What Got You Started EDCing a Spyderco? My Story...

[Bolster]

I EDC pretty faithfully these days. What got me started was a frightening wake-up call. My wife and I were visiting relatives in a remote corner of Oregon, and the two of us took a walk down a country road after a large dinner. Within a mile we discovered (of all things) an ostrich farm...I had never seen the big birds farmed and it was like seeing a specialty zoo. So we turned off the main road and down a smaller road that ran in front of the farm to get a better look. Someone from the farm was driving past in a pickup and waved us a friendly hello as he passed (or so I thought), so I did not get the feeling we were intruding. No gates, no signs, and what appeared to be a public road. Perhaps 30 yards from the main road (we had not gone too far) I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and saw a healthy Rottweiler that was...undoubtedly...hunting...us. Perhaps you can relate to the surge of adrenaline I felt. I signaled my wife (quietly) to reverse engines and walk back to the main road. As we did so, I spotted two other Rottweilers converging from different directions. They were all very healthy animals, and were in "sneak" mode toward our location... no noise, and crouching low thru the tall grass. We quickened our pace while trying not to look like we were in full panicked retreat. At this point I was looking around desperately for something... anything... to put between me and 3 big dogs. A fallen tree limb... a boulder to get our backs against... a tree to climb... anything. Nothing, but gently rolling earth and knee high grass along the dirt road. That was one of the most sickening moments I can recall. I could not help but berate myself for being so foolish as to assume I was wandering in paradise when in reality my wife and I were about to be confronted by the hounds of ****! The dogs were closing on us faster than we were making it to the main road, but we had enough of a lead that we attained the main road before they converged on us. Miraculously, as soon as we hit the main road, the three dogs broke off their pursuit and silently disappeared into the tall grass. To this day I don't know why they stopped short... does God pity fools? At any rate, that's the day I decided I needed something a little stouter than my fingernails as a constant companion. Took a couple of months and a dozen purchases before I figured out that Spyderco made an ideal tooth: deadly efficient but somehow friendly looking at the same time. That's my story.

--> What got *you* started EDCing? --->

[yablanowitz]

Interesting story. They sound like extremely well-trained guard dogs. As soon as you hit the main road, you were no longer their problem (out of the territory they were trained to patrol/defend), so they broke off pursuit.

My story is not nearly as interesting. I found a pocket knife on the ground in a public park when I was about nine years old, and I have carried one or more since that day. The Spyderco part of my carry started in the mid-90s when my girlfriend bought me a Delica. It has really snowballed the last couple of years, though.

[Axlis]

Great story! Which spydie do you EDC?

I really just got tired of carrying ye olde case knife, and had wanted a Spyderco for a while, so... I bought one. :) Then I bought another. Then another. Now here we are!

[jaislandboy]

that's quite a story Bolstermaniac....if that happened to me I'd probably have 2 cans of capsaicin pepper spray on me for life (in addition to a knife).... :p My spyderholism began when I bought a Native3 CE about 2yrs ago, and the handle 's ergos really blew me away.....I haven't been the same since... :)

[OuchThatsSharp]

May not have benn just an "ostrich farm". My wife and I were in southern Oregon about two years ago with my cousin and his wife. We out driving around and he wanted to show me where is parents used to live out in the woods. We drove down this dirt road and came upon the house, we took pictures and walked around a little. Afterwards we drove further down this dirt road to check out the scenery and my cousin informed me that you had to be careful because there a lot of Meth labs and pot farms in this part of the country and in these particular part of the woods. We drove past several properties that had 10ft high chainlink fences around the property and at several of them the owners came out armed with rifles and handguns. We didn't go on any of the properties, we were just driving around. It was apparent that we were not welcome, sight seers or not. There may have been a reason there were Rottweilers patrolling the "ostrich farm". Whenever I leave the city I have my Glock and usually a couple of knives on me. I EDC in the city because you never know. I'm not a skilled knife fighter by no means but as a last resort... well, better to have a knife and not need it than to need a knife and not have it.

[The General]

Its not a very politicaly correct thing to admit, but I used to attend a University and in the winter, I often had to wait an hour or more for the train back home. It was a very dark and dodgy place to be. There were a lot of drunks and drug users around and I was quite often hassled by beggers and tramps.

This one time things got a bit out of hand where my casual I am not interested stance was not working. This one guy was really getting in my face (it was winter, it was raining and freezing cold) there was no one about and the waiting room was a place I avoided as you were trapped in there if confronted. I stood up and saw the guy take a second apprasal as I am a large guy, not so much tall, but I am a big bugger and I can handle myself fairly well. Now I was looking at this guy and taking in my surroundings when I noticed his pitch change and he looked not so much at me as over my shoulder.

