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Friday, February 11, 2011

EDC Part I: Multi-tool and Knife

Photo by Jonas Bergsten
Your "everyday carry" or EDC is whatever you always have on hand--everything from your multi-tool to your cellphone to your credit cards. And, as it turns out, entire websites detail the fetishistic search for the Platonic ideal EDC. I especially like the EDC porn on everyday-carry.com.

In part I of our EDC review I'm going to describe my multi-tool which I've worn on my belt everywhere I go for almost 20 years. Subsequent posts will detail the other things I tote and the complex contents of Mrs. Homegrown's purse.

For years the centerpiece of my EDC was the original Leatherman "Pocket Survival Tool" like the one in the picture above, a gift from Mrs. Homegrown back when I worked in video in the early 90s. Last year I broke the file off of it and finally lost the tool while re-doing our greywater system. I replaced it with the cheapest Leatherman I could find, the Leatherman Kick:

Leatherman 830018 Kick Pocket Multi-Tool with Leather Sheath

I have to say that I like my old Leatherman better and, thankfully, it turned up again. The Kick works fine but I prefer my old Leatherman's all metal construction, its superior leather belt case and that fact that it's ever so slightly smaller. That old Leatherman also has a tiny flathead screwdriver I find handy. With both, I use the pliers more than any of the other tools.

Now the Leatherman is to the Swiss Army knife what, say, Robert Johnson is to prog rock. One is direct and the other has, well, too many notes. The designers of the original Leatherman tool apparently felt that it's fine to pop open a beer bottle after a hard days work but far too Eurotrashy to uncork a bottle of wine, at least that's what I assume from the lack of a corkscrew. Though I just met someone who carries a tool I didn't know existed, the Leatherman Flair:


The Flair,  Leatherman's obvious attempt to imitate the Swiss Army knife, has a corkscrew, scissors and a fork like thingy. It's been discontinued, though Leatherman still makes similar tools (though without the odd fork--how to skewer that olive?). And, of course, there's Leatherman's gardening, hunting, bicycling and even military and law enforcement multi-tools.

Leatherman is the Budweiser of multi-tools. There's a whole array of other companies that make higher quality products but, alas, we don't sell enough books for me to peruse the finer offerings at our local Ross Cutlery shop. Again, my basic Leatherman seems to have enough tools for most situations.

Of course a multi-tool is just part of one's EDC. On days that I'm removing a beehive from a wall I've taken to carrying a Bushman knife to cut out the comb.

Cold Steel Bushman Black SK-5 Steel Cordura Survival Sheath

 It's all metal, durable and easy to clean. And the hollow hilt can accept a stick to turn the knife into a spear should you need to "harvest" a feral pig for lunch, let's say. But the Bushman is too bulky and sinister for my EDC, at least in urban areas. I wore it around the house one day, but Mrs. Homegrown said she thought I was acting like a preschooler and, frankly, what do I need a big knife like this for blogging, answering emails and trips to the post office? Plus this sucker is a one way ticket to junk touching and a Mr. Toad's wild ride through the porno scanner should you get within a square mile of an airport or other secure facility. Bushman aside, the right to carry a small multi-tool is, incidentally, one of the reasons I prefer rail to the indignities of flying these days.

Stay tuned for what else is in my EDC, as well as Mrs. Homegrown's EDC musings. Perhaps I'll get around to a full-on EDC centerfold photo like the ones on everyday-carry.com. In the meantime, what's in your EDC? Leave some comments . . .

A special thanks to Phil Noyes (author of an amazing book Trailer Travel: A Visual History of Mobile America) for introducing me to the concept of EDC.
Support Homegrown Evolution by visiting our bookstore.

2 comments:

  1. I live in the Northwest and I have an agreement with a rancher to hunt and camp on his property. I pay him for that privilage and we have a written contract I can use to prove I am not tresspassing should I ever need it. I use a small part of his property well off the road and adjacent to public BLM land (that he leases). I have two 5 gallon bucket caches on that site with some necessities. I have decided to upgrade/increase my caches and this knife/spear point would be a good addition. I agree it is inappropriate for carrying in anything but a wild environment but it would be perfect for the wilderness. I am also planning a second location near this but totally into public land as a backup site and I would essentially duplicate the caches there.

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  2. Love this EDC review and love your blog - thank you so much.

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