What decides your EDC rotation...

A

Angelus1781

Joined
Feb 22, 2003
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I've read people mention this on a few posts. I was curious as to what decides this. How is it decided? By what you do for a living? What do you carry? Are your local laws a factor in what your rotation is? Are the weekends a different carry?
 
At the moment my EDC rotation is a Tom Mayo large TNT most of the time, and a Combat Elite RRF when I am working. Sometimes I switch it up, but for the most part that is my main rotation. I also usually have a Dozier Straight Personal on me too.

So how did I come up with that? Well basically I like the knives and they carry well. They are also legal to carry, which is an important point for me anyway. I switch to the RRF at work only because it is a bit of a cheaper knife that I don't mind beating on. I know that while I am working I might beat or abuse the knife a bit, and possibly even damage it. So I would much rather risk the damage to the RRF than the TNT.

Basically I take into consideration what I might be doing with the knife. I also do consider local laws, and try to stay legal. Weekends/weekdays don't really change my choices. I will however change to a smaller knife such as a slipjoint if I am going to be more dressed up, (usually even when working I am in jeans).
 
The knife has to be comfortable to carry, I have to feel comfortable with it's operation, I have to feel comfortable with it's strength and durability, large enough to get the job done but not so large it scares people.
 
For me what I carry has always been determined by one simple question. Will I actually use it?

I have a lot of very nice knives. Some feel so great, have wonderful edges and all you'd want but when it comes time to cut with them I don't. This happens for various reasons I guess. Like the little Scagel reproduction knife I just bought from Black Squirrel. It screams carry knife. But using it and tearing it up? That is a whole different story.

No, for me it has to be a go to knife. One that you reach for without thinking for any task involving cutting. My EDC was used this moring to pop a hole into the bottom of a tomato soup can so the soup would fall out faster. Then it was used to cut up some cheese right after that and then some Zesty Stacker brand chiles after that.

Later it was used to cut open another bag of dog food because the string didn't work. That is the stuff for a go to knife. Not one that has inherent value from 1 of only 142 made. Would they both do it? Oh yeah. The diff is I can't bring myself to beat up a valuable collector piece when I have great go to knives around.

To me a SAK is a go to knife. The Swiss tool, the Leathermans, these are all heavy duty users and beaters. (well, ok the SAKs maybe not more than light duty) but you get the point.

Sometimes I buy a knife thinking I'll use it only to find that I subconsciously 'protect it' by going to another one instead of using it. Or not lending that one but picking another. Knives are kind of like my shoes. If I can't walk through the puddle instead of avoiding it cause I'll get my feet wet I don't want them. If I have to baby them or feel the need to be careful with them so I don't scratch them or ding them, I don't want them. If it ain't a beater it ain't going to be in my pocket for long.
 
it only makes sense that you carry a knife
that will perform well at what you want to use it for.

legality (imo) should always be considered.
political correctness and subtlety raises fewer eyebrows.

i carry a bm mini afck or mini tsek most of the time.
they are both small and useful for most daily tasks.

if i'm riding my bike or venturing into unfriendly territory (or both)
i'll carry my eki mini cqc7b with wave. just for that extra preparedness.
 
I work in a newspaper facility. I am a supervisor but every now and then I need to cut cardboard, shrink wrap, packing tape, or plastic strap. I typically carry 2 knives at work and 1 knife on days off. For work I carry a Superknife and another folder with a 2"-2.5" blade. I have about a half dozen to choose from and rotate them at random. The Superknife handles most chores at work mainly because although my workplace does not have an official knife policy, anything other than a box cutter is frowned upon. If I'm alone at work I use my small folder, if others are around the Superknife comes out.

For days off I leave the Superknife at home and carry only the 1 small folder. When I go camping I will have a large folder on my belt or in my pocket and a large fixed blade in the truck. Everything I carry is legal according to my state's laws.

