How low (or high) profile must your EDC be?

When i carry a fix blade I make sure it doesn't look tactical or aggressive, other than that i get a lot of complements on my knives and sheaths. This is a sample of one. It has kydex but the leather wrapped around it makes it look more traditional.
Suna4.jpg
 
J&G-Designs said:
2012-05-02_19-33-29_795.jpg
for my Benchmade or
IMG_1887.jpg
for my leatherman. As long as you don't look like trouble or causing trouble you should be fine.
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Absolutely love the look of your folder sheath. Very nice. :thumbup:

Like a few have already said. Where I live, if you aren't acting like an idiot - the law isn't going to mess with you. OTOH I have confirmed stories that the OSP (Ohio State Patrol) can be a tad curious as to people carrying nice folders. I've never had a problem, folder or fixed...with State or Local.
 
MrPocketsOfSteel: Thanks! Yea if you don't look/act like a fool/trouble maker you should be fine to carry a pocket knife.
 
Rural Va. I can carry anything for the most part as long as its not concealed. When I visit my parents it the BK17.
 
Here, the laws are kind of fuzzy. You're allowed to carry a pocket knife, but if the police wants they can confiscate anything that can be used as a weapon. Concealed carry it is.
 
I live in a tri- state area and laws range widely among the three. The most problematic is DE which limits you to sub 3" folders. From there, what I carry somewhat depends on the company I'm keeping, but my CRK Small Sebenza is typically innocent enough for almost all occasions. My wife, a liberal teacher, calls it "my little boy scout knife," yet I had one guy call it a weapon when I used it to help him out at a BBQ - apparently the 8" Chefs knife he couldn't find was somehow less offensive. Needless to say, we parted company. My point is it's very hard to figure how people will react to any particilar knife. That, and it's easy to underestimate the power of stupidity. For that reason, in those rare instance I'm around work collegues (white collar job; usually work at home), my EDC switches to a Leatherman Micra
 
As a kid in the boyscouts I once carried a bowie knife on my belt while doing some urban orienteering. 10+ inch blade of pakistani steel. :D

In the army I carried a SOG seal pup on the belt

These days it's a SAK alox Classic on the keychain and a lockback loose in the right hand jacket pocket.

I would say my taste in knives has gotten better over the years.
 
I dont really like pocket clips.:eek: I feel like eveybody in the room knows I have a knife. And I feel that when I have a knife clipped to my pocket it makes it hard to get my hand in that pocket to get stuff out.

So I just keep MOST of my knives free floating in my right hand pocket. Unless they have a deep carrying wire clip, cause then it kinda looks like a pen. Just IMO.
 
J&G-Designs said:
2012-05-02_19-33-29_795.jpg
for my Benchmade or
IMG_1887.jpg
for my leatherman. As long as you don't look like trouble or causing trouble you should be fine.
Click to expand...

Just curious, but why do you leave the pocket clip on if the knife is going to be in a sheath?

As for the OP: Where I live knives are mostly ok. I see a lot of pocket clips. No need to go more under cover than that.
 
+1 on r-winter.
I agree, never had any problems carrying a clipped folder in winnipeg.
Its also very coincidental that you cut trees as I do as well as a part time gig.
 
Styg said:
Just curious, but why do you leave the pocket clip on if the knife is going to be in a sheath?
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I don't always use the sheath i usually keep it clipped in my pocket. On my belt i always carry my leatherman sheathed. Don't want to carry both and look like Batman! Lol:D
 
Here in Texas most people don't have a cow over knives, unless they are from somewhere else. Some businesses have "policies" about carrying "weapons". As long as you what you carry is "appropriate for the circumstances", no one really cares. When I worked at Dell for nearly 9 years (pre-911), company policy was already very "weapon unfriendly" but managers didn't care if you carried a folder, whether clipped to a belt/pants-pocket openly or in the pocket. Lots of guys carried sheathed folders on their belts everyday. They were typical tools. No one acted stupid or "Rambo" and no one cared.

