Welcome to the Urban EDC Showcase! Each week, we feature one member from the EDC community and the gear they rely on every day. Want to be featured? Submit your gear photo.
For this week's community EDC feature, we are honored to have Rupert (@castor_.pollux) from the UK sharing his daily tools with us. Rupert works in law, and while his work life is spent in the city, his spare time is dedicated to the outdoors. Read on for the full rundown of Rupert's beautifully understated and highly functional everyday carry!
Featured Tools:
- Knives: Shing Chan & Serge Panchenko
There are two here, but I would only ever carry one at once. Both are slip joints with blades under 3” making them legal to carry in the UK.
The lower of the two is a custom job by UK maker Shing Chan, made to my specifications. I commissioned a knife from him as a gift and liked it so much I had him make one for me as well.
This one has a titanium frame making it light, a damasteel blade and bolsters making it a bit bling and wooden scales, making it a bit traditional. The wood is English bog oak - oak that has been naturally preserved, blackened and hardened in an acidic peat bog for hundreds of years. Shing is an amazing craftsman and the fit and finish is superb.
The upper knife is a Serge Panchenko Bean. This is tiny with a simple oval design. The stonewashed scales give it a bit of a Boba Fett vibe. It’s small enough to fit into a jeans watch pocket.
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Light: Tain Ottavino
I have quite a few small flashlights but for actual regular carry this Tain Ottavino gets the most use as it’s so small. I don’t want lots of large heavy stuff clanking about in my pockets.
Tain produces titanium lights in small batches. The Ottavino is immaculately machined and has a single tritium gas vial in the base so you can locate it in the dark. It has a twist on/off so it’s unlikely to be accidentally switched on in a pocket.
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SAK: Victorinox
Victorinox rambler with custom titanium scales by ALM tools. The small scissors tool is particularly useful.
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Watch: Sinn 556
The 556 has one of the cleanest face designs I have seen, whilst remaining very easy to read. It can be worn with pretty much anything, including a suit. I have it on a rubber strap but I also have a bracelet - I prefer wearing a bracelet, but the watch looks better against a darker strap.
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Wallet: Louis Vuitton
This pocket organiser is bit extravagant I suppose. I wanted a small wallet that I could put in the breast pocket of a suit without making a bulge. This carries 3-4 cards and has a slot on the outside rear for travel tickets. It’s all I need as I now rarely need to carry cash.
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Pens: Rotring
I use these two a lot. Both are Rotrings - an 800 mechanical pencil and a 600 ballpoint - and are bauhaus design classics. They have stopped making the ballpoints for some reason and they have become a bit of a cult item.
Background:
I am from the UK and work in the law. I have been interested in pocket tools since I was a child and have carried a Swiss army knife since I was young. I spend my work life in the city but my spare time in the outdoors.
When it comes to EDC, I don't always rationalize my purchases through practicality. If you think about it, 99% of the time a $50 SAK will do everything that a $500 custom knife will do, so after a point I can’t justify purchases based purely on utility - I just see cool thing and gradually con myself that I need one.
Favorite EDC Tool:
My favorite EDC tool of the bunch is probably the Shing knife because it is a true made to order custom build. It was built to my exact specifications, and to such a high degree of finesse and precision.