What is your EDC history

buck 110 6 yrs or so to Moore Maker trappers 3 different ones for 7 years to Kershaw Leek composite 1 year to BM 940 for about a year to Spyderco Stretch which I may carry until 6 carry me. I love the Stretch.
 
My list is pretty short. When I was 10-12 my dad gave me some sort of generic buck knife... you know the type, the one with wood handles with brass endcaps, a lockback, and a nail slot on the blade to open it. Sometime in high school, he got me a Gerber at LL Bean in Maine while we were on vacation, and I carried that for a long time. Back then the Gerbers were American made and were decent knives. Somewhere along the line, probably on vacation in Maine again, I bought another Gerber because I broke the tip off my original one and had to regrind it. I carried those 2 Gerbers forever. When I was in my 20s my cousin got married and gave me a Gerber Paraframe. I carried that for years, then bought a Gerber Powerframe with a serrated blade. Somewhere along the line I used a friend's knife, and was impressed at how sharp it was. I tried and tried to get my knifes sharp and couldn't. I had my dad sharpen them (that was usually how I got them sharp, because I couldn't do it), and he couldn't get them anywhere near as sharp as my friend's knife. That was when I started realizing that there were far better knives out there. I ended up buying a Manix 2 Stag Arms sprint run to match my Stag AR, and I absolutely loved that knife. I carried it for a couple years until I ultimately lost it. I went back to the Gerber and couldn't stand it. I picked up a Kershaw Shuffle to hold me over, then bought another Manix 2. Just this week I ordered a Kershaw Cryo, a SAK Cadet, and an SAK Rambler to replace the Classic that's on my keychain. I think I'm a tad obsessed now.
 
Sequence over last dozen or so years:
Kershaw Chive high polish
Piranha Fingerling
Microtech UTX70
(Then moved to auto prohibited state)
Benchmade Emissary
CRK Small Sebenza
Hinderer XM-18 3" (Spanto, Slicer & Wharnie rotation)

Dress up occasion knife: Spyderco Chaparral CF
 
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I've had S&W, Spyderco, benchmade, Kershaw, Gerber, Shrade, and they were all garbage. I wouldn't buy any of those knives again, especially tactical folders. I tossed them in the garbage can, I wouldn't have given any of them away. Most of these knives that are relatively new are absolutely worthless.
 
For more than 20 years, I carried an old scout SAK type of knife.

Then...

SOG Trident Tanto

Kershaw Clash combo edge

Spyderco Persistence

Spyderco Manix 2 G-10

ZT 0566

Now rotating: ZT 0562 (most days), Lionsteel TiSpine, ZT 0550, ZT 0566, BM 551.
 
I carried a balisong as a kid, figure eights like nunckas. They were all cheap chinese crap until I saw the benchmade ti. I couldn't afford it, but became more interested in higher quality. The Spyderco Sage in carbon fiber was first, lightest, probably best edc I've tried. Sog spec elite I, spyderco harpy, crkt m21-14sf, spyderco yojimbo2, just got this bench(made) hk 14715 in the mail, first d2 blade for me to test. love the sebenzas but Im not going to buy a knife I'm not going to use. Another one anyways.
 
So here goes my knife accumulation evolution. *=still own

It all started with Gerber cus I needed a knife. Knew the name so I bought it.

Gerber fast draw
Gerber Evo mid tanto
AK bayonet*

Emerson Mini CQC 15*.....and so it truly begins
ZT 0350
Leatherman wave*
Leatherman Squirt *
buck 110
izula
Manix 2 hollow ground
Becker BK2
Buck solo
Buck trio*
Dragonfly g10
Benchmade 53
Street Beat*
Skyline fixed blade
Skyline brown
Bladeforums Skyline* with the brown handles
Damascus skyline
ZT 0121*
ZT 0700
Kershaw crown
Skyline brown
Mini morpho 32
Delica g10
Leatherman juice s2*
Albatross
BK7*
SAK classic*
ZT 0550
Gravelle pcp
Kershaw rake
PR custom fixed blade*
HEST fixed blade
Bark river psk
Koster Woodlore
950 rift*
111 h20
Kershaw double cross
Zancudo (2 at different times)
Volli
940
Sage 2
Tasman salt
ZT 0566
Shaynster fixed blade
Skeletool CX*
Leethal wharncliff*
Manix 2 FFG
Ken hills punch knife*
Kabar necker
Protech Rockeye
Bradshaw tanto*
Hardedge storm*
Leatherman juice Xe6*
Hardedge Squall
Adamas 275
Triage 915*
ZT 0100*
Mini skirmish*
Edcforums queen stockman*
kershaw/Emerson cqc6k
maxpedition Excelsa
Backwoods personal*
mini ritter m390
Protech tr3 manual
Umnumzaan*
Mini Roadhouse
Hall handmade fixed blade*
Leatherman charge tti*
BK14*
ZT 0562cf*
street bowie*

I don't think I'm missing any.
 
