Off Topic The term edc and it's usage.

Hickory n steel

Hickory n steel

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Obviously it stands for everyday carry, but does that mean every single day ?
Everyday for how long ?
How many here actually have a literal edc ?
What are your carry / rotation habits ?


I have a rotation of users that I normally go through usually giving each a week's carry at a time ,they're carried everyday but only for a period of time which happens to be for a week.

What about a new term such as periodic edc or pedc ?

As knife nuts most of us have lots of different knives to use and though we may have secondary type knives that are always on us, we switch up primary blades as the mood or use suits.
I think edc is used way too much because it's a common short acronym useable for knife carry, but some may take it to literally mean " every " day when for many of us it's not though we still use it because it's what we've got.

I don't care if EVERYONE starts to use pedc, but I'm definitely going to as I feel it describes my carry habits better.
 
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To me the term doesn't necessarily mean a knife I literally carry every day. More I take it to mean a knife that I would gladly comfortably carry any day.

A non edc knife would be more specialized. Examples are my Emerson Super Roadhouse or a self defense knife like my Spyderco Pikal or Szabo. (I still often edc my pikal)
 
To me, EDC does not really entail the specifics. Sure I could describe my EDC of today, but typically the answer would be more like: 1 pocket knife, keys, flashlight, bag-o-doom. If someone wants to know what my EDC flashlight is, then I could describe the options I have, but I don't think that is the critical info. I could call my work stuff EDC because I carry it nearly every day, but that's like saying your laptop or your ipad is part of your EDC, it starts to stretch the limits.

If you were to walk from your house to the nearest whatever is walking distance (mailbox, gym, 7-11) what do you have in your pockets/on you. That to me is your EDC. The stuff that is second nature, and is just there without thinking about it. Maybe its a multi and a fixed, or a big and little folder. Maybe its a Tac, SAK and FAK, or maybe its a CCW and a wallet. And maybe those change up. Its still what your EDC is. Everyone's EDC habit is different, maybe your stuff lives in a bowl by the door and you pocket load on the way out. Maybe it all lives in your brief case, or go-bag, maybe you have an at-home pocket load and an away-team load. Point is EDC is such a broad term that trying to narrow it down just makes one make more assumptions. It doesn't need to do more than it does. EDC is Carry just in case, not Carry for Purpose, maybe that is the core of it?
 
My EDC would need to be broken into 4 categories: work, woods, water, and social. At work the Safety Dept. has deemed 3 knives as being acceptably safe. It isn't strictly enforced but is a punishable violation to use a knife not on the list. In the woods I always have a SAK in my pocket, a multi-tool in a bag/pack, and a fixed blade on my side. I carry a Mora and Spyderco Salt Dragonfly when in, on, or around water. Social is more what could be considered EDC by most. I carry a small light in my front left pocket, a Microtech Assailant in my wallet, and a small fixed blade on my belt or a folder in my front right pocket. I sometimes add a traditional folder to my pocket when carrying a fixed blade. I have a CCW and try to carry often, usually a S&W 38 in a pocket holster or my Glock 43 IWB.
 
What gadgetgeek said.
I don't typically think in terms of specifics when it comes to EDC; but, rather, sort of a checklist.
Modern folder, traditional folder, pen, flashlight, lighter. Rarely will I leave the house without those things. I add a fixed blade, if I can. Since I have more than one option in each group, the details are dependent on my mood...my plans.
For example - yesterday, I dyed some bone scales for one of my knives. That knife is going in my pocket today. I'm in a mood to run with a theme; so I'll carry a bone handled trad and fixed blade, as well (now I realize I need a bone pen - darn it - so I've got a shopping project for my down time).
 
PedC sounds like a foot product.

Honestly? You're overthinking this. Anyone who's really concerned that you may say EDC even for something you don't literally carry every day is being pedantic to the point of nonsense. It's just a handy acronym to describe the kind of gadgets, toys and gear folks that frequent forums like this love to carry and mess with.
 
To me edc just means using a knife in the scheme of my everyday life. Edc Knives tend to be small fixed blades or folders that are easy to carry and can complete tasks efficiently. I agree with the earlier posts.
 
The last thing I need is a new acronym to get used to, or figure out!
Whats next? Almost Everyday But Not Quite Mostly But Never On Sunday Carry?

