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 Scotland, we chat with Carl (@britishedc) who wears many hats. Not only is Carl is an entrepreneur, knife designer and independent journalist but also helps out at his friend's local convenience shop! Read on for the full rig rundown and find out what makes a British EDC!
Featured tools:
- Knife: The Hoo Knives V1 Prototype
I love this knife as it was designed by myself to be a perfect sub 3" non-locking one-handed opening EDC knife, its a fantastic gentleman carry that will be able to tackle most if not all EDC tasks I encounter.
- Pry bar: Barefoothumble Mini Titanium Pry Bar
A fantastic bit of kit designed and handcrafted in the UK by the skilled Barefoothumble. This prybar stops me going for my knife when its a job for a pry.
- SAK: Victorinox Cadet
This is the limited edition 2019 Victorinox cadet. I always like to have a backup blade and the humble SAK is that and so much more, you never know when one of its tools may come in handy and I often find myself using the flat head screwdriver on it.
- Pen: Swarf Pens Little S Bolt Action Two-Tone
Fidgety, gentlemanly and practical is words I would use to describe the Little S by Swarf Pens, I asked for him to custom make mine in aluminium with a brass bolt and pusher to give a stunning Two-Tone effect.
- Watch: Rolex Datejust 1
This is my Rolex Datejust 126234, with a white roman dial, 36mm. An extremely reliable timepiece that can be dressed up or down, the Rolex Datejust is a classic.
Great Britain wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill was gifted a Rolex Datejust with his family crest engraved on the back, after hearing this a few years ago I started doing my research into the watch world and found myself trapped in a spiral of feeling compelled to buy one, I just couldn't say no to the White Roman dial 36mm.
- EDC Organiser: Lorimer Leather Paddy
A fantastic EDC organiser with 5 pockets, I use this to carry everything in the image apart from the wristwatch, they are high-quality leather and masterfully handcrafted in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
- Hank: Little Hanks Custom
I wanted an EDC hank personal to myself and reached out to Little Hanks who was happy to oblige! They helped me get my family crest on this lovely hank and it quickly became a favourite of mine.
- Lanyard bead: Barefoothumble Ghost bead
Situated on the glow in the dark lanyard on the Hoo Knives V1 the Ghost Bead by Barefoothumble is a handcrafted custom bead that glows to aid the user in finding his/her pocket knife or tool in the dark, a super handy bead to have.
My story:
I am based in Scotland, United Kingdom. I'm an entrepreneur with a few jobs, I am the co-founder of Hoo Knives a company that designs and sells pocket knives, I am an independent journalist and also work in my friend's local convenience shop a few days a week to help out.
I was born in Hartlepool, England and moved to Glasgow, Scotland when I was just 3-years-old so my Gordie accent is long gone and has been replaced by a Glaswegian one.
I first started playing about with pocket knives as a youngster finding some in my Dads office drawers and I quickly became fascinated by them and developed a habit for 'borrowing' one from the old man, funnily enough at Christmas, I paid him back for the 'borrowed' knives by getting him a nice Barlow slip joint.
I always use to carry a pocket knife before I knew the term EDC existed, when I found out there was a full community based around the idea of EDC I knew I wanted to get involved and am very grateful I did as the people who make up the EDC world are so welcoming and supportive.
Since then I have developed a taste for many EDC items, not just pocket knives, although my main focus is still pocket knives and I don't see my love for them going anywhere anytime soon.
I do a lot of political and historical research in my spare time, I tend to be more interested in non-fiction than fiction and often binge-watch documentaries or listen to lecture audiobooks. My free time is about to be cut hella short as my girlfriend and I are expecting to welcome a baby into the world at the end of the month!
On a lighter note, I enjoy football and support Rangers Football Club. I also enjoy the odd video game and love music but my taste is too eclectic to narrow it down to give you any set examples of what I like.
Favorite EDC tool:
My favourite item would have to be the Hoo Knives V1 Prototype, it holds a special place in my heart given this was the first pocket knife I ever designed and brought to production. It is designed with a non-locking detent system and sub 3'' blade to allow for EDC carry in the United Kingdom and Germany.
What's on my gear radar:
I would like to acquire a plain jane titanium Sebenza 31, I have a Sebenza 31 with Box Elder Burl inlay I fell in love with and would love to see how the full titanium compares to this!