I had a handful of old hand-me-downs as a little kid - mostly two or three blade trappers or crusty old SAK's - and, as a 20-something, was reading through a "Top 100 Designs" book (don't remember the specific title) and noticed, alongside a Mercedes Gullwing and the Taj Mahal, the humble Opinel that my Pops had given me in third grade. My knife carrying days were revived, and having retrieved that old wood-handled #6 from my parents, it found its way back into my pants for another ten years.

After that, again at my parents place - but this time digging through an old chest of my grandfathers' - I found Grand-dad's (1980's, I think) Buck 503, and my interest in knives was rekindled. I carried that 503 for a couple months and supplanted it with a Buck Vantage. Though I loved the way the Vantage could slice an apple, its limitations were quickly apparent, and I sought to replace it.

A handful of mis-steps later (bringing me to the last year or so), I have realized what it is that I value and seek in a knife (particularly a folder), and have been carrying a Benchmade 710 or 550HG most often, an Ontario RAT3 (for out-of-doors days, in particular), a de-assisted Benchmade 585 anytime a smaller knife seems appropriate, and, most recently a Spyderco PM2. The Opinel still gets pocket time, for sure, and I love the blue-jeans stains and patina it has developed. The 503, on the other hand, is typically desk-bound - but, with a lifetime of scratches and use already set in, I am happy to merely admire it.

Thanks for reading!
 
►In the late 50's I carried a two blade equal end knife, clip and pen blades of carbon steel.
►In the early 60's I carried a small Schrade stockman with stainless blades.
►In the late 60's I had several knives, among them an imperial Barlow and a Buck 110. I still have the 110.
►In the 1970's and 80's I mostly carried a Buck 303 stockman. But I carried a Swiss Army Knife for backpacking.
►In the 1990's I carried the Buck 303, then a Gerber LST, then an SAK, then a small Benchmade.
►By the mid 2000's my kids were out of high school and I played around with Spyderco's and Benchmades with some fancy alloys.
►These I hang out in Traditional, having determined that for what I do with a knife, which is mostly having one handy when I'm doing fixits around the house, a traditional pocket knife with multiple blade shapes makes the most sense to me.
 
There were periods where I didn't carry a knife during a good chunk of my 20's, though I did usually carry a small light multitool at work during those periods. That was a period where my work didn't permit me legally to carry a "weapon." But anyway...

As a kid I frequently carried traditional jackknives, a SAK, or my dad's Buck 110 when he would let me. That was usually only when I was going on a hike, so I hiked a lot.

As a preteen and early teenager I carried a fixed blade hunting knife. Cuz it was kewl! In my mid teens it was various cheap knives on and off. In my late teens and very early 20's it was a stiletto style folder, you know cuz I was such a BAMF...

Then in my late 20's I picked up a cheap Spyderco knock-off gas station knife, but it was my first modern knife with a liner lock that I could open one handed. I bought another similar one because I was so happy with it, and rotated them.

Then a few years back I ran into a situation at a dog park where two dogs got tangled in their brand new heavy duty nylon webbing harnesses, and I was the only person in the park with a knife. But my cheap beater was dull. I had sharpened it only a few weeks earlier, but it has awful steel and I use my knives hard, especially since I was landscaping at the time (still do part time for the only client I've kept as archaeology and parenting have taken up more time). That was a tense situation with the dogs and a couple of frantic owners. I managed to get the dogs free without injuring either of them, and they both made it through with nothing worse than strains from the tangle, but it made it clear to me that I needed to get better knives.

I talked to a knife designer I know for suggestions I could afford, and that is what really started me on my current rekindled love of knives.

My first better knife was a Gerber Applegate Fairbairn Covert in 154CM (made in USA, btw). That is still my rough duty knife. It is not necessarily ideal for EDC, but it is a good knife to have for when you need something sturdy, versatile, and able to pierce or saw.

But it also got me wanting things that were better for regular everyday stuff like opening boxes at the museum. I got a Kershaw Scrambler, a pretty, fun knife and my first assisted opener, but too heavy for EDC for me.

Next was a Kershaw Cryo G10. Good little knife. It's my traveling knife for checking in luggage. If TSA or Latin American equivalent steals it, it won't break my heart. Though when I really think there is a good chance it'll get stolen I sometimes still opt to pack the Gas Station beater.

Then I finally started into the knives that I really like. I picked up a Fantoni HB02, which is a beautiful knife, and I really like it. I didn't think anything was ever going to shift it.

Then I finally managed to buy a Lone Wolf T2 Ranger with walnut scales, and words cannot express how much I love using this knife. I thought it would be too big, but the size and the ergos are just perfect for me. I also worried that I would be scared to use such a pretty knife that I had such a hard time getting my hands on, but the pleasure of using it has totally overwhelmed my desire to keep it pristine. It's not "LNIB" anymore :) But it's still a good looking knife, and it has so totally displaced my other knives that were in EDC rotation that I have a hard time convincing myself to use the other knives (including the ones that I keep meaning to review).
 
