Frequently Asked Questions

1. THIS KNIFE LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO USE?

2. WHY DID YOU DESIGN THIS KNIFE?

3. WHAT ARE THE HIDEAWAY'S SPECS?

4. DOES THE TRAINER KNIFE COME WITH A SHEATH?

5. DO YOU ACCEPT MONEY ORDERS?

6. DO YOU ACCEPT PERSONAL CHECKS?

7. I WEAR MY HIDEAWAY EVERY DAY, AND WANT TO GET MY WIFE ONE FOR HER BIRTHDAY. HOW CAN I DISCRETELY GET HER HIDEAWAY MEASUREMENT?

8. WILL YOU HOLD AN ITEM FOR ME?

9. WHEN WILL MY ORDER SHIP?

10. AM I ABLE TO CANCEL, CHANGE, OR ADD TO MY ORDER?

11. HOW DO I CORD-WRAP MY OWN KNIFE?

12. HOW DO I FIND OUT MY SIZE TO BUY A KNIFE?

13. NONE OF THESE QUESTIONS HELP, WHAT SHOULD I DO?


1. This knife looks very different. What is it like to use?

Hold either hand up, fingers relaxed, with the back of your hand towards you. Put your thumb along the side. If you were wearing your HideAway, your thumb would now be along the thumb ramp, and the metal capsule would be around your 2 fingers. We call this an "inverted grip". The blade would be above your fingers like a claw coming out of the back of your fingers.

Now, you can then do other things with your HideAway Knife without dropping it. You can hold a flashlight, hold a gun, hit with a palm strike, grab onto something for balance, or even swim.

One customer put his on and typed for 15 minutes when he first received it. Another person sent me an email how it's the fastest DVD security tape removal tool in existence, because he didn't have to keep putting it down and picking it back up between cuts.

Deployment is simply a quick yank.

Day-to-day in your favorite carry method, it is light enough to forget about it until you need it.

With this knife, your wrist does not have to be canted at a weakened off angle to hold the knife straight out like it does with almost every other knife. Your wrist can stay in an inline, locked position when using your HideAway.

This one is tough to explain, but it seems that it would be more difficult to accidentally cut myself with a HideAway. This is because of the way you grip most knives vs the HideAway. For example, to accidentally cut inwards, you would have to do the equivalent of hitting yourself with the back of your fingers. Of course with humans, all variations of accidents are possible or probable. It's just harder to make a mistake with that orientation vs a normal knife edge coming out of the side of your palm.

 

2. Why did you design this knife?

a) Because I could find no knife with a small enough overall size that was also easily deployable and retainable. I know I could probably not deploy a folding knife in a high stress situation. It is fun to practice opening folding knives. However, I don't want to rely on being able to do that in a high stress situation. I also wanted a knife retainable to the extent that if I were hit and my hand had to relax, the edge would not drop.

b) Because I wanted a knife that would make me want to keep it close by and accessible within seconds always. A lot of SD-minded people talk about their weapons but the reality is very few would really have something handy enough if they needed it.

Why is this, when being unprepared and getting hurt is so awful? Some people underestimate just how bad things can get. This happens for very logical reasons - breathing too much climate-controlled air, living in a suburban womb of safety, or being saturated by Hollywood's sanitized portrayals of violence. Others do not underestimate how bad it can get, but they also find that carrying a weapon constantly and consistently to be very challenging. Life is already full of a lot of challenges. I wanted this knife to make it much easier to be prepared for those times when an extra edge could make a big difference. And of course for when you are fishing, gardening or climbing, and it would be really convenient to hold on to something else at the same time when you need to cut something.

"Quickly accessible" means hidden in plain sight. Independent of what I was wearing, I wanted quick accessibility to the knife. Behind my ID badge, under a collar, inside a pocket, inside a waistband. As a customer who is an orthopedic surgeon said, "This knife passes the 5 second test. You forget it is there after 5 seconds."

 

3. What are the Hideaway's specs?

Materials are either the new S30V stainless steel or 440C stainless steel.

All HideAway Knives are ground on both sides. We decided against chisel grind (ground on 1 side only) after reading and talking with lots of folks and doing some cutting tests on cardboard with both.

Hardness maven Paul Bos heat treats all my S30V.

Edge length varies some based on size, who grinds them, etc. We want to keep the straights under 2" in length. The blade length of some of the Curvys and Hybrids are almost all over 2" though because of the curves, so if that poses a legal boundary keep that in mind.

Originally we picked this blade length because it fit within the Fibonacci ratio for optimum strength, and also because there are many other very popular self-defense knives with a 1.5-2.0" blade length. We figured since so many people carried them, they all couldn't be wrong. We did our own testing to validate that, since that line of reasoning doesn't always pan out. It did in this case.

We could go bigger and stay within our design boundary of the Fibonacci ratio, but for the intent of this knife, bigger is definitely not better. Even slightly bigger pushes the form factor beyond that which can be concealed behind an ID badge, under a lapel, easily on a keychain, in a pocket, without thinking twice. With the HideAway's form factor, you get the most blade with the most concealability and retention that exists.

We also feel that bigger is unnecessary because of the testing we did on meat (rump roast, ribs, etc.). A 1.6" straight HideAway made cuts clear to the board that had a 3" thick piece of rump roast nailed to it. How can this be? I wondered that myself when the blade hit wood and I stuck a ruler into the meat. I did not expect that. It's called flesh compression.

The important things are this:

1) Have a weapon. (95% of all people don't)

2) Have it accessible within seconds (most of the remaining 5% don't) 

3) Train with the weapon (still less of the 5% don't) 

4) If the other person is faster or stronger and you sustain a hard blow, don't drop the weapon in either use or deployment. (etc...)

A blade length difference of 0.5" has not yet appeared on the list of what is important in saving your life.

 

4. Does the trainer knife come with a sheath?

Yes! We recently started including a handmade sheath, paracord kit and HAK knife kit with every trainer knife order.

5. Do you accept money orders?

Unfortunately not at this time.

6. Do you accept personal checks?

No.

7. I wear my HideAway every day, and want to get my wife one for her birthday. How can I discretely get her HideAway measurement?

Try saying, ""Hey, honey, I was reading in Modern Woman that a leading indicator for future osteoporosis in women can be inferred by a certain ratio. Let me get the circumference of your index and middle fingers, held together, of your dominant hands....just because I love you SOOOO much!"

8. Will you hold an item for me?

We do not hold items for two reasons. First, we receive many requests to hold in demand products prior to them hitting our storefront. In an effort to give a fair chance to all buyers, we sell these first come first served once they hit our website. And second, in the past we did hold items when asked nicely and often the products were never paid or shipped leaving popular items sitting on our shelves.

 

9. When will my order ship?

In stock items typically leave our storefront within 24 hours of purchase and often same day for orders placed prior to noon EST. We ship packages everyday but Sunday to ensure the quickest delivery of your order.

Click here to review our shipping policy.

 

10. AM I ABLE TO CANCEL, CHANGE, OR ADD TO MY ORDER?

Your credit card is authorized as soon as you place your order. Once you receive an order confirmation,
NO CHANGES MAY BE MADE TO THE ORDER. If you are dissatisfied with the merchandise you receive, contact us so we may resolve the issue. 

Click here for contact information.

Click here for our refund policy.

 

11. HOW DO I CORD-WRAP MY OWN KNIFE?

Click Here to Learn how to Cord-wrap your Knife.

 

12. HOW DO I FIND OUT MY SIZE TO BUY A KNIFE?

Click Here to Find Out Your Knife Size.

 

13. NONE OF THESE QUESTIONS HELP, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Please contact us so that we may answer your question right away.