My visible EDCs now are a 3 inch locking Buck clipped to my LFP and a 9 inch OAL fixed. The fixed is open carry. Black handle, black sheath, slim. Against black pants, it is not obvious. The only comments I get from cops/retired cops is "what is it?"
 
How high or low profile my EDC knife is kind of varies. If I am at home, I carry whatever I really feel like carrying. Same sort of goes for work; I have a seasonal job with a nearby town's public works department, and they have been pretty accepting of knives. If I decide to go into Chicago (which I try to avoid like the plague) I carry the most PC knife I can or deeply conceal one of my other knives.

My EDC at school is a bit troublesome. I attend Illinois State University, a school which has a 3 inch or under blade limit in the dorms. That being said, enforcement is pretty lax. I had an RA compliment my roomate on his roughly 4 inch folder. I have never had a single problem carrying my EDC knives, beyond some folks giving my weird looks while I'm cutting up fruit with my Opinel. Although I have had no problems, I make an effort to not attract attention to myself. If I have to cut something in a high visability area, I tend to use my CRKT Minimalist or SAK to accomplish the task, rather than my ZT200. I try to only carry knives with deep carry or blackened pocket clips as well.
 
I carry my full size griptilian with the pocket clip with my Leatherman Wave on my belt EVERYWHERE. If I don't have either I feel so naked and vulnerable...some people think that's weird. But I can't wrap my head around why they think it's weird to have a WHOLE TOOLBOX (I have an extra bit kit with me and bit extender, with a 4Seven's Preon 1 flashlight all in the sheath) at their disposal at any time...It has gotten me out of so many jams. Plus, I really like to tinker.

If I feel people might freak out if I flick the Grip open, then I pull out the Wave. Much less threatening blade size, but still useful.
 
At work i carry a my tencious or ukpk simply because of the lack of worry for rust. My boss actually likes my knives! But outside of work my usual edcs are my three sisters forge, manix2, para2 for a main blade. Always have my tuffthumbz ti tool. And then a dragonfly 2 or the ukpk. Always clipped to outside of pockets. Never been searched or questioned or anything. Might start to carry a neck knife instead of the dragonfly/ukpk
 
Australia is a complete nanny state. (loose quoting on laws, but close enough) Anyone caught carrying a blade will be either fined or jailed, unless they can prove otherwise thats it for genuine use, ie chef, gardener, carpenter.

We can't even import anything that allows one handed opening with folding knioves, ie, spyderco, kershaw, benchmade. So if I carry anything its a multitool, which I can prove for work use. Anmd trust me it's not on show. I don't want the hassle from the cops.

Mine is hidden at all times. But Multitools barely draw a glance, every tradesman has one.
 
I work in an office, but I EDC about whatever I want. Hell, today I wore a 4" fixed blade open on my hip. The laws here (OH) don't prohibit anything as long as it's a tool. So basically don't be a sketchy idiot and you're ok. I normally carry a folder in my pocket, and I'm not exactly trying to hide it.
 
Oregon as a state is fairly open to knives. Portland is also open to knives though fixed blades might get some raised eyebrows. Downtown Portland is probably the least knife friendly place in all of Oregon and that's mainly the bars/clubs there they might do a spot check or pat you down. Cops downtown would probably stop you if you had a scary/obvious fixed. Anywhere else the basic rule is don't be an idiot and you should be fine.
 
fallow said:
Australia is a complete nanny state. (loose quoting on laws, but close enough) Anyone caught carrying a blade will be either fined or jailed, unless they can prove otherwise thats it for genuine use, ie chef, gardener, carpenter.

We can't even import anything that allows one handed opening with folding knioves, ie, spyderco, kershaw, benchmade. So if I carry anything its a multitool, which I can prove for work use. Anmd trust me it's not on show. I don't want the hassle from the cops.

Mine is hidden at all times. But Multitools barely draw a glance, every tradesman has one.
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Would a leatherman wave be allowed? or would the OHO be a problem?
 
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