EDC Methods: Knife Rotations

EDC Methods is a series of posts about everyday carry gear concepts, tips and hacks. View all related posts or check out the gear shop.

“Everyday Carry is the philosophy of equipping highly personalized sets of gear to effectively manage lifestyle, professional and demanding situations daily.”

When it comes to everyday carry, the knife generally takes the most focus and spotlight. That doesn’t mean it’s the most important or useful, just that it’s often the centerpiece or the gem of the kit.

This is why EDC-conscious folk tend to have a collection of knives, either as a result of it becoming a hobby or inadvertently from professional use.

And thus the practice of EDC knife rotation is born. For the unfamiliar, this is when you change-up your knife on the daily or weekly as part of your personal carry kit. The wallet, multi-tool, wristwatch, torch, phone and other common EDC essentials tend to remain the same but the blade is often “rotated”.

If you carry a knife just to have a nice “man toy” and never intend to actually use it for it’s purpose, then sure, rotating your collection of blades as a stylish menswear accessory is perfectly fine.

If you carry a knife for tactical, defense, survival, work or otherwise critical applications, then it’s not advisable to keep changing it up. It’s best to keep only one as your only general primary EDC knife.

When you proactively equip a knife for such an important and reliant purpose, the tool becomes something very personal, a true extension of your state of being. Then it is the most important.

A knife for these purposes have a high learning curve and requires ongoing training and experience. Whereas most other common EDC items like a multi-tool or flashlight needs little to no mastery to use effectively and efficiently on the fly.

As for myself, I’ve equipped the Guardian Tactical Exilis knife since acquiring it in 2014. For times I do “EDC” a knife, this was always my primary with rare occasions using an additional secondary blade.

In that time I’ve reached superb proficiency over it, getting closer to mastery with every touch and use.

This is why you need to be extremely familiar with your knife. You need to know exactly how it cuts, handles, opens, carries, moves and generally feels.

It’s a relationship. A partnership. And as such, it takes time and work to cultivate. Rotating to a different knife too often negates that very important aspect.

EDC Methods: Knife Rotations

[Featured gear: Guardian Tactical Exilis, Microtech Troodon, Kershaw Launch 10 and Knife Pivot Lube.]