In today’s culture, when it comes to brands and their resonance with consumers, two major factors determine success: the product, which is paramount, and the people behind it, which in our transparency-focused age, is almost as important. Yes, you make a cool jacket/knife/shoe, but modern customers often want more: we want to know who we’re supporting, and what the vision is.
When it comes to brands in the EDC space, origin stories run rampant; some authentic, some forced. But one that’s stood out to me for some time is that of one of the fastest-growing brands in the world of knives — Montana Knife Company. It all starts with the brand’s founder, Josh Smith, and, yes, his mom.
A brand 20 years in the making
When I first heard mention of MKC on episode #1716 of The Joe Rogan Experience, I was intrigued. Montana Knife Company launched in late 2020, and in the ensuing three-and-a-half years, it has grown to be one of the most popular new brands in knife culture. Its fixed blade knives routinely sell out, and fans include esteemed outdoorsmen such as Cameron Hanes and Steven Rinella.
It’s a tale of seemingly meteoric growth for the Missoula-based brand, but the roots of MKC stretch back more than 20 years — to when Smith was a kid growing up in Lincoln, Montana.
When Smith was eleven years old, he received a knife for Christmas made by Rick Dunkerley, his Little League coach and a talented bladesmith. That initial gifted knife lit a fire inside Smith, who began in earnest to make his own knives in a lean-to shop his father built for him. Smith joined the American Bladesmith Society at age twelve, and at fifteen, after three years as an apprentice, Smith became the youngest journeyman knife maker in the world.
