Welcome to the Urban EDC Showcase! Each week, we feature a member of the EDC community and the gear they rely on every day. Want to be featured? Submit your gear photo.
Based in Long Beach, Jordan (@pxlpirate) is the modern renaissance man. Surfing, playing in bands, training as an EMT, learning to make knives from David Boye, travelling the world as a missionary and currently a captain on a dredging project in Anchorage – this pirate has done it all. What more can we say? Read on for the full story!
What's in your carry?
- Knives: Boye folders
Barring travel days (thanks to the good ol' TS of A) these knives have been in my pocket every day since their arrival. I'm a professional Mariner, so my gear really goes through it.
These knives are light, so I don't have to choose between them and another wrench or that pry bar that might be needed down in that hole I don't wanna crawl out of 50 times.
Speaking of tight spaces: they keep a low profile and don't get snagged when crawling through hatches. The blades are BDC or Boye Dendritic Cobalt (dendritic refers to the dendron or branch-like crystals that form in the metal matrix), which doesn't rust, sharpens easily, and keeps cutting even when the edge gets dull.
And in my line of work, that could mean the difference between a near miss and millions in damage, or worse, life and death.
- Flashlight: CRKT James Williams
This is hands down my favorite torch. With modes ranging from 5 to 320 lumens, it's just right for nearly any situation. The importance of 5 lumens in a pitch-black environment cannot be overstated.
The bombproof construction invokes confidence in hand. This thing has been used as a fulcrum, stood in for a peg, and submerged in mysterious bilge slime more times than I care to mention and, after a good scrub, emerges untainted every time.
- Wallet: Taylor Stitch Minimalist Wallet
The hunt for the perfect wallet is endless. But this wallet has done right by me for the past few years, and I don't suspect that streak will be ending soon.
Aside from the pile of IDs that live in the work bag, I only need room for 3 cards, a bit of cash, and a coin; this wallet keeps each of these slim and tidy, wrapped in delightfully soft leather.
With the aid of the coin, for orientation, I can often grab whichever item is needed without removing the wallet from my pocket, a game-changer when hands are full and surfaces are limited.
The minimal profile means it can live in my back pocket no matter how long the movie is or how far we're driving because I hardly know it's there. Game changer.
- Aftershave: Musk and Hustle #122
So many times, I have left the house and wanted to top up my aftershave. The Nitro pen let me do that wherever I go. really handy to be able to carry my favorite aftershave with convenience.
- Coin 1: Fernet Branca 2013 OC, CA Challenge Coin
My introduction to challenge coins came through the bar world. Some of my best friends are in that industry and we all went through a Fernet phase, and Fernet loves challenge coins.
Unless you know someone with connections, or go through eBay (👎🏽), you've gotta be at an industry event to get one. And even then there's no guarantee. Admittedly it's an odd piece of EDC for someone who barely knows how to use a cocktail strainer, but that's part of the fun.
- Coin 2: Drifters EDC Wayfinder Coin
I'd seen this coin on the gram what seems like ages ago and I knew then I had to get one. The coin has a ship's wheel minted opposite the compass rose, both of which are daily essentials. Since my indecision usually piques between the unknown (compass) and the familiar (wheel), this coin is a perfect decision-maker.
- Burt's Bee's Hand Salve:
This stuff works miracles. My hands are punished more than any piece of gear and this salve somehow knits them back together. Thanks, Burt!
What's your story?
Based in Long Beach, I spent my late teens and my early 20s living the California dream: surfing most mornings and playing in bands. A lot of the bands sucked, and the ones that didn't had too much drama.
Trained as an EMT, and while I loved the work, school and I really don't get along. At one point I took an opportunity to learn how to make knives from David Boye, a guy who literally wrote the book on DIY knife making.
Spent some time traveling: building houses and schools in Mexico, connecting with missionaries in Singapore, Thailand, and Eastern Malaysia. One of those missionaries would set me on a path upon which I would meet my wife. But that's a story all on its own.
Currently, I'm working on a dredging project in the port of Anchorage, AK, as a Captain/Engineer. might sound fancy, but we're basically pushing an enormous vacuum around the inlet. I work for a few different companies with contracts that vary from offshore oil platforms to charter yachts to island ferries. I try to stay well rounded
I've always loved knives. My dad gave me a whittling knife when I was about nine, no doubt an attempt to stop me from taking his, and I carried that thing everywhere.
When I was old enough to buy knives myself the focus was always quantity, and boy was I unkind to those poor blades. My respect for tools has increased substantially since then and with it their longevity.
I'm often working 85-90hrs a week, so free time is generally spent eating and sleeping. When work is slow I'm happiest outdoors: hiking, biking, working the garden. My wife and I love to travel, which is how I got into photography. It's hard to beat a week spend hiking foreign landscapes.
Favorite EDC Tool?
Probably the Fernet coin, purely for the sentimental value. It doesn't see daylight often, but when I'm out with friends and set it on the bar, a silent pocket check, I'm reminded why it never leaves my wallet.
What's On Your Gear Radar?
Honestly, that changes almost daily. Been looking at the Wingman by Malone knives. Wayfinder to the rescue!
