Tom Hitchcock of Talent, Oregon, is a
custom knife and hand tool designer
with many products to his credit. He has
been designing knives and combination
hand tools since 1979. Tom is the original
inventor of the award-winning Snap
Lock mechanism. He is a prize-winning
sculptor, and a professional inventor. His
other interests include building custom
bicycles, permaculture, and appropriate
technology. "Much of my knife making
inspiration has come from Nature. My
mentors in learning about the knifemaking
industry include Matt Conable, and
Jim Whers, who both were very generous
with their time and knowledge. I was
also very inspired by Ed Halligan and the
simplicity and elegance of his knife designs.
Albert Einstein said to make things
as simple as you can and no simpler, and
this was the idea behind the Hole In One.
I wanted to build a side-opening knife that
was simple, versatile, completely unique
in its form and function, yet very practical,
safe, fun and easy to use."