If i have an assignment to kill evil ninja then I will strap a sword to my back.
 
As long as it's a Benchmade Axis-lock with G-10 scales, it's my EDC.
 
I also carry stuff that I will use. Generally I carry about three knives, my lil' loco is effortless to carry attached to a shirt button and is not only a SD tool but also is proving to be a very handy utility knife. I also carry a vic compact, this is the knife that comes out when someone asks "does anyone have a knife?" Its good quality, has useful tools (yeah I have even used the pen) and doesn't raise eyebrows anywhere. My primary folder, clipped to my right front pocket changes on mood and situation but it is always a larger (3.5/4.0) strong folder that will handle tough jobs and will deploy fast enough to be an effective defensive knife if I ever needed it for that. Currently that knife is most often a MT amphibian manual, sometimes an Emerson Persian also maybe an Endura. This set up doesn't change much, obviously if I am camping or hiking or paddling it might change a little but generally these three knives are always with me. Up until recently I didn't carry the sak but would have a fully serrated delica or standard or psalt in the left pocket and a plain edge in the right. My mt is combo and though I never thought I would like CE I am eally pleased with this knife.
 
for me what decides it, is what the day will probably bring and be like. so, usually all i carry is a do-it-all-folder or multitool and a surefire torch, plus my keys with mini-knife and mini-light on it.

now, when i go camping or fishing or something like that, i like to add a fixed blade to the gear. simply matching the EDC to the occasion at hand.

legality is ofcourse also an important issue. even though during a preventive search on the streets everything from a small SAK to a pair of scissors will be confisquated anyway (they do it because they have the authority and "people shouldn't be carrying knives", they know nothing about what's legal or not, they take it all and you can forget about getting it back, even though it legal....... :mad: ), i do make sure that all my stuff is legal to carry though, carrying an illegal knife in an anti-knife country is about the dumbest thing you can do.

sheeple-friendliness is not really an issue for me, i don't care what they think. although there is this one thing: i don't like sheeple spotting me using my knife and calling the police because they have "spotted someone with a knife!". i don't let it force me to carry small blades though, i just carry black coated blades instead and/or keep a low profile if chances of "knifer-sightings" are increased.

especially over here in The Netherlands it's at the very least odd and suspicious to the police if someone wears anything that resembles a knife at all. even carrying a SAK over here means that "you must be up to no good". Holland is really anti-knife, i can tell you that.

a little off-topic, but, it really pisses me off me when nice people are being pulled over for general vehicle inspection, tested for DUI on tuesday afternoon, given a ticket for a bicycle-light that happens to ran out of batteries, getting a speeding-ticket for driving 2 mph too fast, and all kinds of stuff like that. and while you're standing there you just KNOW that at that very same time, somewhere else people are being murdered, shops are being robbed, women are being raped and children and animals are being beaten. it makes me so mad! :grumpy:

rant off.
 
My EDCs stay pretty much the same all the time lately. Most of the time I have my Swiss Champ on my hip, a Spyderco Endura (serrated) and a yellow handled Case Stockman. Around 'the ranch' I add a Buck 110 for the heavier cutting chores. Sometimes it replaces the SAK, sometimes just pocketed in addition.
The Case is usually what appears in public. (Looks like grandad's knife.) Sometimes the Spyderco if I am cutting open blister packs. I LOVE doing this cuz it works so well. The knife is out, open, business done and back in my pocket before it registers. The Champ is also good for its myriad of tools at hand. I tend to use the magnifying loop a lot. (I even used the 'package hook' once when my wife brought a box of fresh pineapples back from a trip to Hawai'i.)
Hiking. camping, archaeological site survey or extended dog walks into the 5000 acres of woods that back my property usually see the Buck and my trusty Classic Blades Model #1-7 Blackjack (a Randall knock-off) and a walking stick of some kind.
All my other user utility blades are stashed in the truck, car breakdown kit, toolboxes, kitchen drawer, barn, tackle box, river bag or on my desk, though many are simply tossed in a box and rarely used at all.
When I worked as a nurseryman, my 110 was always with me and used constantly despite public scrutiny. No one seemed to notice. It was the only folder I used for many years.
 
