Why EDC A Knife (These 6 Reasons Will Convince You)

If it is legal to carry a knife in your area, does that mean you should have one on your person at every time?

At what point does it become necessary to have a small knife that you can call on in different situations? What is it like, and why should you EDC a knife at all?

Carrying a pocket knife comes in handy in an emergency, self-defense, and multiple functional situations for the carrier. These small tools can be used to improve a lot of your daily activities from cutting packages to small bits of wires. Thus, they are applicable for different kinds of users no matter the gender, orientations, job requirements, or other factors.

In this piece, I do an in-depth dive into more reasons why you should always have a pocket knife on you.

What is an EDC knife?

Most of you should know this already, but let’s talk about it again for the sake of clarity.

An EDC knife is an ‘Every Day Carry‘ tool that can be taken with the user to most places. This is the kind of knife that is legal in their area and can be worn either openly or concealed to complete basic daily tasks.

Depending on the personality or line of work of the EDC knife carrier, their blade can range from an absolute necessity to something worthy of having when the need to use one arises.

What is the point of carrying a pocket knife?

I am tempted to make a pun with the knife point here but I guess that would have to wait till I can come up with something truly befitting of this piece.

Before then, here are six (6) reasons why you should always have a small knife in your pocket.

Handy Cutting Tool

This sounds like an obvious use for the knife, but that does not make it less important.

When you have an EDC knife, you suddenly find that you can cut a lot of things better than you had imagined.

It could be a stray thread in your cloth that you would have used your hand to pull away. It might also be a string on one of your files, the tape around that package that just got delivered to your office, or something else.

The ease at which you flip out and use these knives makes them a beauty to have with you at all times.

Extra convenience

You cannot carry a pair of scissors around with you without drawing suspicions. In the same way, you cannot go around with a razor blade in your pocket.

Besides the obvious safety concerns from that, it just looks creepy that you have a razor somewhere in your pocket.

Unless you’re a part of the Peaky Blinders, anyways.

Thus, a knife makes the most sense in this case. It brings all the same functions as the razor and scissors without sticking out like a sore thumb.

Self-defense

One thing that I mentioned when I was discussing how to use knives for self-defense is the kind of knife that you can use also.

When you find yourself in a situation where you have to pull out your knife, you would need something that has been with you. This is not the time to start looking for the knife to use.

Now, it’s not like you are going around looking for someone to assault with the knife. If you stay in areas prone to crime and attacks, though, it makes sense to have an extra layer of personal security tool on your person.

Before you ever use a knife for self-defense, make sure you have tried all other methods of de-escalating the situation and escaping the scene. So that you always stay on the legal side of things, I have put together this legal guide to knife self-defense to get you started.

Emergency applications

Say you were trying to rescue an accident victim whose seatbelt was stuck, remove a splinter stuck into someone’s skin while camping, etc. Or you wanted to cut the clothes of someone who suffered a fatal fall so you can help secure their bones.

Or any other such emergency.

Having a knife at hand makes it easier to get these things done.

For one, you don’t have to just start looking for sharp objects to help out since you have one on you. On the other hand, your response time is faster since you have the subconscious knowledge that you are always equipped with a relevant tool that can help out.

Digging

If you do some light gardening, or you just find yourself in need of a small dig when outdoors, your pocket knives will come in handy.

This is not what they are built for and you should not make this a habit. But then, what is the benefit of such a fine tool if it won’t help you out in situations like this, yes?

Specific work applications

Your line of work could improve the range of functions that a pocket knife can perform for you.

There would surely be specialty tools that can get the job done better and faster. When you are in the middle of work and such tools are not handy, though, your EDC knife can make all the difference.

Think of an electrician cutting cable coverings to expose the inner wires if they don’t have access to their pliers. Or, maybe a woodworker trimming a part of their work with the knife because they don’t want to go looking for a file/ carving knife.

You know your job better than I do and I’m sure you’ll find the best use for the knife. When you choose a swiss army knife instead, the possibilities increase.

What kind of knife should you EDC?

The choice for most people is between a pocket knife and a swiss army knife. If you cannot decide between both, look at this comparison guide that I have put together. That should help you to make the best decision.

You should also consider where you will be taking the knife on most occasions.

If you’re looking for an EDC that goes outdoors (hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, etc) with you, you’re free to choose any of the top folding knives out there.

For those that will take their knives to offices and such other formal setups, though, look at what a gentleman’s knife holds for you.

Overall, the knife should be finely made and should be covered under local knife laws. You don’t want to have a functional tool that breaks the law now, do you?

Is it illegal to walk around with a pocket knife?

Short answer: it depends.

Have you checked the knife laws in your area to make sure that you are carrying the right kinds of pocket knives?

Some EDCs like switchblades and automatic opening knives are considered illegal, even though they fall into the pocket knife category also.

Besides the kind of knife, you also need to be sure that the knife is of the right length. Learn how law enforcement agents will measure a knife length here so that you can be familiar with what you have in your pocket.

Finally, make sure you are old enough to carry a knife in the first place. Otherwise, even if everything else is right from above, you might err on the side of the law based on age alone.

Wrapping Up

There are several reasons why you could, and should, EDC a knife.

Even if one of them catches your fancy, you should go for the knife. With time, you will find those other smaller yet necessary reasons to have a knife handy. And you would be grateful that you had such a reliable blade in your pocket.

If you’re ready to get started, look through the swiss army knives selection, or choose a functional assisted opening knife for EDC.

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