SAK's seem to be more practical for what I use knives for on a daily basis. They have more tools and they also require less care (although I enjoy oiling my Trapper, it is humid in SC and it rusts easily). The Trapper seems like overkill most of the time, but there are alot of times I appreciate the extra blade length and heft. I generally prefer the Tinker over the Soldier rencently, due to the folksier feels of the cellidor and it also has more tools, but the Soldier is almost the best of both worlds being that it is stronger like the trapper and has other tools like the Tinker, it is almost the perfect knife.

I have been switching them up recently, using the SAK's at work and putting the Trapper in my pocket when off the clock and whenever I am in the woods. I might be able to make this method work for good, but I wish I only loved one knife. It would make choosing which one will be my companion for the day easier. It is like choosing a favorite child or which puppy to sell.

I sometimes even cheat on them with my 110, 112, and a Yeller Case Soddie Jr. So, how do you all choose which knife to carry that day, and any suggestions that will make my chosing easier?

BTW: I am leaning more towards the Trapper, because I have lost the Soldier twice recently and didn't shed a tear for it, just was going to buy another next time I place an order. I imagine the same would be true for the Tinker, but I wouldn't like losing my Case. It costs more and has hard earned battle scars that I am quite fond of. The SAK's are just so useful though. I think I need a shrink:eek::).
 
you are on the right track, ya got something yeller in your pocket:D:thumbup:
for me its pretty much my yeller med stockman and my buck alpha dorado, sometimes on the weekend i get crazy and carry my camillus 110 clone:)
SAKs are highly thought of so ya cant go wrong with em my son loves his, very useful
good luck with the decision, perhaps just carry all three, look problem solved:D
merry christmas
ivan
 
There are some knives I carry more on chore days, but mostly I do as Campbell does, I look, I fondle, I choose for the day.
 
knarfeng said:
There are some knives I carry more on chore days, but mostly I do as Campbell does, I look, I fondle, I choose for the day.
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Same here only sometimes you can hear my wife in the background saying " would you just pick a knife so we can go already!!!!" Payback for 22 years of making me wait. :D
 
I think you got it.

Which knife would be most unhappy to loose?
It means you are more fond of it.
That is the knife to carry
 
If it is an heirloom candidate, I say the trapper, the long blades will write the story. Carbon is maintenance, but come on,... you know you love the maintenance as much as using it.:D
Merry Christmas
 
I have given up on just carrying one knife at a time. My usual combo is a sak and a trapper and it works well for me.
 
I pick an edc based on what I think I'll be doing that day. At work, I carry my Case peanut because it is dressy and carries easily in the pockets of dress pants. On my own time, I usually carry a multitool (Vic Spirit or Leatherman Juice) for the utility as I putter around the house and garage. Lately I've been carrying the multi together with a small fixed blade (Mini Canadian) in a two-slot pocket sheath.

If I am not in the mood for the bulk, my other go-to edc is a Wenger SI (alox scout pattern).
 
I have the knives all numbered and just give the big wheel a spin...lol...

LV_big.jpg


Seriously tho some of it depends on what I am wearing but normally I will have a pocket clip knife and a slipjoint in the watch pocket or a SAK in the tool pocket...I just kinda rotate through the knives, changing every few days,,,
 
I've found that the best I can do is narrow it down to just a couple. I couldn't make it with one knife. Two or three, okay.

I figure look at what you wear 95% of the time. Then factor in what kind of pocket knife chore is the most common.

If you come up with a knife you really like, and it will cover what you do most of the time, and fit comfortably in what you wear most of the time, you're probably there. Put all the other out of sight someplace (attick, celler) and just use it.
 
The one knife I ALWAYS have is my SAK Huntsman. Because of its variety of tools. But 99% of the time I have at least one other knife with me. And that is decided by what I am doing that day, what I am wearing, who I might need to help out, and what strikes my fancy. I sometimes carry 4-5 knives, even though I don't need to, but because I want them with me. Sometimes I just pull one of them out to look at and fondle. I guess I am weird, but I love them and I want them with me. Can't do all of them, but can do as many as I can. What I pull out to use depends on the need, and who it is I'm helping, if anyone.

Bill
 
I just stand in front of the closet with a dull, pained look on my face until either my wife or my Weimaraner wake me from my reverie. Then I just take the one I had wanted to carry all along. :p
 
I carry a single knife for a week or two.
I break new knives in that way.
They get sharpened and patinaed (is that a word?)
By the end of the time the knife has grown on me.

Then I get to pick.
Mostly a different pattern from the one I have been carrying.
And I shift from carbon to stainless.
It is not dependent on my work clothing as I am always dressed in 'informal hi-tech'

For the Sabbath, I choose something smaller and nice like a small bone stockman in stainless.

I have some unused Bokers, so they are in line for first use.
I have some new knives coming for Chunuka, so the Bokers might get bounced out of line....
 
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Well for me it is a Scibeer Woodsman SAK that I always carry. Then I usually have one of my locking folders or slipjoint on me, and last I have a Coleman (Camillus) trapper that I carry because at least two or three times a day I have someone say "hey, can I borrow your knife".....
 
I can't seem to keep my EDC rotation under 8 knives. But a Stockman seems to handle most chores for me so it sees the most pocket time. You're right about the carbon blades, they do seem to "remember" some of their chores and I like that.
 
It's been easy for me for the past three months. I'm still a tacticool guy that is just getting a real first taste of the traditional slippies. I've made myself a promise to carry my edc set up for at least one month before I switch over to something else as this gives me a chance to use what I'm carrying. I ALWAYS carry two knives , a big, single blade, locking, clipped, in my right front pocket and a slipjoint in my left. Todays carry is a ZT0200 and a Case Cigar Whittler, both a Christmas gift from me to me.

As far as picking a combo each month I just go with what I enjoy and miss carrying.:thumbup:
 
I have 57 folders to choose from. In reality only about 10-12 see actual pocket time. 16 are traditional slippies the rest are more modern "tactical" blades.
One thing that is a constant is my Case medium Stockman Amber bone SS. It is always in my RF pocket then I usually have one or two more knives on my person.
Too many choices. My Dad carried the same knife for 44 years in his FRP.
 
I will grab a different one once in a while but I generally carry one for weeks at a time. lately its been the Amherst trapper. I do prefer carbon and I'm not sure what the steel is on the trapper. 440A maybe,and I'm usually a stockman guy, but the trapper has me for the time being.Sometimes I'll go into the box, pick one out put it in my pocket, have some coffe, then go back upstairs and grab the one I've been carrying for a while. It's like a comfort thing.You think you need a shrink BJE, I need a shrink andmeds.
I'm looking in a box for knives. Blues is looking in a closet?:eek:I gotta see this!
 
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