(Article originally published on Spotter Up by Nate Morrison)
The recent Every Day Carry (EDC) trend has been interesting to say the least. I am always amazed at how things that were normal for many of us suddenly become these huge viral trends among the civilians and city dwellers. I have always carried a knife or two since I was seven years old. I grew up farming and logging and you need a knife about every ten minutes on a farm. Later in special operations the knives and tools I carried changed somewhat. Now on the other side of a career that I won’t allow to end, I find myself looking at this EDC thing with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. Amusement because I find it difficult to believe so many people are so enthusiastic about such a common thing. Annoyance because most people really don’t have any idea what they’re talking about. But hey, that gives us a unique opportunity to educate and to pay knowledge forward!
Overview
This is a very serious subject and one I think deserves a very serious tone. Lives can be saved or lost in the decisions we make about blades. It is important to understand a few facts of life. This begins with the actual purpose of the knife. We must fully understand why we are carrying a knife and this is a reality I don’t think most people have come to terms with. This affects a great many aspects of your life. What we have today is hundreds of thousands of people carrying a knife who will never use it because they don’t train to. It’s time to get real or go home.
A knife or blade falls into one of three categories based on its use.
- Combat (killing)
- Utility (work & survival)
- Specialized tools (special tasks)
Blades have always been about killing (human or animal) and utility. It is very important to understand that the design is necessarily different for each purpose. As mankind has evolved, the characteristics of each has evolved as well. For example, the advent of armor led to a variety of adaptations in knife and sword design. Likewise, depending on the utility tasks, the designs varied in this area as well.
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