BY DIANE SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Fitch and Sons Cutlery and Pawn opened Friday at 155 East Main Street in Inez, bringing a family-owned knife, antique and pawn shop to downtown.
The business, owned by Mason Fitch and his family, offers knives, antiques, tools, fishing gear, T-shirts and hats bearing the shop logo, and other items. Fitch said the store is also a working pawn shop and plans to expand into buying and selling firearms once the proper licensing is completed.
For Fitch, the new business is rooted in a lifelong love of collecting and trading knives that began when he was a little boy tagging along with his grandmother, Louise Moore, to flea markets.
“Every weekend my Mamaw Louise and I would go to the flea markets, and that’s where I found my love of collecting knives,” Fitch said. “She introduced me to the world of trading too. I’ve done this my whole life. It’s all we’d do every weekend.”
Fitch built a large knife collection over the years but lost everything in a fire. For a time, he stepped away from collecting. But the interest never really left him.
When his son Kace came along, Fitch said, the same passion showed up in the next generation.
“When my son Kace was born, he had the natural love of collecting knives just like I did when I was a boy,” Fitch said. “He has gone to as many shows as he could with me.”
That father-and-son connection helped lead to the opening of Fitch and Sons Cutlery and Pawn.
“Kace picked up literally where I left off,” Fitch said. “For as long as I can remember, he’s had a love of knives — trading, collecting. That had a lot to do with opening a family business.”
Fitch said he has been buying, selling and hosting knife shows in and around Martin County for about six years. The response, he said, has been strong.
“Doing this now with the whole family — with my boys Kace, Gunner and Rylan and my wife, Kristy, in the shop — is just icing on the cake,” he said.
Fitch said the shop carries one of the largest selections of Case knives in eastern Kentucky. The store also carries Randall, German, custom-made, Microtech and Buck knives, among others.
In addition to knives, Fitch and Sons will buy gold and silver, antiques, tools, fishing rods and reels, and other items.
For Mason and Kristy Fitch, the business is about more than opening a storefront. They said they want to bring people into Inez and help show visitors a positive side of Martin County.
“I’ve worked all over the United States, and Martin County is my home, and I love it here,” Kristy Fitch said. “I want people to see that Inez and Martin County are great. I want folks to come here and see that we are a nice town and shake that stigma that follows us.”
Mason Fitch said the business has already helped the family build friendships with customers from outside the area.
“Through this business we’ve made great friends from South Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, who plan to visit our shop,” he said. “That will trickle down to them seeing our town and shopping with other businesses in our county. It helps everyone.”
Fitch and Sons Cutlery and Pawn will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and occasionally on Saturdays. The business will also hold Facebook Live sales every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.