Smoky Mountain Knife Works

nate1714

nate1714

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Was hiking in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park this past week. Near by is Sevierville, TN where Smoky Mountain Knife Works is located. Marketed as the "worlds largest knife store" they sure do have a LARGE selection. The building is multiple stories and has every brand you can think of. I would recommend people stay on the main level which has name brand knifes, ammo, guns, and multi-tools. The lower level is cheap Chinese "display" type knives/swords. Just below that is toys, kitchen stuff, camping type equipment.

The store is large, you can easily spend 3+ hours in here just looking around. I came in looking to handle a few knives in person and was able too. The staff was very nice and most of them knew the products well. The prices online are a few dollars cheaper; however right at the door is an area coupon book which gives $5 off a purchase of $50 or more, so it balances out. There are some tables laid out with some sales prices, that is where the deals are. I saw some $45 Schrade knives for $15, after looking online the best price I could find on that specific knife was $35.

The store is worth it if not for seeing a large selection of knives in person and being able to handle them.

On a side note Buds Gun Shop & Range is next door and might be worth a look at, though I didn't think their prices were amazing.

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Thanks for looking!
 
I love that place. Your photos don't give a good feel for just how big it is, though--that store is huge for a knife store.
 
WOW!!!
Grew up in NY and living in NJ I have NEVER seen anything remotely like that!!
Thanks for posting!!
 
From the late 80's through the early 90's I bought a ton of stuff from them out of their catalogs. There wasn't really anything else quite like them at the time. If I recall correctly I sold a big chunk of my Case collection to them as well.
 
Yes that is a very large store. Every time we go in we spend at least a few hours looking around. They have many display cases with antique knives too. They also have very expensive vintage Case knives in a case nearby where all the GECs are. I think their prices aren't too bad. But once you get into the Spydercos and Benchmades and Zero Tolerances (higher cost knives) their prices aren't that good and you could easily get a better deal on the internet. I definitely do like the store though I love looking at all the cool stuff in person. They have a great many displays and models to look at. Since I am only 16 they wouldn't let me buy anything unless my Dad did, and they wouldn't let me look at anything in the cases, unless my Dad asked first and then handed it to me. I would stay away from the loads of junk knives because if you are on a budget they have good brands to choose from too. (Opinel, Victorinox, etc) The gun range across the road there just outside is pretty cool. We were in town and didn't have a gun to take in and we went in there and were able to rent one to shoot and buy rounds too. I don't remember how much it costed but it wasn't much or we wouldn't have done it. It was pretty fun and wasn't very crowded when we went in.
 
Great place and it is full of interesting items, they had the KNife museum there when I was there a few years ago. I think Kellam knives were there too.
 
I stopped in there yrs ago, and found a traditional multi-blade that I liked. I needed to have one blade as a reg screw-driver bit, so after I bought the knife, I took it down to the "basement" area. They have a tool-shop there, and the nice guy ground a nice screw-driver on my blade of choice; no cost.
I used that blade for quite a few yrs OJT, until it finally fell out of my pocket and was lost.
Short story...very nice (very large) store with nice folks running it. Highly reco'd.
p.s. It taught me to use a pocket-clip or leather pocket sheath on any knife.
 
SMKW is a must if you get within an hours driving distance. Prices aren't that great, not awful though, but the shear size of the place is insane and must be seen to be believed. Picked up an ESEE Candiru for myself and a Streamlight Stylus Pro for my young daughter the last time I was there, about two years ago.
 
I buy a lot of my kitchen knives there. Buy most of my SAKs there. Buy most of my Condors there. Need I say more. GEC's... nope. They charge way too much for them there (list price or higher).

Usually spend a couple hours there and I prefer to go when they aren't real busy.
 
Thanks for the post and photos, nate1714! I meant to create a similar thread last year after visiting the store, but I got sidetracked with work and never got around to it.

I've been an SMKW customer since back in the days when they printed their catalog in large newsprint format, somewhere around 1982-3. So it was a lifelong goal of mine to make it to the store and I finally got the opportunity in 2016. Some fulfilled dreams disappoint; this one exceeded expectations! Talk about a kid in a candy store! I've been in a LOT of knife stores in my time, but none can compare with SMKW. The sheer scope of the stock is incredible--items from just about every manufacturer you can name, plus, as others mentioned, selections from a few new-old-stock collections they've procured, along with wall displays and knife paraphernalia of every type.

I went in thinking I'd look around for an hour or two and ended up spending five without getting to see everything I wanted to! Folks, if you're ever anywhere near Sevierville, you owe it to yourself to visit Smoky Mountain Knife Works!

-Steve
 
The Whip said:
Thanks for the post and photos, nate1714! I meant to create a similar thread last year after visiting the store, but I got sidetracked with work and never got around to it.
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I went in thinking I'd look around for an hour or two and ended up spending five without getting to see everything I wanted to! Folks, if you're ever anywhere near Sevierville, you owe it to yourself to visit Smoky Mountain Knife Works!
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Yep. If you like knives and are close, stop. I never started a thread on the subject because they are not a forum dealer. I mention them and get spanked by the Moderators. That is why I now call them the Rough Rider store.
 
Man, bringing back memories for me. Last time I went there was about 3 years ago and almost bought a ZT0566. They were very nice and let me try out plenty of knives when I was there.

P.S. How is the Pidgeon Fordge / Gatlinburg area looking after the fire?
 
The whole area is a great place to visit. Lot's of fun stuff to do for adults and kids and you can rent some pretty awesome cabins for dirt cheap.
 
Smooth_Operater said:
Man, bringing back memories for me. Last time I went there was about 3 years ago and almost bought a ZT0566. They were very nice and let me try out plenty of knives when I was there.

P.S. How is the Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg area looking after the fire?
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They are rebuilding after the fire. Dolly Parton set up a fund to pay impacted folks $1000 a month for a period of time (6 months I'm thinking) to help people get back on their feet. It's a pittance in the grand scheme of things, but she didn't have to do anything to help.

It is a wonderful area. I went to Cades Cove (Smoky Mt NP) probably 10 times last year. Go to the Rough Rider store perhaps 2-3 times a year. I usually don't enter the park from the Sevierville side, so I'm not driving past the store. With Spring just starting, I'm planning a visit to the fire impacted area, do some woods wandering, and of course I'll take a knife along just in case.

The store is definitely a fun visit for those that like knives.
 
Pigeon Forge is fine after the fire. Just as touristy as ever. I see it as a newer/nicer Wisconsin Dells. Gatlinburg however does have some obvious clean up going on and some damage to the trails near it.
 
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