In the early 1970`s, Kevin Pipes—the company’s Founder − and John Parker started to sell pocketknives from their pickup trucks. They spent most of the next decade building relationships with customers and vendors alike, and in 1978, Smoky Mountain Knife Works was born. In the last 45 years, SMKW has grown exponentially. In fact, we outgrew two buildings before we built and moved into our present  location in Sevierville, Tennessee.