Digital Social Hour Podcast by Sean Kelly - Made in USA: How One Startup is Reshaping Manufacturing | Josh Smith DSH #1177
Josh Smith, a master bladesmith, shares his journey from making knives at age 11 to becoming the youngest master smith at 19. He explains the rigorous testing process for achieving this title, which involves creating high-performance blades and presenting them to a panel of judges. Smith founded Montana Knife Company in 2020, focusing on producing high-quality knives with a blend of machine and handcrafting techniques. The company emphasizes using top-grade steel and offers lifetime sharpening services. Smith highlights the impact of American manufacturing, noting how his business supports local economies and creates jobs. He also discusses the cultural and economic benefits of hunting, explaining its role in conservation and community building.
Key Points:
- Josh Smith became the youngest master bladesmith at 19, highlighting his dedication and skill.
- Montana Knife Company produces high-quality knives using both machine and handcrafting techniques.
- The company uses top-grade steel and offers lifetime sharpening services, ensuring long-term value.
- Smith emphasizes the importance of American manufacturing, supporting local economies and job creation.
- Hunting is portrayed as beneficial for conservation and community, with ethical practices in place.
Details:
1. 🐻 Wildlife Encounters: Nature's Cycle
- A bear shot was found to have almost no teeth left and zero fat, indicating poor health and impending starvation.
- The bear was on the brink of winter with no fat reserves, making survival highly unlikely.
- This situation highlights that in nature, animals often die from starvation due to inability to gather resources.
- Similar wildlife encounters emphasize the harsh realities of nature's cycle, where survival depends on resource availability and health.
- Understanding these encounters provides insight into the ecological challenges faced by wildlife, which can inform conservation efforts.
2. 🔪 Mastering the Blade: A Journey into Knife Making
2.1. Personal Achievements in Knife Making
2.2. Business Milestones of Montana Knife Company
3. 🏭 From Garage to Glory: The Rise of Montana Knife Company
3.1. Montana Knife Company's Growth
3.2. Product Quality and Customer Engagement
4. 🇺🇸 Reviving American Manufacturing: Community Impact
- American manufacturing directly supports job creation, with one business owner hiring over 80 employees in the last 3 years.
- The manufacturing process also indirectly creates jobs across the country, with a leather company in Idaho hiring 8-10 people and a woodworking business expanding to 9 employees to meet demand.
- The impact of national brands in rural areas brings significant economic benefits, as 90% of sales revenue comes from out of state, injecting millions into the local economy.
- Local businesses contribute to the economic cycle, with revenue supporting other local businesses and services such as fire departments and schools.
5. 🏡 Small Town Life: Community and Connection
- Lincoln, Montana, a town of 1,500 people, exemplifies the close-knit community often found in small towns.
- A graduating class of 20 was the largest in the town's history, highlighting the intimate educational setting.
- Residents value helping neighbors, a sense of community often missing in major cities.
- In Frenchtown, Montana, a slightly larger town, an interviewee from Baltimore was impressed by the community's connectedness, particularly visible at a local football game.
- In contrast, large cities like Las Vegas lack this level of community, where people often don't recognize each other.
- Small town communities contribute to longevity, as seen in 'blue zones' where social connections are a significant factor.
- While the small-town atmosphere fosters strong community bonds, it presents challenges for hosting in-person podcasts due to fewer available and diverse guests, especially during winter months.
6. 🏹 Competitive Edge: Archery Challenge Highlights
6.1. Event Overview and Team Dynamics
6.2. Event Challenges and Participant Experiences
7. 🔧 Balancing Politics and Business in Knife Making
7.1. Hiring Practices and Inclusivity
7.2. Maintaining Political Neutrality
7.3. Balancing Expression and Business Interests
8. 🚶♂️ Hunting 101: A Beginner’s Perspective
8.1. Hunting and Conservation
8.2. Personal Experience and Insights
9. 🌲 The Essence of Hunting: Ethics and Experience
9.1. Experience and Connection in Nature
9.2. Nature's Healing Power
9.3. Appreciation for Food and Resources
9.4. Ethical Considerations and Gratitude
9.5. Challenges and Rewards of Hunting
10. 🐾 Conservation Through Hunting: A Deeper Look
- Grizzly bears benefit from hunting as they consume leftover carcasses, aiding their survival through winter.
- A grizzly bear was observed guarding a moose carcass for 5 days to protect it from other predators, showcasing the importance of such resources for their sustenance.
- Hunting can serve as a natural way to manage wildlife populations, providing old or weak animals a quicker end compared to natural causes like starvation or injury.
- The example of a 14-year-old successfully hunting a bear with a bow highlights the power and efficiency of bows in hunting, as they can kill animals swiftly and with little pain.
- Older animals, like a moose with worn teeth or a bear with no fat reserves, may not survive the winter, indicating hunting can prevent prolonged suffering.
