Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Tigner. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Olde Towne Cutlery is a family-owned business in Cumming, Georgia founded by avid knife enthusiasts Lee and Melissa Tigner. The mission of Olde Towne Cutlery is to offer a superb customer experience, value-added services, and outstanding knowledge of all things cutlery-related for our customers.
Our goal is to create more knife enthusiasts and to become a valued consultant to our clients. We do not want to simply divide the existing business with other suppliers. On the contrary, we aim to grow the market together and make sure that our customers love the knife we have placed in their hands.
We research the manufacturing community extensively to bring the finest cutlery products to market across every category of the industry. Our range of products includes high-end American production manufacturers, superb mid-tech producers, exquisite customs, fine European imports, and vintage collectibles.
Lee Tigner has been a lifelong knife nut for over 30 years. He grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and graduated from Francis Marion University with a degree in History. After college, he moved to Georgia and loves living in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains. Olde Towne Cutlery offers Lee the opportunity to combine his passion for cutlery, his interest in history, and his enthusiasm for business in a friendly and welcoming industry.
Melissa Tigner has been a north Georgia native all her life. She studied Early Childhood Education and Medical Assisting. Melissa was blessed to be a stay-at-home mom for many years, raising her 2 children. She has worked in the school systems, the medical field, and customer service. Melissa fondly remembers her grandfather’s knife interest. He loved sharing his collection and the story behind each knife when she would visit.
Lee and Melissa enjoy going to historical sites, state parks, and museums. Two of their favorite spots are Amicalola Falls and Williamsburg, VA. They love traveling to general stores and other dealers to find pieces for their knife collection. Melissa says that Lee’s knife collecting may require medical attention at some point, but for now, they are enjoying the thrill of the hunt for that elusive old pattern.
We hope that through a great experience at Olde Towne Cutlery, you will find a love for Knives as well.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a wild ride for sure! We were very nervous when Covid happened, and we weren’t sure if the physical retail would survive. But those concerns were short-lived as business boomed! People were at home cooking more and needed good knives! Homeowners also needed sharpening services and our small-group knifemaking classes were constantly booked. Traditional pocketknife collecting also boomed, and we greatly increased this business. Also, people were camping and spending time outdoors and they needed good bushcrafting knives. Even carving and whittling knives became popular!
The biggest learning curve I think is the immense challenge of maintaining an open storefront seven days a week, 359 days a year. That’s tough, and we never knew how tough that would be. However, we think it is critical to this type of business because knives are sort of like shoes. If you already know the exact size and model of shoe you want, purchasing online is easy. But if you want to browse, you need to try them on to see how they fit. Knives need to be picked up and handled. So we feel that maintaining an open storefront enables us to meet our mission statement.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Olde Towne Cutlery?
Olde Towne Cutlery is a full-service cutlery store with 3 separate divisions. We have a large retail facility located on Georgia 400 near the Dawson/Forsyth County line in Cumming, Georgia. Our retail facility is open 7 days a week, 359 days a year. We represent over 70 brands of knives across all product and price categories.
We stock everything from traditional pocket knives, kitchen cutlery, modern folding knives, bushcraft, hunting, self-defense, and all sorts of accessories. Our second division is our website platform, which has been professionally built, is search engine optimized, and offers professional quality photography. Finally, our services division has become an incredibly important part of what we do. We offer sharpening to the general public and we can sharpen any volume of knives from 1 pocket knife to restaurants, institutions, and educational facilities. In addition, we offer restoration services on all types of knives including basic kitchen knife re-profiling to museum-quality restorations of historical artifacts.
We restore antiques and are keenly attuned to values and antique preservation. What sets us apart from other dealers is our depth of knowledge, expertise and service along with the sale. We strongly believe that quality cutlery needs to be maintained for optimum performance. Our customers can depend on us to keep their knives in optimum condition over the life of their use. We offer drop-off and mail-in service for all sharpening and restorations. The brand selection at Olde Towne Cutlery is based entirely on value to the consumer.
We only stock brands where there is excellent value received for the product. In addition to the 70 plus brands in the market which we stock and inventory in-depth, we also produce our brand in-house which is called Due South Knives. Under this brand, we produce a wide range of types, styles, and price points. From kitchen knives, to everyday carry, hunting, or bushcraft knives we build custom and semi-custom products with exceptional fit, finish and aesthetics.
Please check out Due South knives today.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The most important characteristic of our business is expertise in product knowledge. We pride ourselves on being well-informed of all aspects of knife design and function.
If a consumer has questions and concerns about edge retention, corrosion resistance, performance in the field, or proper application of knife types, our team of experts can consult and educate the consumer to make the best-informed decision. Expertise is one area where Olde Towne Cutlery excels in the marketplace.
Contact Info:
- Website: oldetownecutlery.com
- Instagram: @oldetownecutlery
- Facebook: Olde Towne Cutlery
Image Credits
Olde Towne Cutlery
