SMKW Knife Store Review
I can remember being a very young boy on vacation in the Sevierville, Tennessee area and always loving my visits to the Smoky Mountain Knife Works retail store. I always saved my trip money to buy something awesome & unique from this big toy store.
Now, let’s fast-forward quite a few years to 2021…
I had the honor of visiting this store with nobody else in there (aside from the folks that were giving me a private tour). And let me be totally transparent for a moment…I felt like a kid again walking through those big double doors. I was in the World’s Largest Knife Store with no other shoppers, armed with some spending money and my camera to create some photos to show you all!
My main goal of this awesome meet-up with the SMKW Crew was to show you all some phenomenal knives and brands that stood out to me during our tour. Some of these products are ones that I’ve drooled over for years and finally had a chance to handle for a little bit. So, without further ado, let’s dive into what I found during this awesome trip!
Benchmade Bugout Desert Warrior
One of my all-time favorite folding knives is the Benchmade Bugout. So, as soon as I came into SMKW I turned to my right and there was the Benchmade counter. In the display case was this Exclusive SMKW Beauty…The Benchmade Bugout Desert Warrior. Not only does this exclusive knife look awesome, but it also features some nice upgrades over the standard Bugout that I carry. Like the G10 Handles, M4 blade steel, and this insanely awesome flat earth/OD green colorway.
Benchmade Bugout Desert Warrior at SMKW.com
SMKW Condor Tool & Knife
We continued straight after the Benchmade counter and made it over to the Condor Tool & Knife section. This has always been one of my favorite stops while I’m at SMKW. In fact, during my last visit in 2019(ish), I bought the Condor Otzi Knife and Survival Shovel.
Condor always has a ton of unique bushcraft/survival tools and it’s always a lot of fun getting to hold them in person. On this trip here’s what stood out to me: The classicly designed Condor Woodlaw, the unique Tortuga, and the Big Leaf Machete designed by Matt Graham.
Condor Knife & Tool at SMKW.com
SMKW Mora Knives
This next standout section of the store will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed me for a month or longer. The Morakniv section of SMKW is another long-time favorite of mine. They have everything from the affordable Companion, to the mid-range Kansbol or Eldris, all the way up to the premium Garberg Survival Knives.
This section of SMKW is probably the one that I’ve spent the most money at over the years. I always find myself buying knives to put back to give as gifts or to give to people who are just getting into bushcraft or survival. The Morakniv section is certainly worth a browse when you’re in-store and here online.
SMKW Longhunter Ax
Just a stone’s throw away from the Morakniv section was a wall of axes…But one stood out to me. I’ll admit, I’m a bit bias towards this product…
This is the Longhunter Ax designed in part by my good buddy Joe Price. I actually had a chance to use this ax briefly at Winter Survival 2020 and it is phenomenal! I, unfortunately, haven’t had the budget to buy one for myself just yet…But it’s definitely on my wishlist.
SMKW Esee Knives
After resisting the urge to buy the Longhunter Ax we took a short walk over to one of the most iconic parts of the store…The Esee Knives counter! This is a section of the store I remember from many, many years ago because of the picture you’re seeing above. This circle display hangs proudly above one of the retail counters and contains examples of knives that Esee has warranted (there are certainly some wild stories from their warranty department).
See my Esee Knives Collection Now
This was the area of the store I knew I was going to purchase something from during this trip. I just didn’t know what yet. I was honestly interested in all of their newer Camp Lore knives. So, I took the photos you’re seeing here, handled a few of the knives, and then took some time to make my decision.
I ended up picking up the Esee CR2.5 as my lightweight fishing knife and the Esee PR4 as a general bushcraft knife. I was very close to snagging the SMKW Exclusive Esee JG5, but I resisted (maybe I’ll snag it and the Longhunter on my next trip).
SMKW Knife Museum
By this point in the tour, my wallet needed a break from things that I wanted to buy! So, we took a walk upstairs to their jam-packed knife museum. I am pretty sure even the employees of SMKW could find something new every time they walk up here. But for me, the Case Astronaut Knife stood out to me the most. Not only did they have the knife you’re seeing above, but they also had the original molds from Case for this knife…Pretty stinkin’ cool if you ask me!
I went down the rabbit hole of researching astronaut survival kits back in the winter of 2020 and found the knife you’re seeing above. I was so intrigued during that time of doing my research but had forgotten about it ’till I saw it here. If you’ve never gone down that rabbit hole, you should…It’s pretty intriguing.
Case Astronaut Knife at SMKW.com
SMKW Space Force Kabar
After seeing the Nasa Astronaut Knife I guess I had space on my mind and nothing stands out more in this area than the new Kabar “Space Force” Knives! Yes…This is a real line from Kabar that you’re seeing here. You can’t help but smile and get a laugh at this actually being a real thing. I actually ended up convincing my dad to buy the USSF Space Force Knife (which wasn’t a hard sale). And to be honest, I think these knives are going to be a collectible item one day. So I might end up snagging one for myself as my budget allows.
Kabar Space Force Knives at SMKW.com
SMKW LT Wright Knives
I came back down from space into “bushcraft land” real quick when I looked in the case next to Kabar and found LT Wright Knives. If you’re unfamiliar with LT Wright Knives you are definitely going to want to check these guys out. Not only does LT seem like the nicest guy in the world, but they also make some of the finest handmade blades around. I particularly loved their NextGen and Bushcrafter models that I handled while I was at SMKW.
SMKW Victorinox Knives
You can’t talk bushcraft and camping without checking out Victorinox Swiss Army Knives and SMKW has a LOT of them! I regret not getting a wider photo of their Victorinox section now. But, let me tell you, they have every Swiss Army Knife that you could imagine. And they have a lot of exclusive designs that you can only get at SMKW (in-store or online). I resisted the urge to buy another Victorinox for my collection this time…But I’m sure I’d end up with a few if I hung around here for too long.
SMKW Private Tour
I browsed the store for at least 2 hours with the SMKW Crew until they had to unlock the doors for opening time. But I saw a ton of incredible knives & tools that I knew you all would want to check out and a bunch that I was excited to finally get my hands on as well. It was an experience that truly took me back to feeling like a kid in a toy store again and I’m very grateful to the SMKW Crew for allowing me to do this for all of us to enjoy.
(Shown above are some arrowheads from the Relic Room at SMKW)
See more from SMKW
I could go on for a while longer telling you about all that I saw and everything I wish I had more time to browse through. But I ran out of time on this trip to do more than you see here. I’m positive there will be another trip to Smoky Mountain Knife Works in the near future though…So I’ll try to cover more then.
Visit Online: In the meantime, head over to SMKW.com to check out all that they have to offer.
Or visit the Retail Store: And if you’re in the area, stop in the World’s Largest Knife Store at 2320 Winfield Dunn Pkwy, Sevierville, TN 37876.
This article has NOT been paid for or sponsored in any way by SMKW.com or Smoky Mountain Knife Works Retail Store. They were simply kind enough to give me a private tour and allow me to share my experience here with you all. All links in this article are affiliate links that help to support my content at no extra cost to you. Big thanks to SMKW for arranging this and for providing the ariel shots of your store.