I understood exactly what was about to happen, I side stepped to my left away from the guy in front of me and spyderdropped my fully serrated Endura 3 knife with a very loud click. I had had this knife in my hand the whole time when I saw this character begin to approach me...

Well the Endura got the guy stepping backwards with a surprised look on his face and his "friend" we was approaching me from behind looked like a rabbit in the headlights when I looked right at him and said something rude outloud to him. I looked at the two of them and said something along the lines that two against one was a fair fight as I had a knife and I was very willing to use it. I said IIRC that no druggy or tramp was going to take anything from me other than a **** good stabbing, so *^%& OFF! :)

Its comical looking back at how the two of them looked at each other before deciding to run off. I could not wait for that train to arrive... I had visions of thm coming back with friends or armed and I was very very nervous. Luckily the train was on time and I never saw those two guys again, though I am very thankful for my fully serrated Endura.

That knife is now owned by my parents and they love it. My dad used the knife to remove and cut up the old carpets in my parents house and while he managed to damage the tip, breaking it a little, the knife stood up really well and my dad did not bother with the Stanley knife that he has as it would hardly cut the carpet. The Endura ripped right through the thick carpet and underlay like a hot knife through butter.

I miss that old knife, warts and all, though I now own a plain edge Endura 4 and a Waved Endura 3 its just not quite the same somehow... No surprises then that I now have a fully serrated Military in S30V and was carrying it today down the shops! :D

Had that knife for a while, but never really used it till now.

[Bolster]

Funny you should say that, Jaislandboy, I actually DID carry pepper spray for awhile. The bulk got to me + the comments about my paranoia. Whereas a good knife is utilitarian, and since 99.99% of its useage has nothing to do with SD, you can make the case it’s “not for SD” particularly if small or friendly enough in design. I am convinced you can get by with carrying a larger Spyderco than you can other knives, because many have a “friendly” or “nonthreatening” sort of look with a leaf blade and large, innocent, wide-open “eye.” Many of the Spydie blades don’t “look” mean (and some do!). Yablanowitz and Ouch have both gotten me reconsidering whether this was indeed an ostrich farm or merely cover. That thought had not occurred, call me naïve. Axlis, my current favorites trend toward Caly3 or Small Persian for urban; Mini Manix or Large Persian for rural (and for ATM deposits!).

[Dr. Snubnose]

I was attacked in a shopping center by a knife wielding idiot, I tried to kick the knife out of his hand and in the process I got cut on my hand...I decided then... I need one of those....Doc :D

[Derkomai]

About eighteen years ago I worked in a factory. While I had no drivers license I had to operate a cleaning machine with big rotating brooms at the front. Needles to say, I was not very handy with it. One day I caught some very strong packing material in the brooms and tried to get it loose. In the process my hand got stuck in the material and was pulled towards the machine, but luckily I was packing a pocket-knife (I think it was a 3" lightweight Buck:confused :) . It was my first bigger knife and I did not carry it with me on a regular base. Although it had no serrations I was able to cut myself loose and no harm was done. Since that day I will not leave the house without a knife. It does not have to be big or impressive, but it has to be able to do some serious cutting. :D

BTW, it was also the first time I wore protective work shoes. My colleague smiled and told me that it was absolutly not necessary to have shoes like that. Five minutes later he ran over my foot with his cart, :eek: :mad: but again, no harm was done. Always be prepared! :cool:

[griff76]

The following is not why I started EDC'ing a spyderco, but why I do edc a spyderco. I had been carrying a spyderco for years before this, but your story reminded me of this (urban version):
I was going for a walk in the neighborhood of my uncle's house with my cousin's ~4 yr old girl. We were casually walking down the street when we came upon a house with some rather hard-looking fellows hanging out in the drive-way. They were drinking beer and smoking herb. No big deal, they were just some guys kicking back on the porch hanging out. They were sort of gangster looking guys with shaved heads and all tatted up. Being from California, this look was not new to me (this took place in Chino, near LA). Well, as you may or may not know, behind every group of thugs is a mean dog. So, I'm walking along, see these guys, and a huge rottwieler charges me and the 4yr old girl. In one motion, I swung her up on my back with my left hand and had pulled my Spyderco with my right. I believe I was edc'ing a Provenator PE at the time. Not the best SD knife against a 90lb. rottie, but I would have given it a shot. Anyways, knowing a bit about animal behavior, I held my ground and stomped my foot hard and yelled at the beast. Thankfully, it stopped short and was called back by the guys in the yard. They apologized and tried to explain how there dog wasn't aggressive. Yeah right, at least I didn't have to try to fight off a snarling beast of a dog with a little girl doing a baby lemur impersonation on my back.