To me, I think If you're in the habit of carrying a knife every day, then whatever knife you have on you as your main go-to blade is your EDC knife.
 
To me, EDC is more about a philosophy then the literal interpretation of the three words. I try to be prepared and carry tools that I might need to make life easier, more convenient, or safer. 98% of the time that I am awake, I have knives, wallet, cell phone, flashlights, 9mm, keys, and watch on me. My key chain has a SAK classic and Olight i3L flashlight. I have some combination of a knife, MT, or SAK on me. I usually carry a AA flashlight as well in addition to my key chain flashlight (tend to work 2nd or 3rd shift, so I'm out when it is dark). I carry my 9mm with me everywhere I am allowed by law in the state of MI (CPL, not a LEO). When I get in my truck, my BOB/Get Home Bag is within reach.

Have I ever ran out to the store to get a gallon of milk and not have a knife or 9mm on me? Yup, but not often.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I don't care if EVERYONE starts to use pedc, but I'm definitely going to as I feel it describes my carry habits better.
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Knock yourself out. You can hang out with the "whumping and thumping" guy and have your own secret made up language.

Silliness.

The rest of us will be talking to each other using stuff like EDC, and "flipper," and "plumbus," and "swedge," and knowing what each other are saying.

That's how language works.
 
I take the term EDC literally to mean the knife that has been sitting in my pocket every day over the last 20 years. It has often been supplemented by all sorts of other knives and tools, but it always remains there in my pocket where it has seen use just about every day. There is nothing special about the knife. It is one of my most humble knives and certainly nothing about its style, blade steel , finish or materials would be worth giving any thought to. Its value is that it is always there and always useful. Don't over think it; the point of having an EDC knife is that it requires no thought.

n2s
 
EDC for me,means knives that I have chosen to use,and not worry about whether they get dinged and scratched up.
I have even set aside two pairs of jeans and two T shirts as EDC's every day clothes :p.
 
It's just an overused acronym. Do what you want and don't worry if there is a term for it. I don't carry the same things every single day of my life, so by the strictest measure I don't have anything at all that is a true EDC item except my wedding ring that I don't take off.

I've personally viewed the term as "everyday" rather than "every day." http://www.dictionary.com/e/everyday-vs-every-day/ Meaning plain, normal, average, ordinary. As opposed to special occasions or special purposes. Otherwise it's essentially a meaningless term that doesn't really apply to actual use.

Your "everday" carry is stuff you just have with you for general purposes.
 
To me EDC is a confusing and now watered down term and I don't really care for it and don't ever use it off of the Internet and rarely use it on the internet. I don't use internet acronyms in general because I don't really want to participate in the dumbing down of humanity.

In some ways EDC is just an over used marketing term. In other ways it is a habit/practice/lifestyle that focuses on preparedness. To others it literally describes a set of defined items that they carry everyday and never will go without. To others is it is just another outlet for their materialism.

To me EDC is about preparedness and not about carrying the exact same knife everyday. It is about never leaving the house without a knife as well as a few other items that I won't live without, something I have been doing since long before the Internet and the term EDC were created.
 
Words have meaning. To me EDC means exactly what it says. Neither the words nor the phrase are difficult. Nothing wrong at all about carrying the same knife every day or not carrying the same knife every day, but for a knife to be an EDC means you carry it every day, else the term EDC has no meaning. I know people who always have a knife on them. Some have EDC knives. Others don't. To each his own.
 
Like many others in this thread, I use the term to describe a knife's intended capabilities, not the amount of time that I carry it. It's one of the categories of knife design, in my feeble mind.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Obviously it stands for everyday carry, but does that mean every single day ?
Everyday for how long ?
How many here actually have a literal edc ?
What are your carry / rotation habits ?


I have a rotation of users that I normally go through usually giving each a week's carry at a time ,they're carried everyday but only for a period of time which happens to be for a week.

What about a new term such as periodic edc or pedc ?

As knife nuts most of us have lots of different knives to use and though we may have secondary type knives that are always on us, we switch up primary blades as the mood or use suits.
I think edc is used way too much because it's a common short acronym useable for knife carry, but some may take it to literally mean " every " day when for many of us it's not though we still use it because it's what we've got.

I don't care if EVERYONE starts to use pedc, but I'm definitely going to as I feel it describes my carry habits better.
Click to expand...
Um, no. Just no. The term as it is conveys the meaning just fine. Don't over think it.
 
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