One of the most anticipated days for America’s knife collectors will be at Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, TN on November 29, 2006 when the National Knife Museum has the grand opening of its half-million dollar new location.

The museum offers one of the largest collections of knives available for public view in the world, and admission is free, and the expanded museum will offer cutlery related films and slide shows in the theater adjoining the museum. A history of cutlery is laid out in the museum, and also included many historical artifacts of the cutlery industry.

With the recent renovation of Smoky Mountain Knife Works, the world’s largest knife showplace, owner Kevin Pipes offered to house the museum on the mezzanine of his expanded retail store, donating use of the space to the museum.

The National Knife Museum is owned by the National Knife Collectors Association and closed their Chattanooga location at Shallowford Road and Interstate 75 when Hamilton Place Mall came in across the street from their location, making the value of the property escalate from the $50,000 originally paid in 1981 to $1,000,000. The property and building were sold and the knives were placed in secured storage until a new location for the museum could be found. The new museum was delayed until Pipe’s offer was approved.

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