Just a comment.

george tichbourne

george tichbourne

Joined
Apr 19, 1999
Messages
3,560
A bunch of knife enthusiasts were sitting around the table yesterday at Murray White's while Mruuay was grilling up some burgers and an interesting bit of conversation came up.

One participant laid out a pristine knife with a totally unblemished blade and said "This is my every day carry knife" . It didn't take long for someone to challenge the statement because of the condition of the knife. It turns out that EDC does not mean EDC(and I use it everyday too) to a lot of people.

My question is "If you are not going to use it, why bother carrying it?
 
If EDC does not actually mean EDC to everyone, what does it mean to them? I must be missing something or other, and this surely won't be the first time.

I actually prefer buying well used knives myself, and I also use every knife I own. There is just something about a well used and cared for knife that is really appealing, as opposed to a brand new knife.
 
I think there're several reasons an EDC can be in pristine conditon.

1. Some people carry one for self defense, and may not have much need of it as a utility knife in their daily life. Or they have a different utility one they carry at the same time.

2. Lots of EDCs that get rotated will mean some see almost no use.

3. The daily utility chores may be very light as to not blemish the knife much.

4. I guess some people just like to carry a cool thing around. I know if I had a William Henry or a fine gentleman's folder, I would love to carry it around but would be loathe to use it for any hard work that would show on the blade.

My EDCs show very little blemish, mostly for reason 3, and some of 2.
 
I often carry two. One to use and one for emergency use only. I am a big believer in a knife being absolutely perfectly sharp in all ways and not worn in the lock etc., being on hand for emergency use only. When it has to go through the rope, or webbing or other material, first time, and perfect. I have heard many that carry as a last ditch self defense item also have this philosophy. The other carried knife can be used for all the mundane tasks, and its usually smaller in size. I think many out there carry only for emergency use. That emergency need not be self defense either.
 
George, you bring up a good point! Lately I find myself thinking about this quite a bit.

Perhaps the emphasis of the knife community has changed focus from the practical usage of good knives to the 'collection' of good knives?

I used to purchase knives based on their usefulness to me either for work, camping, or just EDC. As my tastes have become more discriminating and the cost of my desired knives has gone up quite a bit, I now hesitate to actually do more than carry them and show them off!

i.e.-"Man, that's a nice knife you have there."

"Yea it's a Spyderco G10 Police, cost me 100 bucks. Discontinued you know."

" Cool, never heard of Spyderco, can I borrow it to cut up some cardboard boxes?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING !-here use this boxcutter man."

"OH, OK...thanks..."

Maybe I view my knives too much as 'status symbols' and not enough as 'tools'? Take an almost NIB Spyderco G10 Police and use it to cut up cardboard?-your'e kidding right? :) I mean someday that knife may be worth something! But how do I justify having boxes of knives on a shelf with no intention of doing anything but brag about having boxes of knives on a shelf? I can't, not honestly anyway.

My latest flurry of purchases-11 knives in roughly 2 months-will mostly sit in boxes I'm afraid. More from the fear of 'losing value' than any other reason.

Oh the insanity of the KNIFE KNUT......

It wasn't that long ago that I had one good penknife (Old Timer), a SAK, large lockback (Buck 110), fixed blade (KA-BAR), skinner (Schrade Sharpfinger), machete (Ontario-Mil-Spec), and a Carborundum stone with an old leather belt for stropping.

Everyone of them was a 'user', and I had no fear of them losing value or being lost or damaged!

Oh the simplicity....



:( :o :mad:
 
I think Mongrel is on the right track...

Here lately, I have seen at least a couple of companies looking more like the Franklin Mint than actual knife companies.
Trying to build in collectibilty to production knives, "special runs", "collector clubs/associations", etc...

If that kind of thing turns your screw, that's great, but I personally think it is the total opposite of what a truly collectible knife used to mean.

Sadly, this is becoming very common, and I think it really reflects poorly on the knife world in general...
 
