I get a lot of emails asking what pocketknives I carry. Allow me to differentiate between Everyday
Carry (EDC) and Everyday Used (EDU) pocketknives. An EDC pocketknife might indeed be carried but
is seldom used. On the other hand, an
EDU pocketknife sees action all day long.
It’s a knife usually so worn and frequently sharpened its lifetime is
limited to only a few years. From cutting
bailing twine to garden stakes or opening crates and boxes or whittling pieces
of wood to clipping small branches to severing rope and wire and perhaps even
trimming fingernails; the EDU pocketknife is undoubtedly the most frequently
used tool on any ranch. Of course, one’s
EDU pocketknife is a purely subjective decision and I’ve seen all makes and
models overtime. I’ve examined EDU
folders with chipped scales and missing blades and some so crudely sharpened it’s
amazing they work. I’ve seen all sorts
of brands.
Most ranch-hands carry
folders they purchased at the pulga
or flea market. These are economic
decisions based on salary and other pressing needs. Besides, they know the knife might see
torturous use so they’re not about to spend a week’s wages on something that
will be quickly marred, scratched or even broken. They probably consider anything over about
fifteen bucks both frivolous and imprudent.
I’ve seen knife forum posts where someone asks, “Show me what
EDC folder you carried today.”
Invariably the knives displayed are shiny and clean and most of them
look practically new. These are knives
carried for no other reason than the joy of owning and toting a folder. Nothing wrong with that but those knives
might see nothing more during the day than opening a letter or slicing a piece
of cheese at the deli. But EDU
pocketknives (especially those used on ranches, the outback and way out yonder)
are something else entirely. Just the
other day a fellow was out here helping me with some work and he pulled out a
stainless lock-blade with skeletonized scales and clip-point that was deeply
scored. The steel was 440A and the
scales were plastic. The bevel looked
like a cross between convex, concave and even Scandi. The knife didn’t come that way but the young vaquero carrying it didn’t seem all that
concerned with which way the bevel went as long as it cut whatever needed
cutting. He took a segment of electrical
wire and then pulled his folder from its leather sheath and went to work
gnawing the blade through the copper. I
didn’t say anything (after all it was his knife) but afterwards he turned to me
and asked for a file. There was a crosscut
steel file on one of the workbenches and I pointed to it. He grabbed it then gave his knife a quick once
over. I could see burrs forming along
the edge. So I asked him for the knife
and then gave it a few swipes on a leather strop. “Just like the barber shop,” he said. Then I tested the edge and sure enough it was
sharp so we went back to work.
Mind you some ranch-hands carry a couple of knives: A folder
and a fixed blade. But that’s not very
common and as mentioned above they are invariably inexpensive blades. I’ve gotten a few emails about “buying
American” and that sort of thing.
Unfortunately, American-Made has become a niche item of sorts. Just like the $140 American-made Levi jeans
compared to the $30 foreign imports. I’m
not much of a Levi’s fan but I hope that makes the point. The same people who want to sell you
something for an “American Price” will turn around and buy their goods at a
foreign-made price. I’ve seen that too
many times to be swayed otherwise. But I
saw a documentary recently about inflation and costs and a system that prints
money based on thin air with ever increasing debt and….well, I’d best get back
to talking about knives.
Pictured above are my three EDU pocket knives. They’re not all that pretty but they work and
that’s what counts. The yellow scaled
folder is made by Case and the dark scaled knife is a Böker, both carbon steel. I assume you all recognize the Swiss Army
Knife. And yes, I carry three EDU knives
and they all get used every day, all day and into the night. I want them razor sharp and so I put them to
my little diamond stone frequently. What
good is a knife, after all, if it’s not sharp?
I’ve got other knives and if you’ve perused this commentary
you know I think fondly about knives. I
even make my own knives for woodcarving and chopping. But my most used knives are folders. From making arrows to bows to fishing hooks
and barbs and all the things mentioned at the top of this piece my EDU jacks
are always within grasp. Somewhere down the
line they’ll wear out just like I’ll wear out (and you will too) and the knives
pictured will get retired and put in a drawer somewhere. Well, you can extrapolate the rest, I’m sure.
