Smoky Mountain Knifeworks Catalog....

Kohai999

Kohai999

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I was getting the SMKW catalog back in the mid '80's. I LOVED the redneck knives, the brass knuck "replicas"...the GREAT Parker made-in-Japan stuff....in short, back then, was a fan, and spent money with them.

Went to SMKW as a factory Rep for V-Tech knives on Dealer Rep Weekend about 2003/2004 timeframe. Had a real good time, learned a lot about their operation, and spent money with them....just their kitchen-wares section alone left a serious dent in my wallet.

Just got the new catalog....to say it was a major letdown is to not even begin to register the disappointment. The first 21 pages are filled with made-in-China crap, and not even the "good" stuff. Looking through this catalog is not unlike looking through a Bud K catalog(and that isn't good).

The amount of "quality" cutlery featured in the new catalog is meager at best, and they really seem to be pushing the high volume, big profit margain, low quality cutlery at the expense of stuff that really works well at a decent price.

Maybe it was time for a change, but I won't be spending any money with SMKW this season....could not fine ONE thing in the catalog that was a must-have....and that was never the case before.

What do you guys think...have you gotten the new catalog yet? Are you disappointed?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Hi Kohai999 -

I used to buy a lot of my Case stuff from them - back in the late 80's and early 90's.

They had their fair share of what we would call junk even back then, but you are right, it has gone downhill.

They sill have great service, and you can get deals on SAK's and Case knives, so I would not rule them out entirely.

But I definitely know what you are talking about.

best regards -

mqqn
 
I got mine about a week ago.Aside from a few Case knives at a decent price,nothing really sparked my interest.It is like flipping through a BudK catalog.
 
I started buying from them in the late 1980's after a co-worker brought in a Smoky Mountain catalog into work.

Without and still don't have, knife stores in this area, their catalog was like a gift from heaven to the life long knife nut.

In the past years, They (Smoky Mountain) have fallen out of favor with me. First over not saying or not marking where a knife was made and the other was over shipping charges and the way the package was shipped other than the way it was agreed to be shipped.

I bought some Queen City knives in my last orders and sad to say, they have become more trouble than they are worth.

I don't if they have gotten so big that they are now out of touch with their old customers or what.
I believe I might be through with them.

I even watched their TV show from the days of the hopping mad hillbilly to this year and can hardy watch it now, it's that bad.

I think Smoky Mountain better wake up, because I can't be the only one who has found better sources for knives, with better pricing, with fair to free shipping charges and shipped the way they say it's going to be shipped.

Smoky Mountain isn't the only ones that sells knives and there are Dealers out there who want customers, who are more than happy to ship you what you want.
 
I still get SMKW catalogs and occasionally order from them; mostly low end user knives. I've found better knives and great service at Knifecenter. Their website is really easy to navigate and their prices and service are good IMHO.

http://www.knifecenter.com/

Get their catalog ($12), 900 pages ! All the knives and accessories you can imagine.

Rich
 
Flipping through the SMKW catalog is like flipping through the BudK catalog...except it isn't even funny like BudK is. It's just sad. I can at least laugh at the crap that BudK sells but the SMKW catalogs just kind of make me depressed. :(

Now the A.G. Russell catalog on the other hand...that's good stuff! :cool::thumbup:
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Now the A.G. Russell catalog on the other hand...that's good stuff! :cool::thumbup:
Click to expand...

That's the truth, but A.G. has ALWAYS innovated, and moved higher end knives.

I guess I am more lamenting the time when Seki was making really good knives that places like SMKW was able to sell for very reasonable prices....without making this political, that has kind of dried up and moved to China....which sometimes puts out some excellent knives....but not much.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Their catalogs are a disappointment. :thumbdn: More and more cheap junk, weird brands made by who-knows-who and who-knows-where, lack of actual product information, and less and less catalog space devoted to quality products. I've also noticed a recent lack of super-closeout specials and interesting "warehouse finds."

Still, they do have lots of great stuff for sale. Buck, Case, Helle, Mora, Victorinox...
And their service is the same as always. Recently placed an order of Buck and Condor knives with no problems at all. :thumbup:
 
I've been a customer for as long as they've been there, IIRC. Think I remember when they opened, and signs announcing the store beforehand.
Kitchen knives, Victorinox SAKs, and Gransfors Bruks axes are the only things I've bought from there in the last decade.
The catalogs have sucked for years, IMO.
Other than the gradually, but steadily, increasing crap-to-quality ratio of their goods, I can't say anything bad about SMKW, though. The employees have always been friendly and helpful in the store, and ordering online hassle free.
I don't visit there nearly as often as in the past. Used to be every trip(sometimes 2-3/year) to the Smokies I'd be in there for a few hours, sometimes both coming and going from Gatlinburg. Now I pop in for a quick look around maybe once every 3-4 years. Unless looking for something specific, there's just not much reason to go in there any more..
 
I go to the website and buy occasionally,but the catalog goes straight to the garbage.Usually the Christmas catalog is a little better.We can hope anyway.
 
Some neat stuff shows up in the catalogs from time to time. Most of the time it is absolute junk. There are a lot of people at flea markets with that same junk in their pockets and on their belts, and ready to take on the world. A lot of people just don't know any better, and when you try to explain to them that most of the stuff in there is junk, they're not always receptive.

I do want to visit there one of these days though.
 
I got the catalog and I did order a few china slippies and a display case from them. I order there some. I really like there customer service. My colt gunstock I ordered came with a broken spring. I contacted them and told them about it and 3 days later I had a new one dropped off by UPS. Never had to send the broke one back. :thumbup:
 
I fondly remember the great deals I got on spyderco's a long while back from SMKW.Choice between a serrated edge,or plain edge Massad Ayoob $44.95,original PE viele VG10 59.95,and a G10 Rookie my first spyderco $39.99.
Not to mention the charcoal buck 110 for $29.95,ah the good olddays.
 
Kohai999 said:
Looking through this catalog is not unlike looking through a Bud K catalog(and that isn't good)...
Click to expand...

I received one recently and had the exact same thought. Paging through it disappointed me for a minute or two, then I threw it in the recycling bin.
 
I got the catalog and lost interest in it a few pages in and stopped looking.

I went there once while in TN and bought some knives but was surprised at the lack of knowledge by some of the sales staff.
 
I get the bud K, the SMKW, AG Russell (:thumbup:) and I like them all...I ordered some Mora's from SMKW's...mostly its just junk..but I still like sitting on the throne, thumbing through the knife catalogs.
Actually, a really great cutlery catalog is the Cabela's cutlery...just knives and tools..pretty good stuff actually. I would have to say its my favorite knife catalog.
I do have to admit, in the 80's, the SMKW's was really cool...but so where the blades back then!!
 
They used to have some good clearance prices on discontinued Spyderco models. No longer.
I quit buying from them when they stopped selling decent knives for a decent price.
I think the last thing I got there was some Tramontina machetes.
 
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