I think several reasons come to mind:

1. The knife is carried just in case of need.
2. The more costly the knife, the greater care taken with it.
I may try to pry something with a buck, but not with my Sebenza. (I'll go find a screwdriver.)
3. Light cutting chores (cutting string, opening envelopes, etc..)
puts very little wear on the blade. (I carried a Benchmade for years and used it occasionaly when need arised. The blade still looks good- just light wear marks on the high spots.)
4. As we get older, and wiser, we use the proper tool so that A.) we don't ruin the project or B.) the knife.
 
The answer to this question could be governed by the
users location and / or occupation.

Consider that if a user is in urban location the use would
be less that rural, now add office work and the use goes
down even more. Then add courthouse , schools etc. and
the knife disappears. Rural or craftsmen would by far use
the knife they carry way more than any other type of user.

So, to me, to carry only a fine knife and not use it would be
very plausable indeed. The knife would then be a guy's pocket
jewlery that could be used. In fact I have several knives that
fill that use from time to time. It's all part of "dressing up" .
 
Originally posted by Mike990
I I am a big believer in a knife being absolutely perfectly sharp in all ways and not worn in the lock etc., being on hand for emergency use only....I have heard many that carry as a last ditch self defense item also have this philosophy.
Click to expand...

Exactly! Since I was also at the roundtable yesterday (indeed, it was my "friend" who had the pristine knife ;) ), my response is that EDC can mean "every day carry for defensive purposes"...and, given the intended purpose, you hope that the knife is never used.

RL
 
I've asked myself that same question sometimes. Why should I carry my EDC if I don't use it all the time? The fact of the matter is, I prefer to carry my EDCs just in case the need arises for a blade, whether for utility purposes or for self-defense. (I think of my knives as tools first and foremost, and as defensive weapons second.)
 
You bring up a very good point. I'm sitting here looking at shelves of knives(and fondling a MOD Tempest) and realizing I could probably carry a different knife every day of the year without repeating one knife. Why? As a security supervisor for a gated community in the middle of the desert (Scottsdale Az) I deal with fires (home and brush), possible break-ins, car accidents where we're the first there, an extremely large population of wildlife (coyotes, javalina, snakes, gila monsters, bobcats and the occasional mountain lion) and yet my MT's, MOD's, Emerson's and BM's, although carried regularly are basically pristine mint (other than rub marks from sheaths or pockets). The only knives that I own that actually show any wear and usage (besides the antiques) are a Gerber Combat Folder and my first William Henry Lancet. So why carry these expensive top-end knives? I'm not going to stop doing it, but can't really come up with a good logical answer that would satisfy a non-knife owner.:confused:
 
I think that a term that I first heard from Tim Herman would be more appropriate in the case of unused knives that term was "pocket jewelery". Pocket jewelery has no particular use and is preserved in as pristine a condition as possible to show off.
 
Pocket Jewelry or not, George, I am sure not everyone that buys your knives is using them, so I would not grumble too loudly about the trend. If I only bought knives I would use on a regular basis, I would be many thousands richer and the knife makers and industry many thousands poorer. And unlike Jewelry which I hate by the way, I show very very very few people my knives. Not the flasher type I guess.
 
George, I think that you are right in calling a lot of the knives that people carry today, pocket jewelry. I do think however that many folks now carry knives strictly for self defense and never use the knife (something the police frown upon, just in case you didn't already know this). These knives are actually more often used as toys than knives as people will sit around for hours flicking them open.

I own a damascus knife and find that I find that I use it only for light chores. Would hate to scratch that beautiful blade, don't you know. I do use all my knives, but some see much harder service than others.
 
I carry a couple of EDC Custom knives, and they do get used, but they are not the User knife I grab first for a dirty job. For that I have a production knife clipped in my front right pocket. My customs look pretty much pristine, but they have been used sharpened and treated with care. I can't say that any of my knives get the use an outdoorsman would give them, I work in an office. If I were to go hunting or camping I wouldn't hesitate to use my most expensive custom knife.
 
