While the main reason for using knives is as a utility tool to cut and slice things, women tend to carry them mainly for self-defence and protection from possible threats among other many reasons. For women to ensure their safety, a knife is such a versatile and effective weapon, because they are easy to conceal, boosts self-confidence, is intimidating, and much more.
If you are a woman reading this, it means you know that you need one. But why especially a knife? Read on to find out Why each Woman Should Carry a Knife.
Why Do Women Use Knives For Self-defence?
Statistics show that approx. 80% of women have experienced frequent street harassment globally. Most likely, you have endured one yourself or perhaps another form of violence. And you might have been carrying some sort of self-defence tools, such as pepper spray or scissors but knives remain one of the most popular self-defence weapons for women to carry along. Pondering why?
1. Easy to Conceal
Every woman, or at least the majority, carries a shoulder bag. Self-defense knives come in different shapes, sizes, and types. A folding blade knife would be small in size and easy to hide in your bag or pocket. It’s important to stress that it should be easily accessible or it wouldn’t serve the purpose it’s intended for.
2. Self-Confidence
Carrying a knife would make you feel protected and ready to defend yourself when needed. Consequently, this would boost your self-confidence and make you less prone to attacks from robbers, rapists, or bullies as they tend to harass less confident women when they target their prey.
3. Intimidating
Unless the attacker is well experienced and with a certain physical appearance like being big built, the chances are a sharp blade pointed to their face is going to intimidate them. A scared woman with a knife fighting for her life might cause more damage than a trained marine seal. In most cases, when you deploy a knife, the attacker would retreat and flee away.
4. Convenient to buy
Knives are sold about anywhere. You can buy self-defence knives from a local store or even online. Buying a knife does not require any special licenses, unlike firearms. There are a variety of online stores that would ship them straight away to your doorstep. In an article, I have written about the Top 5 Best Self-Defense Knife for a Woman
5. Accessible
Having the right self-defense knife at the right time is vital but what is more important is to be accessible and easy to deploy. Semi-automatic and automatic folding knives are suitable for this role, opening into a “combat” position in an instant making you ready to defend yourself in a blink of an eye.
6. Can cause Serious Damage
Disclaimer: It’s not encouraged to use a self-defence knife to hurt others or cause damages or loss of lives unless in rare severe cases and only for the mere purpose of self-defence and as a last resort to save yourself from a life-threatening situation.
Although it’s not advisable to deploy your knife and actually use it to cause damages to attackers, in certain cases, this might be unavoidable. In such instances, a knife can cause severe damages that would paralyze the attacker providing you with ambient time to escape the danger or call for help. With the proper training, you would be able to target certain body parts that would serve the goal without taking the life of a person.
7. It’s legal
Despite not having any specific license to buy or carry a knife, in some states, certain knives might be illegal to carry and considered a misdemeanour. Having that said, it’s most likely legal to carry a knife or sharp objects for self-defence taking into consideration the conditions that apply differently in each state or country.
References:
What Knives are Illegal in Florida?
7 Types of Knives That Are Illegal in Australia
18 Knives That Are Illegal In the UK
Or check your local law before you buy/carry a knife.
How does a woman conceal/hide her knife?
The simple answer is, just about anywhere you feel comfortable being in your bag, pocket, or in a sheath hidden under your pair of jeans. Also, knives come with a sheath that can be clipped onto your belt hidden under your jacket.
One of the major reasons women choose knives over other self-defence tools is the ability to hide them. This is mainly because of their compact size compared to guns for instance. However, it’s also crucial to be at reach when deemed necessary. Hiding or concealing a knife without being able to reach for it swiftly will not achieve the desired results.
Certain attires may make it difficult for you to hide the knife. Wearing dresses, pencil skirts or snug-fit pants might not be the best option for this mission. You need to be very careful while choosing your apparel and knife design to ensure accessibility and comfortable placement. A big fixed blade knife would be challenging to conceal and may cause discomfort.
Conclusion – Why Every Woman Should Carry a Knife?
As a woman, your first choice for a self-defence tool should be a knife for many reasons. This is due to its reliability, effectiveness, and accessibility. Hiding the knife and keeping it ready for confrontation wouldn’t be an issue too. But what is more important is to ensure that you know how to handle a knife. A knife can be very dangerous if not handled properly. Not only it’s important to learn how to use it, but also how to maintain it. A dull knife might hurt one’s hand while deploying it.