Privacy Policy

Welcome to the official Privacy Policy of HandForgedWork LLC. We are a New Mexico Limited Liability Company dedicated to providing premium handcrafted blades to customers worldwide. We deeply value the trust you place in us when you choose to explore our collections, interact with our custom knife builder, or purchase our artisanal tools. This Privacy Policy is designed to clearly and transparently explain exactly how we collect, use, share, and rigorously protect your personal information when you visit our website or interact with our brand.

Information We Collect

When you visit our eCommerce platform, we collect certain critical pieces of information to ensure that your experience is as seamless and personalized as possible. The specific categories of data we gather include:

• Personal Identity Information: This includes your full name and email address, which you provide when creating an account, subscribing to our newsletter, or initiating a checkout process.
• Shipping and Delivery Information: We collect your physical shipping address, billing address, and contact telephone number. This is strictly required to physically deliver the handcrafted tools you have ordered from our workshop to your doorstep.
• Order History and Preferences: We maintain a secure internal record of the specific products you have purchased, the configurations you have selected in our custom builder, and your general order history to facilitate future support, warranty claims, and tailored recommendations.
• Site Usage and Diagnostic Data: As you navigate through our digital storefront, our systems automatically log anonymous usage metrics. This includes your IP address, browser type, device information, the specific pages you visit, and the time spent on those pages. This diagnostic data helps us continuously optimize our website's performance and layout.

Payment Processing and Security

We understand that financial security is paramount when shopping online for luxury items. We want to be unequivocally clear: HandForgedWork LLC does not collect, process, or store your sensitive payment card details, credit card numbers, or bank account credentials on our own servers at any time.

All financial transactions are handled entirely by our secure, highly encrypted, and PCI-compliant third-party payment processors. When you enter your payment information during the checkout flow, that data is transmitted directly to the processor via encrypted channels. We only receive a secure token and a confirmation that the payment was successful, allowing us to proceed with forging your order without ever exposing your financial data to our internal databases.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Like almost all modern eCommerce websites, HandForgedWork LLC utilizes "cookies"—small text files stored on your local device—to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies allow our website to remember your session, keep items securely in your shopping cart while you continue browsing, and recognize you upon your return.

You have complete control over how cookies are utilized. Most web browsers allow you to manage your cookie preferences, block third-party cookies, or delete existing cookies entirely. Please be aware, however, that disabling core functional cookies may severely disrupt your ability to use the custom knife builder or complete a checkout on our website.

Analytics and Advertising

To better understand how our community interacts with our website, we utilize Google Analytics. This service aggregates anonymous site usage data, helping us determine which pages are most popular and where our navigation might be confusing. This data is strictly used for internal website improvement.

Regarding digital advertising, we are constantly looking to expand our reach to new enthusiasts. While they are not currently active at this exact moment, we have planned integrations for both Facebook and Google advertising pixels. Once activated in the future, these tracking pixels will help us deliver highly relevant advertisements to users who have previously visited our site or shown interest in specific blade profiles. You will have the ability to opt-out of these targeted advertisements through the respective privacy settings of your Google and Facebook accounts.

Email Marketing and Communications

If you choose to opt-in to our newsletter, we will periodically send you emails detailing new product launches, exclusive custom builds, and behind-the-scenes looks into our forging process. We respect your inbox and strive to only send high-quality, relevant content.

If at any point you decide you no longer wish to receive promotional communications from us, you can immediately opt-out. Every single marketing email we send contains a clear, one-click "unsubscribe" link at the very bottom of the message. Clicking this link will instantly remove you from our marketing distribution list, though you will continue to receive critical transactional emails regarding your active orders or warranty claims.

Service Providers and Data Sharing

HandForgedWork LLC does not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to malicious third parties or data brokers. However, to successfully operate our business and fulfill your orders, we must share specific, limited data with trusted third-party service providers. These essential partners include:

• Payment Processors: As detailed above, they receive the information necessary to securely process your financial transaction.
• Shipping Carriers: We must share your name, physical address, and contact telephone number with logistics providers such as DHL, FedEx, and USPS so they can successfully deliver your forged blade to your doorstep.
• Email Platforms: We utilize secure third-party email distribution platforms to manage our newsletters and automated transactional emails (such as order confirmations and shipping updates).

All of our trusted service providers are strictly bound by confidentiality agreements and are permitted to use your personal information solely for the exact purpose of providing their designated service to HandForgedWork LLC.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfill the specific purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. For example, we maintain your order history indefinitely to facilitate our lifetime warranty claims process. If you decide to completely delete your account, we will scrub your personal identity data from our active databases, retaining only the anonymized transactional records required to comply with our legal, tax, and accounting obligations.

Your Rights: Access and Deletion

We believe that you should have absolute control over your own personal data. Wherever in the world you are located, we gladly afford you the right to request a complete copy of the personal information we currently hold about you. Furthermore, you have the right to request the permanent deletion of your personal data from our active systems.

To submit a formal request for data access or data deletion, please contact our privacy compliance team by emailing us directly. We will meticulously verify your identity before processing any such request to ensure the absolute security of your information. Please note that requesting the deletion of your data may inherently limit our ability to verify future warranty claims regarding past purchases.

California and US State Privacy Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may be granted specific additional rights regarding your personal information under state-level legislation, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and similar laws emerging across the United States. These rights may include the right to know exactly what personal information is being collected, the right to opt-out of the sale of personal information, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights.

HandForgedWork LLC complies completely with all applicable state privacy regulations. We reiterate that we do not sell your personal information to third parties for monetary compensation. If you are a resident of a state with specific privacy legislation and wish to exercise your rights under those specific statutes, please contact us using the information provided at the bottom of this policy.

Children's Privacy

The handcrafted blades and tools sold by HandForgedWork LLC are explicitly designed, marketed, and intended strictly for use by responsible adults. Our website is not directed towards, nor do we knowingly collect any personal information from, individuals under the age of 18.

By using this website, creating an account, or placing an order, you strictly represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a minor without verified parental consent, we will take immediate and sweeping steps to permanently delete that information from our servers.

Contacting Us

We are completely committed to maintaining transparency and open lines of communication regarding how we handle your data. If you have any questions, concerns, or requests specifically related to this Privacy Policy or our general data handling practices, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

You can contact our dedicated support team directly by emailing us at {{CONTACT_EMAIL}}. We make it a priority to respond to all privacy-related inquiries as promptly and thoroughly as possible.