Like many others here, I carry more than one knife at a time. If one of those knives is new, expensive, easily damaged, or very good looking, and I have to do some tough cutting that could potentially damage or blemish the knife, I might use another one for that task, reserving the "special" knife for lighter tasks less likely to leave marks upon it. This could leave an EDC looking NIB for quite a long time. Since I've been carrying a multi-tool for all the abusive tasks, my knives don't get thrashed nearly as much as they would otherwise.
 
Kekeke...yeah, using them can be a real bitch, for some... ;)

I sold my Spyderco Endura's to 'Revolvergeek' here at BFC simply because I couldn't kill them after 8 years, and...because I wanted something new to play with...

So, knowing that I was 'going on the road', and was going to need working knives...I bought 2 new Spyderco's from Dennis Wright of Wright Knives...a flag 'Q', and a large Goddard FS in Micarta...

One of my partner's down here knows knives...he was freaked out..."You're not going to really use those are you? :eek:

I just grinned, and started cutting...lol :D

Mel, on the road...
 
A couple of thoughts...
(think forest & falling tree)
If a knife never cuts anything...is it really a knife?

OK, back to reality... ;)
Just because it is used, that doesn't mean is has to be abused.
If the knife in question was used to carve a couple of steaks and open some packages, you might not be able to see any wear and tear on it.
So how about a catagory for lightly (responsibly? lovingly?) used?

I like the pocket jewelry phrase too :) And I'm guilty.

Also RL has a good point about SDK's. I bring my kick-butt Beknives bowie camping, and it's never far from reach...but I usually use a little FB or SAK for chores. The bowie is like a nice warm fuzzy security blanket for me ;)

I guess it is a matter of 'Different strokes....'
 
2. Lots of EDCs that get rotated will mean some see almost no use.
Click to expand...

If it's rotated out more than in, then it isn't "every day", and so theoretically wouldn't qualify anyway. Of course "every day" could just mean that you were willing to use it, i.e, "a user" when its turn comes up. I guess that's what most people mean here when they say it, because so many of us have far too many knives to literally stick to one "every day"!

Good question though George. I think a lot of the responses hit the nail on the head though, either through "pocket jewlery" or "reserved for self-defense" modes. I have more knives than I need too, but not nearly as many as many of the folks around here, and I don't usually wish to assume the weight burden of carrying more than one knife on my person unless its a SAK, or the blade in a multi-tool, and those are there because of the other tools, not the blades.

I do often have a second knife in my pack, but that isn't on my back all day long. My EDC really is an EDC, at least during the work week Its a small Sebenza. I have a couple of dozen nice folders. A dozen are really nice knives, but since I got my first Seb (about 4 years ago now) I haven't hardly carried anything else if I go with a folder.
 
Just my tuppence worth:

I think everyone here has some "pocket jewelry". In my case, it's the Boker Orion. I wouldn't want it as an EDC because it's a little on the small side for major cutting tasks and the titanium alloy blade just isn't good enough for the abuse my EDC gets. And of course, that oh-so-pretty blade finish would get scratched and destroyed. Which is why it's not an EDC.

And EDC is a blade that goes everywhere with you, does all the cutting you need, and does need to be tough enough to stand up to some abuse. the blades get scratched, the things get worn through sharpening over the years, the edges get little nicks and dents sometimes.

but in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter which carrier you are? The only difference the use of a knife really makes is to the owner. Is he/she looking at possible resale value? Does he/she just not want to risk breaking the blade/wearing the finish too much? Some people would rather keep things pristine, some would rather look at thier knives and know they've seen serious use.

It's like non-stainless hunters, campers, daggers, or whatever other styles you like. Some people keep them shiny and new, some people deliberately let a patina form. Both options are just as good.
 
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