[SpydercoKnut]

Its not a very politicaly correct thing to admit, but I used to attend a University and in the winter, I often had to wait an hour or more for the train back home. It was a very dark and dodgy place to be. There were a lot of drunks and drug users around and I was quite often hassled by beggers and tramps.

This one time things got a bit out of hand where my casual I am not interested stance was not working. This one guy was really getting in my face (it was winter, it was raining and freezing cold) there was no one about and the waiting room was a place I avoided as you were trapped in there if confronted. I stood up and saw the guy take a second apprasal as I am a large guy, not so much tall, but I am a big bugger and I can handle myself fairly well. Now I was looking at this guy and taking in my surroundings when I noticed his pitch change and he looked not so much at me as over my shoulder.

I understood exactly what was about to happen, I side stepped to my left away from the guy in front of me and spyderdropped my fully serrated Endura 3 knife with a very loud click. I had had this knife in my hand the whole time when I saw this character begin to approach me...

Well the Endura got the guy stepping backwards with a surprised look on his face and his "friend" we was approaching me from behind looked like a rabbit in the headlights when I looked right at him and said something rude outloud to him. I looked at the two of them and said something along the lines that two against one was a fair fight as I had a knife and I was very willing to use it. I said IIRC that no druggy or tramp was going to take anything from me other than a **** good stabbing, so *^%& OFF! :)

Its comical looking back at how the two of them looked at each other before deciding to run off. I could not wait for that train to arrive... I had visions of thm coming back with friends or armed and I was very very nervous. Luckily the train was on time and I never saw those two guys again, though I am very thankful for my fully serrated Endura.

That knife is now owned by my parents and they love it. My dad used the knife to remove and cut up the old carpets in my parents house and while he managed to damage the tip, breaking it a little, the knife stood up really well and my dad did not bother with the Stanley knife that he has as it would hardly cut the carpet. The Endura ripped right through the thick carpet and underlay like a hot knife through butter.

I miss that old knife, warts and all, though I now own a plain edge Endura 4 and a Waved Endura 3 its just not quite the same somehow... No surprises then that I now have a fully serrated Military in S30V and was carrying it today down the shops! :D

Had that knife for a while, but never really used it till now.

Glad you made it out alright. It is ashame when jackasses bother those who just mind there own business. Nice post!!


:spyder:

[Kazzy]

So, I'm new to post here, but have been an avid reader for a few months now. My story on what got me started is not that exciting. I started working at a knife store about 5 months ago. When I first began there I bought myself a little pocket knife because I thought it was cute. I just couldn't understand why all the guys I work with carried Spyderco. That is until my manager brought in the Manix for me to play with. I didn't let him take it home with him that day, saying that it needed to stay in the store so that I could "take a closer look". So, for Christmas the store manager got Enduras for all of the staff (waved for the two guys, and the III CE for me :D ). I always carry it with me now, which makes many of my friends a little nervous. I have also converted many of my friends to being Spyder junkies too! Still saving to get my own Manix.

Kazzy

[Thalestin]

My story for edcing a knife isnt a story about myself but actually from a tv show I watched. I cant remeber what show it was but it was one of those 911 rescue type shows. In anycase some women got rear ended but some drunk and her car caught on fire. Some people caame to try and help her but her seatbelt was stuck. No one had any knife or anything and they couldnt get her out. She ended up burning alive. This always stuck with me and I have carried a knife ever since.

Id never be able to live withmyself if I let someone die like that because I diidnt have a knife (plus it could save my own life). You just have to be prepared.

-Thal

[skcusloa]

^Edit: At all times there is a factory fresh SE police on my sun visor. The only use it will ever see is emergency.

One day I decided I needed a pocket knife. I looked for them on ebay. For some reason VG-10 caught my eye. I looked AT EVERYTHING on ebay. Nothing on ebay had VG-10 at the delica 3's price. I bought one, it was sharp as ****, and I liked it. Then I learned we had a spyderco sharpener. I probably used it 100 times and never knew it was a spyderco sharpener. I've been using them ever since.