- Trophy hunting is often misunderstood; it can play a role in conservation by removing older animals and allowing younger ones to breed, thus maintaining healthy wildlife populations.
- Proper wildlife management involves studies to determine the sustainable number of animals that can be ethically hunted, preventing disease and overpopulation.
11. 🐏 The Challenge of the Hunt: Different Terrains
11.1. High Altitude Challenges
11.2. Alertness and Vision of Prey
11.3. Importance of Wind Direction
12. 🌬️ Mastering the Elements: Hunting Strategies
- Evening thermals cause scent to settle in valleys, so hunters must position themselves to avoid their scent reaching elk below. Hunters should strategically position themselves at higher elevations during evening hunts to prevent their scent from traveling downward with the cooling air.
- Morning thermals cause scent to rise, requiring hunters to consider the location of elk above them and adjust accordingly. Hunters should use the rising thermals in the morning to keep their scent from reaching elk located at higher elevations.
- Successful stalking requires understanding wind direction, as demonstrated by an approach to a bear by moving east when the wind was from the west. Hunters should always be aware of wind direction to approach animals undetected.
- Maintaining silence is crucial; avoid noisy clothing and be mindful of sounds from breaking sticks or brushing against plants. Hunters should select quiet clothing materials and practice silent movement techniques to avoid alerting animals.
- Archery hunting demands close proximity (20-40 yards) due to ethical considerations regarding accuracy and power loss over longer distances. Hunters must get within a short range to ensure a clean and ethical shot.
- Arrows lose speed and accuracy over distance, traveling in an arc similar to throwing a rock. Hunters should account for the trajectory of arrows over distances to improve accuracy.
- Animals like deer and elk are highly sensitive to sound and can flinch or move before an arrow hits, affecting shot accuracy. Hunters must anticipate animal reactions and adjust their timing accordingly.
- Animals' heightened senses are due to constant threats from predators, making them alert and responsive. Understanding animal behavior is crucial for hunters to effectively plan their approach and ensure success.
13. 🐟 Adapting to Regulations: Smart Animal Behavior
- Animals strategically adapt their behaviors to environmental conditions, such as seeking water sources during hot weather or utilizing thick timber areas for bedding to increase safety.
- Many animals become nocturnal to avoid human interaction, showcasing an understanding of human presence and activities.
- Animals demonstrate an awareness of hunting schedules, often moving to no-hunting zones during hunting seasons, indicating a high level of environmental awareness and adaptability.
- Fish in highly pressured areas develop the ability to recognize fishing lines, while animals in non-hunting zones like Yellowstone become accustomed to human presence, although this may increase their vulnerability to natural predators.
14. 🥩 Culinary Delights: Best Game Meats
- Moose meat was enjoyed freshly cut and cooked over a fire during a hunting trip, highlighting the unique experience and flavor of freshly hunted game meat.
- Axis deer in Hawaii are an invasive species with no natural predators, leading to overpopulation. This deer is noted as probably the best tasting wild game meat available.
- Hawaii manages the axis deer population by euthanizing them and sending the meat to a facility called Maui Nei, which donates the meat to homeless people and sells it to fund these donations.
- The introduction of axis deer to Hawaii was due to human settlers bringing them from Asia, intending to use them for hunting and food without considering the ecological consequences.
- In New Jersey, deer overpopulation in urban areas leads to inbreeding and disease due to lack of predators and hunting restrictions, similar to the situation in Hawaii with axis deer.
- Ticks are a common issue during hunts, carrying risks like Lyme disease, as exemplified by UFC fighter Jim Miller's experience with the disease.
15. 🏹 Choosing Your Weapon: Bows and Rifles
15.1. Archery Insights
15.2. Rifle Hunting Insights
16. 🔇 The Silent Edge: Suppressors in Hunting
16.1. Practical Benefits of Suppressors
16.2. Legal and Process Considerations
16.3. International Practices and Comparisons
17. 🛠️ Crafting Success: Business Growth and Innovation
- Montana Knife Company knives sell out within minutes every Thursday night at 7 PM Mountain Time, moving around a thousand knives in just a few minutes.
- The company began in a garage and has grown to employ around 80 people, 70 of whom still report to work at the founder's house.
- A new 10,000 square foot manufacturing facility was built in January 2023, but it is already at capacity, indicating rapid growth and demand.
- The company's success is partly due to the compelling personal story of the founder, who started making knives at night while working as a lineman.
- The brand maintains a strong social media presence, engaging with customers and building anticipation for product drops.
18. 📢 Final Thoughts: Looking Ahead
- A Black Rifle coffee shop and retail store are planned to open within a year.
- The speaker has never been to Montana or hunting, suggesting potential future collaborations or events in these areas.
- There is an invitation to check out the guest's content, indicating a push for audience engagement and cross-promotion.