1984 buck stockman
1986 Taylor camo balisong
1988 cheap 110 style copies
1990 imperial frontier stockman
1992 "we the people" commemorative lockback
1993 replaced lost Taylor balisong with a new one
1995 cheap thumb stud tactical, buck crosslock
1996 benchmade emerson 975s spyderco police
1997 spyderco c30sbk remote release
1999 spyderco native c41bk, spyderco delica c11s, frost cutlery tricklock copperhead, leatherman micra, leatherman pst II
2000 benchmade Pardue 350, crkt m16-01z, case large copperlock 61549Lss pocket worn red bone
2001 ag russell bolster lock toothpick ats34 stag, bulldog stag large trapper
2003 cold steel recon 1 clip point, USMC k-bar, m-7 bayonet, gerber multilock
2004 emerson karambit, benchmade 42, benchmade 31, case ruslock vintage bone V61953LSS
2005 case copperlock V51549lss, microtech UMS, Mikov auto dagger
2006 benchmade 9050 AFO, case small black sodbuster
2007 case peanut 6.5220ss, case 53032ss anniversary stag
2008 case small stockman 6333ss white jigged bone, case 5220ss stag peanut, case 51749lss mini copperlock stag
2009 camillus #24 jack white synthetic, camillus scout knife, blind horse knives tiger knapp
2010 victorinox silver alox farmer, landi PSK, queen city cozy glen antique green bone, opinal #6, becker bk11, indian head stag stockman carbon
2011 emerson super cqc7, Great Eastern Northfield #72 mini lockback stag
2012 benchmade mini reflex 2250, kutmaster stockman jigged bone
2013 gec #71 bullnose redneck, sog trident, case swayback jack TB62117 CV
2014 victorinox red alox cadet, queen button lock
and soo many more, all rotating. The micra is always on the keychain. 99% of the time a tactical or pocket fixed blade is in the right front
pocket and a traditional is in the back right.
 
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1985-custom 440C fixed blade.
1986-Schrade LB7
1992-Various Buck knives
1997- Kershaw A-100 MT.
2002- Kershaw Chive
2004-Kershaw Leek.
2005-CRKT M21-02.
2006-SOG Twitch XL.
2007- BM,Spyderco,Strider, just about everything under the sun.
2014-GEC's CRK.
 
About 30 years ago I had and carried a Case 3318 and a Buck 110. I don't have either of them anymore. Approximately 13 years ago I ended up knifeless so I went out and bought myself a Schrade 33OT and a Buck 110. I still have both of them.
Sometime after that I really got into traditional slip-joints in a big way, probably falling the hardest for the Trapper pattern. Saks also entered my world about then and I immediatly wondered how I had gotten by without one for so long. So for the next 3 or 4 years I ussually carried a Trapper and a SAK.
I slowly started to become open minded about modern folders but found few that I really liked. Spyderco's Delica 4 really changed that. So up until last Christms I carried a Delica, a sak and usually a traditional slip-joint of some kind. My traditional knives have gotten smaller to over the last few tears.
Last Christmas things changed again when I was gifted a Benchmade 555HG Mini-Grip. I have carried it everyday since and don't see that changing anytime soon. So these days I am always carrying my Mini-Grip, a sak, and usually a traditional slip-joint. Lately the most often reached for slip-joints are a Case 6318, GEC 55 and GEC 15.
 
Started like most with a traditionals. Case & Old Timer mainly. In my teen years Gerber, Buck, and Kershaw took my pockets over (all USA made). In college/grad school I didn't carry a knife much. It was usually a USA made Kershaw though (Chive, Blur, JYDII). After graduating graduate school I started getting back into knives. Case at first but then I splurged on my first Benchmade (have owned several now) as well as other modern folders like Spyderco & CRK. These days I'm pretty happy with a traditional knife and a small fixed blade. As always though, this could change.
 
Armenate said:
- Spyderco Delica 4
- Rotation of Benchmade Grip, Ontario Rat model 2, and kershaw blur.
- Spyderco PM2.
Click to expand...

Mine was a Spyderco Native, Delica, blur, mini-grip, and just picked up a PM2. So we've had very similar tastes in knives, this PM2 is awesome, I have a full size military in the mail too, I didn't realize how huge it was as I had the opportunity to handle one today.

I briefly had a Sebenza and Strider SNG, but moved on, I just dislike Ti frame locks apparently.
 
Mine has went like this so far:
Spyderco Cali 3 CF
ZT0560BW
Spyderco PM2
Strider SnG
Emerson CQC-7AW
Spyderco Military in Cru-Wear steel
 
My EDC history is pretty funny... from oldest to most recently...

Frost Cutlery random knife, junk balisong, Whetstone Cutlery "Trademark" knife (10 years ago, don't know what it is now), Milwaukee Tanto Assisted knife, Kershaw Clash, Kershaw Blur S30V,Smith and Wesson Border Guard 5?, XM-18, Cold Steel Recon 1, Benchmade Griptilian 553s, Benchmade Contego 810, Benchmade Adamas (Winner), HK MP5 Auto (yes it's a knife, a great one), and now I carry a Leatherman Wave with a pocket clip and also a Husky utility knife. Why do I carry a utility blade instead of a folder? I dunno. Cause I don't care about how much crap I drag it threw, I can just replace the blade. That Leatherman is awesome though, fantastic EDC tool if you don't mind the weight.
 
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