[clovisc]

rottweilers guarding an ostrich farm? those ostriches might have just been a front... marijuana fields, a meth lab, recovered alien spacecraft -- you never know... :p

it's interesting to me how many of these stories begin with self defense in mind. or self-protection/preservation.

a lot of factors go into my wanting to EDC a knife... SD being one of them, work being another... i got started on spyderco pretty early in my knife-buying career, and couldn't find anything better and more affordable. still can't. :D

after seeing how these knives perform after years of hard use, and after relying on them in africa and seeing them save my butt over and over, or at least making my daily life a lot easier... i don't think i'd bother trusting anything else.

plus, they're just a lot of fun... and who needs more reasoning beyond that?! :D

[smcfalls13]

My story isn't quite so exciting as the rest of you

I needed a box cutter for work, and didn't care for the stanley razor blade holders because they're not comfortable to use, and they're easy to lose(not something you want a little kid picking up and playing with).

So I ended up getting a Harpy.

Try to contain the excitement :p :cool:

[The Mastiff]

I've carried a knife since I was about 8, growing up on a farm with lots of land. Hiking, fishing, frogging etc. I was working a labor job by the time I was 12, working in commercial greenhouses ( $1.35 an hour, minimum wage I think). We always needed a knife for something, most often fixing the plastic sheeting we used to shade the greenhouses to simulate the seasons. Other jobs included baling hay, construction, working on the railroad up in the sandhills of nebraska on a steel prep gang, bridge building company, etc.

I recall seeing the Spyderco ads in magazines but didn't give it much thought. When the first Enduras hit the local gunshows here in raleigh in 91 or 92 (?) I had to have one. I put down my Buck 110 and have carried an Endura ever since. I still have my first one and it's still EDC'able with the FRN clip intact.

I was already working a state job as a CO, and a second job as a security guard by then. I soon saw lots of other reasons I needed other Spyders, such as wanting a smaller, easier Spyder to hide in the prison. Believe it or not we were searched almost as often as the inmates. I didn't want to bring the endura in the prison.

15 years or so later I have a whole bunch of Spydercos. I want a few more just like everyone else here. Joe

[sjahn]

I was at first not charmed by Spyderco. I liked lean blade shape and Spydercos' with big thumb holes were not appealing to me, though I admit that they would be practical. One day, I thought that there must be a reason people praising Spyderco, and I should try one. Well, as I said, I have been regarding Spyderco to be practical, but the design was not as appealing to me. So, I was looking over Spyderco catalog to see if there was a design that I could take. Most designs have large bulge for thumb hole and that curved line was not appealing at that time. Finally, I got my eyes on Native and Manix, both having broad blade shape with no bump or bulge. Though broader, they have smooth lines. I went to the shop and looked over them. I found that Manix was quite large, and I was more toward choosing Native. Around then, the shop owner came and said that they got a new shipment of knives and produced newly released Delica 4. It immediately caught my eyes. It was much cuter than Native(to my eyes :) ). The handling was better for my hand. So, I bought one. (Yeah, and the first shipment of Delica 4 for the shop, the first buyer. Not much, but something that amuses me still.)
I began EDC'ing Delica, and I began to like and appreciate Spyderco knives. It's all downhill from there. I began eyeing Spydercos more closely, and buying them. They're wonderful knives. Very practical, and once you develop a taste for the style, quite charming. I even ended up buying and EDC'ing a couple of Mili's which I have thought too big for my use. They're rather big to use casually in front of other people though. The only regret in carrying Mili.
I've been eyeing Ocelot more than a year, and am hoping to add it to my growing Spyderco family, but there are always other knives taking priority. Hoping that one day I would carry it home with me.

[Simple Man]

I have always carried some sort of knife, a SAK or small Buck even through middle school, but my inlaws and I were on vacation in Gatlinburgh, TN and I needed a good folder for farm work. I was looking at belt carry knives at SMKW, but instead we all picked up a Gerber EZ-Out each. I was hooked on the "clipped" knife, I carried that for a while, then about three years later, again at SMKW, I went looking for this spider-sumthin'-or-other brand my bro-in-law mentioned. I got a FRN Jess Horn and it has been downhill since.

[spydutch]

I have been carrying a folder from age 10 or so and I've always been interested in them. My Dad and Gramps
always had a pocket knife on them as well(those Herder/ Solingen slipjoints). Whenever my parents went on a trip they always brought back another slipjoint for me. :)

Only in 2004 I discovered the locking knives and they appealed to me much better and saver. I started out with some POS China knives then CRKT and FOX. Spydies never appealed to me first because of the strange blades. Until, out of curiosity, I bought my first Spydie a SaltI.

The rest is history :eek: :D