In 2001, Cote and his family moved to Elliot Lake. Cote was born in Quebec, but grew up in the small mining town from the age of four. It was a home- coming of sorts, but it didn’t immediately have Cote happy. There wasn’t a lot of work to be had and this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
At the insistence of his wife, Carol, Cote resumed his knife-making trade. Only this time, it wasn’t going to be a hobby. For the next two years, Cote trained himself in the art of making knives. He bought equipment and then upgraded it when he could. Day after day, Cote went through cheaper steel mastering the craft and learning the ins and outs.
“I just kept at it,” he said. “I never stopped. I grinded a lot of steel in those two years. I learned some hard lessons along the way. Then, I finally made a knife good enough to sell. It felt good. I learned it all on my own and I am proud of that.”
Cote sold most of his knives locally to begin, and slowly branched out to other markets thanks to the internet and social media. Cote has become quite good at his craft. His knives are in demand. He makes about 120 knives a year. There is always a long waiting line of customers. It takes five months to get a knife. Cote’s knives sell around the world. Ten percent of his sales are international, with countries such as Norway, Australia, Spain, France and Russia among others, as top buyers. Sixty percent of his knives go to customers in the United States. The balance goes to people across Canada. Cote does a lot of custom work as well, putting all kinds of personal touches on knives to make them 100 percent unique and one-of-a-kind.
“This didn’t happen overnight,” Cote said. “It has become busy for me the last three years. I promote myself, and the internet and social media have been a big help in sales. People are finding me and they want my knives. That’s a good feeling, too.”
"I just kept at it."