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Knife Industry VS Gun Industry (ft. Smoky Mountain Knife Works)
Description
State of the Second sits down with TC from Smoky Mountain Knife Works and Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo, recorded in Gatlinburg, Tennessee ahead of GOA's convention in Knoxville. TC traces an unlikely path into the industry. He grew up on a cattle farm in South Alabama, saved his money all year as a kid to visit the world's largest knife store once a year, met Chuck Buck there at nine, then spent years as a singer and entertainer in Nashville and later at the Smoky Mountain Opry and Dolly Parton's Stampede before his wife spotted a job posting for a media personality. He started on the knife side almost four years ago, and about a year and a half ago took on the gun store's content too.
Most of the conversation digs into what it actually takes to be a retailer in the firearms and knife space online. TC and John lay out the hard math: social platforms and Google won't let gun and knife sellers pay for advertising, so all growth has to be organic. Margins on firearms run roughly 10 to 15 percent, maybe 20 if you're lucky, and manufacturers, not the store, often set the price through MAP, minimum advertised price. As John puts it, if you got into the gun industry to make millions, you're in the wrong industry. TC also explains the tightrope of speaking for a company rather than as an individual influencer, where he can't just give an opinion but can back a top-five list with real sales reports.
The back half turns to community and advocacy. TC contrasts the wide, mixed demographic of the knife world with the more like-minded gun community, and argues both sides are too quick to tear each other down online in ways that scare off newcomers. Kaylee makes a direct case for action, walking through escalating levels of advocacy from a 30-second pre-typed email to calling representatives to showing up at lobby days, and points to Tennessee's fast-moving legislation, including school carry for teachers headed to the governor's desk. They cover the slippery slope of bans from bump stocks to pistol braces to a lead ammo ban, the censorship and shadow banning retailers face, and the collaboration that John credits as the firearms industry's strength. TC closes with what's next: an expanded gun selection at the former Food Lion location, around 600 to 650 new firearm SKUs, vendor events, and his plan to document jumping into three-gun competition for the first time.
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Questions this episode answers
Why can't firearms and knife retailers buy advertising on social media or Google, and how does that change how they grow?
Social platforms and Google won't let gun and knife sellers pay for advertising, so every bit of growth for retailers like Smoky Mountain Knife Works has to come organically. That makes content, not ad spend, the main engine for reaching new customers.
What are the actual profit margins on selling firearms, and who really sets the price?
Margins on firearms run roughly 10 to 15 percent, maybe 20 if you're lucky. The store often doesn't set the price either, because manufacturers control it through MAP, or minimum advertised price.
What is MAP (minimum advertised price) and why do manufacturers enforce it?
MAP, or minimum advertised price, is the floor a manufacturer sets on what a product can be advertised for, so the price is dictated by the maker rather than the retailer. It's a major reason firearm margins stay thin for stores.
How is the knife community's demographic different from the gun community's?
TC describes the knife world as a wide, mixed demographic, while the gun community is more like-minded. He also notes both sides are too quick to tear each other down online in ways that scare off newcomers.