Welcome to the Urban EDC Showcase! Each week, we feature one member of the EDC community and the gear they rely on every day. Want to be featured? Submit your gear photo.
From Galicia, in the Northwest of Spain, we talk to David (@cognosedc) who pivoted from being a physicist to a Senior DevOps and Systems Engineer. Like many of us, his fascination with EDC began with his grandpa who always carried a knife. Continuing that tradition, David is always there to save the day with his blade. Read on for the full rig rundown and find out what's David's favorite tool of them all.
Featured tools:
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Watch: Hamilton Khaki King
I’ve been a Casio user since forever when my grandma got me my first F-91W which worked for like 15 years to my current "Casioak" all black. I tried recently some smart watches but I just couldn’t bear the notifications ringing all the time in my wrist so I took a right turn and went full classic with this Hamilton Khaki King automatic and oh boy!, absolutely 0 regrets. +3s per day on this blackout ops kinda feel auto. I just love it!
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Pocket organizer: Ursa Leather Goods Mount
It is not always in my pocket but when it is I usually carry the all black Ursa Leather Goods Mount. Small enough to fit a front pocket and with room for a 2 layer SAK or a Mini Bugout/Small Sebenza, a pry bar or a small flashlight like the Reylight Mini Pineapple and a Fisher Space Pen or small pen like the ones from Big Idea Design. What can I say, you already know Maciej’s job and quality.
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Flashlight: Rovyvon Aurora A3
I rotate between different options but this Rovyvon Aurora A3 always lives on my keychain. Small, light and rather powerful for its size. I don’t know how many times it saved me looking for things in the dark or under a couch/car seats for something that the kids dropped.
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Pry/worry stone: Anso Mini Bar
The pry bar I always carry in my keychain since I got it is the Anso of Denmark Mini Bar by Jens Anso. This works as a pry bar, bottle opener and on top of all that as a worry stone. I can’t count the amount of times this thing ends up in my hands and I find myself fidgeting with it. The bronze inlay is just the cherry on top.
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Keychain: Trayvax Link
As everyone in the EDC community and probably in the world I always struggled for the better way to carry the keys. This is my latest approach to it, the Trayvax Link.
I find it comfortable to hook it in my belt buckle and just drop the keys in the back pocket. I attach everything to it with these small NiteIze S-biners so I can just take everything away with the quick detach feature of the link or the individual items if needed. Not sure if this will be the final approach to the key situation but so far it will definitely stay for a while.
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Coin: Carpe Diem EDC
I don’t always carry a worry coin but when I do it is one of Jim’s at Carpe Diem EDC coins. This one is the Carpe Noctem coin that I got on the edge of my second boy being born. It is just a reminder to keep going on the looong sleepless nights of parenthood…
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Hank: Real Men Carry
Being a glasses guy I usually carry a hank and now that I have two kids I’m finding even more uses for it. I have several different hanks with different fabrics, here in the picture is one of the limited hanks by Real Men Carry. Great quality and craftsmanship from this really nice fellow from Germany.
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Pen: Tactile Turn Bolt Action
Let me just leave the knife to the end. My most used pen is the Tactile Turn Bolt Action Short. This is just awesome. It was my first “nice” pen and all I can say is that I love it. Heavy (but not too much), great action and with a Pilot G2 refill that I adapted to it, just an outstanding writing machine. If you pair it with a field notes notebook (as shown in the background) you have the perfect pair for taking notes anywhere.
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Wallet: Trayvax Summit Armored wallet
Down at the right corner is my latest approach to minimalism. The Trayvax Summit Armored wallet. Got it a few days ago and it is still in testing phase. I always carried minimal wallets in leather so this is my first metal one.
So far I love it. It is barely the size of a credit card and the thickness of as many cards as you put inside (plus 2 for the metal plates). Where I live coins are still a thing so I added a Cavity Tray by Ridge to the equation to be able to carry some coins inside. Not sure if it will stay cause even if it is padded the coins still make some clingy noise.
- Knife: Chris Reeve Small Inkosi
The one and only Small Inkosi from Chris Reeve. If you check my Instagram you’ll see I have a number of knives but this one has something to it that always finds its way into my pocket. It is just like the knife speaks to you, and it sort of does. Am I the only one that likes “listening” to the sound that titanium makes? Small, compact but with enough blade for any EDC task I can throw at it. For me this is the perfect EDC.
My story:
I’m a Senior DevOps/Systems Engineer that lives in Galicia, in the Northwest of Spain. I was meant to be a physicist but life got in the middle and I had to opt for a career with reasonable work opportunities in my area.
Funny thing is that I work mostly for German and Swiss companies now. I worked in Television over Internet for like 10 years before jumping to the Real State business bringing the big old-school real state companies into the XXIst century with Big Data and Mobile applications to manage the full lifecycle of a rental application from the first contact to changing a lightbulb.
I got into EDC like many of us… grandpa always had a knife in the pocket that was always saving the day. One thing led to the other and here we are, I’m the one saving the day now by having a blade always on me.
From food prep for the kids to opening packages, shredding cardboard, zipties, feather sticking to anything you can imagine (and for the things you can not that it is where the knife comes more handy) a blade is and will always be on me.
Free time? What is this? a joke? JK, a full time job, two kids, just moving into a new house doesn’t leave much spare time but my main hobby is astrophotography.
Going out in the woods in pitch dark for hours just to take a picture of something that is 2.5 million light years away (and that is close) has something magical to it. The hiking to the spot, the preparation, dinner under the stars and then the process of revealing what nature hides so far away is amazing.
I also love riding and working on my bike, a 2008 Harley Davidson Sportster Iron. Modding knives, specially Swiss Army Knives is also so much fun. Recently I found myself making flutes out of bamboo, cause, why not? Anything to keep my mind occupied.
Favorite EDC tool:
One of my grails that a few months back fell in my hands. I was always a fan of the Grimsmo Norseman and one day it will probably happen, but in the meantime I’m in love with my Herman Knives Sting Nr 72. Bronze anodized titanium on a m390 blade and that drop shut action that will any of us drool on it. That is just a piece of art and my first custom.
What's on my gear radar:
I’ve always been a Victorinox guy but I think it is time to give the other side of the force a go and get myself a Leatherman, and if you go Leatherman there’s no wrong choice as far as I know but I’m a fan of buying once and forgetting so I’ll probably go with the Charge+ TTi.