The story behind Middleton Made Knives all started with a dream instilled in Quintin Middleton as a young child.
His path to success was not an easy one – it involved a lot of rejection, some naysayers, and even Middleton himself will say he has had his doubts.
But if one were to check out Middleton Made Knives online right now, they would see the fruits of his labor: he is a well-known bladesmith, churning out beautifully crafted culinary knives that are being used by celebrity chefs throughout the Charleston area – and beyond.
He has a lot of advice that he could offer to students today, but the biggest one is pretty straightforward: “Don’t be afraid to follow your own dream.”
His faith, partnered with just the right amount of determination – and a won’t-take-no-for-an-answer attitude – put this Berkeley County School District graduate on the path to success, and Middleton hopes his story will inspire others to stay on track and never give up.
Getting on track
Middleton was born in Kentucky but grew up in Alvin and St. Stephen, South Carolina. He attended J.K. Gourdin Elementary, St. Stephen Middle and Timberland High, graduating in 2003.
Middleton’s passion for knives goes all the way back to when he was around 7 or 8 years old. Inspired by fantasy movies like “Star Wars” and “Conan the Barbarian,” Middleton wanted to emulate what he saw on screen.
He messed around with sticks until it became boring, and then Middleton started taking the tubing off of old swing sets and would flatten the material with a hammer to make an upgraded “sword.” He did this with other household items as well, beating them into knife handles.
It was clear Middleton already knew he was good at working with his hands but did not know how to go about applying it. He entered high school as a self-proclaimed class clown who was more interested in getting laughs out of his classmates than his schoolwork. However, he was very mechanically inclined and took HVAC classes at Timberland High; the program was led by the late Leo Rogers, one of the teachers Middleton named as a positive influence at his school.
Middleton was also fond of the school’s now-Principal Tim Evans, who was the band teacher at the time. Evans remembers Middleton very well.
“Quintin has always been a very positive young man and his success does not come as a surprise to me at all,” Evans said. “He has always been focused and committed to his goals, and I have no doubt that there is no limit to how much he can accomplish and achieve.”
A math teacher Middleton remembers as Mr. Stanley also provided some guidance to him as a freshman. Middleton recalled a time when he kept getting in trouble for being overzealous and talking a lot in class, and Mr. Stanley pulled him aside to give him the pep talk he needed to hear.
Following that heart to heart, Middleton turned things around and started to get better grades, making the Honor Roll for the remainder of his high school career. He would go on to study aircraft mechanics at Trident Technical College for two years following high school.
However, that desire to make knives never left him. Middleton was about 17 years old, working at a store in Northwoods Mall that sold cigars and fantasy swords and knives, when he met the person who would make a huge impact on his career as a bladesmith: Jason Knight.
Knight is an award-winning bladesmith who grew up in Charleston and now resides in Tennessee. He was living in Harleyville at the time when he visited the store where Middleton worked.
Middleton learned Knight made knives for a living and asked him: “Please teach me.”
Knight offered to let Middleton come to his shop and check out his work, and Middleton was persistent with his desire to learn more from Knight – basically, “I wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
That determination led to six years of working as an apprentice in Knight’s shop.
Forging a career
Making a knife involves taking a piece of steel, heating it up in a forge to make the steel malleable, and then using a hammer to shape it. Under Knight’s tutelage, Middleton started to make hunting knives, swords and fantasy-style weapons.
Middleton is very much led by his faith, and while he enjoyed making those types of items, he one day felt moved by the Holy Spirit to make culinary knives.
“It was like this plain-as-day voice that said, ‘Make chefs knives,’ but I didn’t know how to make chefs knives,” Middleton said.
Middleton thus started doing his research on how to specifically make culinary knives. Once he started producing them, he began calling chefs throughout Charleston trying to sell them. Every last chef told him no but, as he continued to lean on his faith in this pursuit, Middleton decided to follow up with one of those chefs and ask him if he would help Middleton develop a knife suitable for the kitchen – that person was Craig Deihl, then executive chef at the former Cypress restaurant in downtown Charleston.
Deihl was skeptical but invited Middleton to his kitchen to go over the latter’s knives. Middleton learned that his knives were too thick to be used for culinary purposes because he was so used to making hunting knives and swords; a kitchen knife is much more thin and precise.
“It’s basically a needle versus an ax,” Middleton said.
After getting Deihl’s input, Middleton made some more knives specifically for Deihl, who went on to spread the word about Middleton’s culinary knives.
“It just kind of snowballed into this business,” Middleton said.
Middleton Made Knives officially launched in 2010, and now Middleton’s creations are being used in the kitchens of celebrity chefs, like Mike Lata, co-owner of FIG and The Ordinary downtown; Michael Anthony, now executive chef of Gramercy Tavern in New York who has also done work in Charleston; and Sean Brock, former executive chef at Husk.
Middleton said when chefs started talking about him, his knives garnered the attention of more celebrity chefs, like Emeril Lagasse, Robert Irvine, Guy Fieri and more.
His sales pitch: “You dream it, I can make it.”
Shoppers browsing his website will notice his business’s logo on the blades of the classical knives, and many of his signature knives sport intricate designs – this is known as Damascus steel, which is made with a wavy surface pattern produced by hammer-welding strips of steel and iron followed by repeated heating and forging. Middleton said he likes to “mix it up” when it comes to the designs.
Middleton’s work has been featured in GQ magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He was recently highlighted on CBS News Sunday Morning.
While definitely excited that his products are being used by these big-name professionals, Middleton is also incredibly humble, and he wants his story to inspire others – particularly students.
“I want to build something bigger than myself,” he said. “I want to encourage somebody else that is coming behind me.”
Different types of success
Middleton still operates out of his workshop in St. Stephen, where he resides with his wife and children. He is also an ordained minister and a member of Lighthouse Holiness Church.
A healthy work-life balance is important to Middleton, and one piece of advice he has to offer: instead of chasing money, value time.
“Money comes and money goes, and it comes again,” Middleton said, adding that time, unfortunately, just goes. Middleton prioritizes the time he gets to have with his family.
Middleton also encourages BCSD students to not be afraid to follow their own dreams, and to remember that success does not look the same for everybody.
“Success is like an open highway; there are many exits,” he said.
Middleton’s dream was often challenged by naysayers, but he himself will say he carried those doubts as well, and found a way to power through them.
“Doubt and the fear of failing is a healthy thing,” he said. “The best tool I have in my toolbox is mistakes, because I learned from them.”
Check out Middleton's work at Middleton Made Knives.
All photos courtesy of South City Public Relations.