At MKC, we’re passionate about American-made goods. We craft all our knives right here in the United States — a fact we’re sincerely proud of.
Americans are hungry for American craftsmanship to make a comeback. This hunger has been brewing for a while, but the COVID-19 pandemic exposed unacceptable supply chain vulnerabilities in our country. Depending on foreign countries for essential supplies is a poor survival model for any nation, and we at MKC want to help.
Still not convinced of why you should buy USA-made knives? Here are a few reasons why buying American-made knives makes a tremendous difference.
Why Buying American-Made Knives Matters
Reason #1: Buying American-Made Knives Supports Americans
We manufacture our knives right here in America, crafted by regular Americans like you. People like your neighbors, friends, and family. People who share a great love for our nation.
As a testament to this, not only do many of our customers follow our company on Instagram, but they also follow our employees. I think that’s incredible. With a dash of today’s technology, you, an MKC buyer, can have a relationship with the real people who crafted your favorite American-made knives.
Last I checked, you can’t do that with the workers overseas who made your iPhone.
Reason #2: Buying American-Made Knives Benefits Your Community
When you buy American-made hunting knives, the dollars you spend stay local. Those dollars pay the wages of people in your community. The government taxes the money they earn, and those tax dollars fund the schools your children attend and the roads you drive on.
The dollars American workers earn from the products you buy get spent again in your local economy. Customers might even spend those dollars at your business, which then pays your wages.
Where exactly those dollars go isn’t important; the important thing is that they stay here in the United States. When enough communities operate like this, the country grows stronger. Well-paying jobs abound, and opportunity reaches all Americans.
Reason #3: Buying American-Made Knives Supports Well-Paying Jobs
There’s no doubt about it: the cost of living is high. That’s why it’s so important to me, as an employer, to pay meaningful wages.
We at MKC strive to pay a higher wage than the market demands. We care deeply about our employees and believe in fairly compensating them for their skills. Like everyone else, they have to save money, buy homes, and provide for their families.
We already provide health insurance and 401(k) matching retirement plans for our employees. The fact that a company as young as ours offers these kinds of benefits is a testament to our values. By valuing people over profit and quality over cutting corners, we can produce a world-class final product that speaks to that level of care.
When you purchase a USA-made MKC knife, the proud, skilled workers who made it are well-compensated — and, to revisit reason number three, they may spend that money on your business or in your community. It’s a self-fulfilling cycle.
Reason #4: Buying American-Made Knives Supports Causes You Care About
Speaking of what we stand for, we at MKC are heavily involved in our community.
We invest in our employees by bringing them to hunting shows and events like the Total Archery Challenge. There, they meet industry leaders face-to-face and shake hands with grateful customers.
When you buy high-quality American-made knives from MKC, you also support a company that donates to nonprofits, pro-veteran causes, and wildlife conservation programs like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The money you spend helps us give back to the causes we know you believe in.
Reason #5: Buying American-Made Knives Ensures Quality and Warranty
“USA-made” means “high quality.” We take pride in what we make. We build products that last. We use better materials, employ better practices, and ensure safer working conditions for our people than companies overseas do.
That’s incredibly important to us at MKC.
Our shop is a beautiful facility. The top-notch environment improves our employees’ morale and ensures the quality of the products they make. Instead of focusing on how dingy and miserable their workplace is, they can focus on their craft.
All this results from our commitment to producing high-quality, American-made knives.
We also keep a stockpile of supplies to help you maintain your MKC blade. We don’t send you a top-notch blade and expect you to keep it that way without the knowledge and supplies to do so. Instead, we sell products dedicated to knife care, storage, and sharpening.
Every knife we sell is also insured by our Generations Promise. If you don’t feel comfortable sharpening your knife back to a working edge on your own, you can send it to us at any point in its lifetime. We’ll clean, sharpen, repair, or re-wrap your knife free of charge, even after you pass it on to your children.
Buying USA-made knives benefits today’s community and is a promise to tomorrow’s generations.
Reason #6: Buying USA-Made Knives Ensures Transparency
The production methods behind products made overseas often aren’t transparent.
You have no way of knowing how much time and effort people put into making that product. Often, you don’t know who’s behind it, what they stand for, or where and how they sourced their materials. If they tell you, it may not be true.
Here at MKC, we publish robust guides and how-to’s that explain how we make our knives, who we are, who we collaborate with, and why we design our knives the way we do. Our “field guide,” as we call it, is an in-depth look into the world behind your blade.
We’re also transparent about the materials used in our knives and the processes used to make them. Each product page lists the type of steel used in the blade, the handle material, and any coatings applied to the knife.
Why is this important? Our hunting and culinary knives come into direct contact with your food. Your MKC Culinary Knives get up close and personal with your hunting harvests, as do your boning, skinning, filleting, and butcher knives.
For the sake of yourself and your family members who consume that meat, knowing what’s in each blade is non-negotiable.
Would you trust an untested, no-name knife from overseas to make the same promise?
Final Thoughts on American-Made Knives
Americans choose USA-made knives for countless reasons. They choose cheap knives made overseas for countless reasons, too — the foremost being the low cost.
We completely understand why some people might walk away from MKC for price reasons. After all, we make a superior product, and our prices reflect that.
Even if you can’t become part of the MKC family, I encourage you to find other ways to keep your hard-earned money here in America while still getting the blades you need.
One great way to do this is by picking up a secondhand blade. After all, many USA-made knives are built to last multiple generations. It’s not uncommon for them to change hands throughout their lifetime.
Take it from someone who knows American-made blades: a good hunting knife — even used — will serve you better and longer than a cheap knock-off ever will.
by Josh Smith, Master Bladesmith and Founder of Montana Knife Company