Fairly simple decision for me. If I'm in town I'll usually have my M1 waistpack with me which contains, among other stuff, a Leatherman Micra, Rainbow Chive and small Sebenza.

If I'm at home on the farm I always have a large Leatherman on my belt, a small folder in the pocket of my jeans and, sometimes, I'll carry a small fixed blade for digging out the odd thistle or other noxious weed on the property.

I'm currently looking to replace the small folder with something a little larger, maybe one of the new PE Buck Strider Taranis when they eventually come out. Perhaps a Spyderco, not sure yet.
 
Mine is pretty simple, I open the drawer, check what I haven't carried for a while and grab whichever catches my eye first. If I'm going to court, I won't carry one, I'll leave it in the truck. If I think of it, if I'm dressing up I will carry my Uncle's tortoise shell gentlemen's folder. But its not in great shape and is a bit loose, so I won't carry it if I think I'll have to do any real work.
 
My EDC is mainly "dictated" by what clothes I wear and where I'm going to be. Denmark has very strict knive laws, so I generally aim to be "legal within reason"! ;)
My normal work attire is cargopants, t-shirt and sometimes an untucked shirt and fixed elements of my work EDC are a SAK Recruit, BM Micra on keychain and either one of my small Jens Ansø fixed blades or my Busse AS. At home, I usually just carry a folder or whatever I fancy that day!
For dress, it's almost always my Ansø Small Sheepsfoot carried in right fron pocket on a piece of paracord along with the SAK. When real stealth is required(!), the Ansø is carried inside the pants, hanging on the paracord!

Bo
 
I decide what to carry based on where I'm going and what I'm wearing. I choose a BM 710 most of the time. I always have a SOG Sculptura in my pocket. It's so small I almost forget it's there.

If I'm going to Los Angeles (short drive south) I'll go with one of my smaller knives, so local laws, if I know them, are a factor in my choice.

I tend to carry a CS Ti-Lite more on the weekends than during the week. I like the Ti-Lite in my front pocket for the wave feature but during the work week I carry IWB. The Ti-Lite works IWB, just not as well as in the pocket.
 
I had a really long answer, and it was a good one.

But my computer ate it. :grumpy:

To paraphrase: I picked the ones I EDC because they are the best out of my collection for their intended jobs.

Crawford One Hander
Gerber CF SL 3.25
Queen Stockman
SOG Flash(small aluminum one)
 
Good Question Angelus, I consider the following factors;

1) Intended use - eg; I'm going fishing this morning so I'll take my Military rather than the Manix cos the manix doesn't like sand.

2) Easy of carry.

3) Mood

4) Sheeple factor - I recently found an Opinel No:12 at my Dad's place and relieved him from the burden of owning it. I've noticed it is extremely sheeple friendly.

5) Legality - I don't really consider legality when I'm in town but I might if I visited a big city on the east coast of Oz (Sydney or Melbourne) But some oil rigs and mine sites will X-ray all of your baggage and frown on larger knives..
 
Very interesting reads all.....


Anyone carry a small folder and medium fixed blade?

Like I always carry my HR...

Folder it depends. Sometimes an endura, or SS endura...or 630..

For some reason I picked the northshore. Bought it a while ago and never really used it or carried it.

Do you think carrying endura size folders AND a fixed blade is too much?

knife laws here are pretty much nothing. No blade length limits on folders or fixed blades. Just as long as you can see the fixed blade.
 
My EDC is dictated by past experience. I've carried a knife of one sort or another for the past 35+ years. My EDC "rotation" consists of a Victorinox Settler and a CRK Mnandi.
Special activities see more specialized knives, based on the needs of those activities.

Paul
 
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