Showcase #55: State Auditor from New Jersey

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 feature, we welcome Grant (@essentialcarry) from New Jersey. Grant is an auditor for the state and enjoys weightlifting, fishing, golfing and collecting knives. Read on for Grant's full rig rundown and his rationale behind each and every item!

Featured Tools:

• Knife 01: Benchmade 555 Mini Griptilian (with custom scales)
  My main knife is the Mini Grip with custom Applied Weapons Tech (AWT) scales. I find myself carrying this knife a lot because it’s a really good size for EDC. The Mini Grip with the addition of AWT scales adds some girth and makes for a perfect size. Paired with the Benchmade deep carry clip and you’ve got EDC perfection, plus it’s orange! My most recent use for this knife was wire stripping. Even if I dull this blade, the 154CM steel takes a hair popping edge easily.
   
• Knife 02: Spyderco Manbug
  A lot of people tend to refer to the watch pocket knife as a “backup” knife. I prefer to this knife as the “don’t scare the crap out of people in public knife.” If I think someone might get uncomfortable with me pulling out a large blade, there’s always this little guy. The Manbug in G10 handles with a stainless steel bolster is rock solid and performs just as well as its bigger Spyderco siblings.

• Knife 03: Great Eastern Cutlery Beer Scout
  This was recently acquired in a trade, and I haven’t been able to put this one down. I'll usually carry some sort of traditional pocket knife along side my main blade. The Beer Scout has filling that spot because it’s a real beauty. And you can never be over-prepared to open a bottle of beer!
  
  
• Keychain Knife: Gerber GDC Zip Blade
  This keychain knife is for the smallest of small cutting tasks. It's quite useful for something like cutting a string off a shirt at work. Nobody has yet to be intimidated by this sub 1” blade. In fact, most people have been fascinated with it when they see it.
  
  
• Light: Zebralight SC52L2
  This is a user for sure! I opted for a flashlight with AA batteries instead of the higher powered Li-ion for ease of replacement. I constantly use the Zebralight indoors at low beam. And when I go outdoors the high beam is a true performer.

• Watch: Seiko LeGrand Sport
  I am a big Seiko fanatic. This model is a kinetic perpetual with a sapphire crystal and beautiful detailing on the dial. My biggest attraction to this watch is the kinetic movement, which combines the best of automatic and quartz movements. It can easily sit for a week and will reset itself when I pick it back up. The perpetual calendar means I never have to manually change the date when it’s the first of the month and the watch says it’s the 31. It even adjusts for leap years; such a great feature!

• Lipbalm: Natural Ice
  Got to go with the Cherry. I don’t even know how I came across this brand, but I've been a loyal customer for many years. I order it in bulk on Amazon. You get that slight cooling sensation with a burst of cherry flavor. This is probably way more than you wanted to know about lip balm. 

Background:

Deciding on which EDC to pick as a feature on your site was about as difficult as my wife asking if we should have a second child!

My name is Grant and I work as an auditor for the state of New Jersey. I am 33, married, with two daughters ages 3 and 4. My hobbies are weightlifting, fishing, golfing and of course collecting knives and watches.

My obsession with knives (and EDC in general) started around age 11 when I found my first pocket knife in my grandparents’ garage. I took it home without permission, got in trouble, but ended up getting to keep it (and yes I still have it to this day!).

The watch obsession began after I got my first job as a bank teller when I could finally afford a decent watch. So I treated myself to a Seiko. Over the years I was in and out of collecting little things here and there. But it wasn’t until having my first child that I found myself spending a lot of time around the house. And sure enough, the passion for EDC was back in full swing.

Over the last couple years, I filled a drawer with knives and watches and a couple other EDC items. I don’t discriminate when it comes to knives. If it fits in my pocket, I will carry it, or at least try it out!

My only real preference for my main EDC blade is a deep carry clip, as I prefer to be discreet when carrying a knife. I decided about a year ago that I needed a way to share my hobby with others, so I created an Instagram account solely dedicated to things that I carry with me all the time. I named it “essentialcarry” because what I post is what I consider as essential.

Whether I'm at home, at work, or in the park with the kids, I’ll change what I'm carrying to fit the situation. I’m by no way a hard user of knives. However, I like to be ready for any task if it comes my way. I may wear a suit to work 5 days a week, but you’d better believe I have at least a pocket knife in my suit jacket pocket. 

Favorite EDC Tool:

Of the EDC I listed, I must have a watch and a knife. So those are my favorites. I'm a self-proclaimed EDC nut and proud of it!