What Is an EDC Knife?
Everyday carry (EDC) is a category of essential items someone would consistently carry on their person on a daily basis, such as a wallet, a watch, a flashlight, pen and notebook, a knife, a multitool, a key ring, etc.
EDC items are usually wearable or pocket-sized, and serve purposes such as utility and emergency preparedness.
Among the most common items to carry around is also the EDC folding knife, designed to be a portable, safe, and reliable go-to cutting and slicing tool. These folding knives are known for their effectiveness and safety.
How many times have you not had a knife on you and thought, “Boy, I wish I had something to cut this.”
Everyday carry knives aren’t just for soldiers, hunters, doomsday preppers, and scouts.
There are plenty of useful examples and good reasons you might want to consider having one, too. Here are a few:
Why Should You Carry an EDC Knife?
1. They’re Excellent at General Cutting
One of the main reasons EDC folding knives are so commonly found in the pockets of EDC enthusiasts is their ability to cut any number of materials you might encounter in your everyday life, such as cardboard, tape, twine, shrink wrap, string, plastic tags, clamshell packaging, and so on.
And because they’re so handy, there’s no need to hunt for a pair of scissors, try to use your teeth, or some other equally inappropriate “tool.”
2. They’re Comfy to Carry and Use
If you’re going to carry a tool in your pocket every day, it had better be lightweight, compact, and comfortable.
Some EDC knives even have a lanyard or key ring attachment, so you can keep it with you even when you don’t have pockets.
A knife that’s awkward to hold and not easy to handle is likely to be left on your nightstand, which won’t do you much good if you need it while you’re anywhere other than in bed.
3. They’re Useful in Cases of Emergency
Although we sincerely hope you will never face a situation where you have to use your EDC knife to slice through a seatbelt to free yourself (or someone else) from a car after an accident, or to cut off plastic restraints in any other traumatic situation, it should be comforting to know that your handy little pocket pal is capable of such tasks should the need ever arise.
In a survival situation, you could use an EDC knife to build a shelter, prepare kindling and strike a flint to start a fire, or render first aid by removing a splinter, cutting bandaging for a wound, or making a field splint.
An EDC knife can even serve as a weapon of self-defense if it comes to that, in the event you or a loved one feel threatened and need a deterrent.
4. No Fork? No Problem
If you’re on the go or in the wilderness and find yourself without utensils, you can use your EDC knife to cut, dice, chop, slice, or peel many things.
Spear chunks in lieu of a fork. In a pinch, you can even use it to clean fish and field dress game. Desperate times call for desperate measures!
EDC knives are also great to have on hand for opening food packaging, especially those convenient “tear here” bags and pouches, which somehow never seem to open as easily as they’re intended.
And sometimes child-proof packages are adult-proof, too, and need an EDC knife.
5. They’re Handy for Lots of Other Little Things
If you’ve always got a knife in your pocket, you’re always prepared to cut open a package, whittle a stick for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, scrape out a small hole in the dirt, dig up roots, or harvest underground goodies like bulbs and grubs for a nutritious and delicious snack.
Depending on the knife and the situation, you may even be able to use your knife to pry open a beer or wine bottle, or to mark a trail in the woods.
In short, an EDC folding knife is the epitome of “I’d-rather-have-it-and-not-need it-than-need-it-and-not-have-it” tools.
Bonus reason: Many EDC knife carriers will tell you the reason they always keep a knife in their pocket isn’t on this list. It’s tradition.
Lots of people remember being entrusted with their first pocket knife when they were a kid, from their dad or grandfather.
They may have inherited a really special knife or a family heirloom.
If you ask to hear their stories, they’ll probably tell you they were thoroughly schooled on the usefulness and the dangers of EDC knives and challenged frequently on whether they had their knives on them.
For these folks, their knives are more than just functional; they’re sentimental and legacy