485: Josh Smith—Made FOR America
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
4.9 • 40.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2026
⏱️ 90 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Founder and president of Montana Knife Company Josh Smith sits down with Mike to discuss his unlikely path from working as a lineman to becoming one of America's premier master bladesmiths. The conversation dives into the grit, craftsmanship, and obsession with quality that helped turn a small operation into one of the fastest-growing knife manufacturers in the country.
The two also talk about the grand opening of MKC's brand-new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Missoula, where Josh explains why controlling his supply chain matters now more than ever—and what "Made in America" actually requires behind the scenes. Along the way, Josh gives Mike an exclusive look at a brand-new blade that hasn't been released to the public yet.
It's a conversation about work ethic, American manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and the sharp edge between tradition and innovation.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Well, it's the way I heard it, as you probably knew. I'm Mike, and my guest today is Josh, |
| 0:08.8 | and with me in PH3 is Chuck. Should I be more formal with the names you think? |
| 0:14.4 | I don't think you can't. Josh Smith, Chuck Klausmeyer, Mike Rowe. |
| 0:18.4 | All that's true. Josh Smith, if he sounds familiar to you loyal listeners, it's because he's been on a couple |
| 0:26.2 | times once in 2024, and then once we did a remote with him and our friend, Byard Winthrop. |
| 0:32.9 | That's right. |
| 0:33.8 | Shortly after the tariffs were instituted. |
| 0:38.1 | Right. |
| 0:38.4 | Because I was really curious to hear from people who were making stuff in this country, you know, |
| 0:43.3 | and the tariffs were headline news, and I guess they're still in the headlines. |
| 0:47.3 | But it's a really, well, it's a sensitive topic for a lot of reasons, |
| 0:51.5 | mostly because it's been politicized horribly, but there |
| 0:55.4 | are consequences and many of which are unintended, I think, that are worth acknowledging. |
| 1:01.9 | But that's really not why I want to Josh back on. Josh Smith, who created the Montana knife |
| 1:07.6 | company six years ago up in Frenchtown outside of Missoula in the great state of |
| 1:14.1 | Montana really had a milestone. He built an enormous manufacturing facility. Yeah. And it's not |
| 1:22.3 | just beautiful to look at. It's extraordinary in that 5,000 people traveled from all over the country to |
| 1:31.5 | stand in line for a chance to get a tour of the factory floor. And he's encased the whole thing |
| 1:40.1 | in glass so people can stand in like the lobby and and look at the product being made, |
| 1:46.8 | which I just think is terrific. |
| 1:47.8 | I mean, honestly, I didn't think there were 5,000 people in the state of Montana. |
| 1:52.2 | Well, I don't know that there are, but that's why I said they came from all over. |
... |
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