Axe makers......

I think there's definitely a market for great axes out there, if you can get people to pay or make them in a way that you can keep the price down. We get quite a few people asking us for custom axes but because of our forge setup we only do up to Hudson-bay and house-ax styles and we have to charge a LOT as it's all by hand, no power hammer. The real reason the tomahawks sell more is that they're smaller and easier to make and set themselves up for more detail and artistry due to the history of their use (status symbols, not just tools)- read higher pricepoint per amount of heavy work. Really it's the speed of manufacture. With very little additional tooling I can make tomahawks in my smithy set up for knifemaking, to make axes is a whole other matter however. The volume of steel needed in an ax is often 4+ times the steel needed in a 'hawk and if you're forging them by hand that's a HUGE difference as 'hawks are already a lot of brute work. With a good process, and a good marketing approach like Autine excels at, you could do really well.

~Luke
 
Wow Luke, just checked out your site. You do amazing work, Sir. Keep up the great work! Definitely a lot of talent there.

dave
 
Gransfors have dropped the ball a bit, they seem more focussed on quantity than quality these days, although in saying that they still remain some of the best axes available for the price they ask. The best axes i know of are Tuatahi axes from New Zealand (see www.tuatahiaxes.com) you have to order them and obviously wait for yours to be made but they are definitely worth the wait. They specialize in racing axes but their working axes are brilliant as well! You have many options to customize what you require and for the timber varieties local to your country, Also, well worth a look are the axes being produced by Brute Forge, in Ballarat, Australia. They are difficult to find or get in contact with but the axes i have seen them turn out are absolute works of art.
 
BloodrootBlades said:
I think there's definitely a market for great axes out there, if you can get people to pay or make them in a way that you can keep the price down. We get quite a few people asking us for custom axes but because of our forge setup we only do up to Hudson-bay and house-ax styles and we have to charge a LOT as it's all by hand, no power hammer. The real reason the tomahawks sell more is that they're smaller and easier to make and set themselves up for more detail and artistry due to the history of their use (status symbols, not just tools)- read higher pricepoint per amount of heavy work. Really it's the speed of manufacture. With very little additional tooling I can make tomahawks in my smithy set up for knifemaking, to make axes is a whole other matter however. The volume of steel needed in an ax is often 4+ times the steel needed in a 'hawk and if you're forging them by hand that's a HUGE difference as 'hawks are already a lot of brute work. With a good process, and a good marketing approach like Autine excels at, you could do really well.

~Luke
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This. Luke hits the nail squarely on the head. I started out on the same thought process a little earlier this year. I love axes as well as knives and thought it would be fun to branch out into traditionally styled axes. But without a powerhammer it was so costly in time (and coal) that I was unable to make them at a satisfactory price point. This is even while my father was back in the country and he could hold the head while I thumped it with the sledge. I will just have to continue to make knives until I can find the investment to match my dream axes :)
 
There are a number of makers out there making axes. You guys should check out a young blacksmith named Liam Hoffman. I don't have any of his work.

Also check out Wolf Creek Forge. I have a great carving adze from those folks.
 
M3mphis said:
There are a number of makers out there making axes. You guys should check out a young blacksmith named Liam Hoffman. I don't have any of his work.

Also check out Wolf Creek Forge. I have a great carving adze from those folks.
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I have some of Liam's work. A claw hammer, a small 2 lb hammer, and a 3 lb jersey axe. The axe is a beast of an axe - great all around do whatever you want. Ill have to get some pics up of it. Handle leaves some to be desired but he has redone his handles I guess.
 
Although I haven't personally used one I hear the Hults Bruk axes are pretty good quality.
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
The problem is there really isn't a mass market for high quality axes anymore. This is why all the well known big names of the past closed their doors. Even Gransfors' back story is they were going under making plain working axes (they were once one of the more common brands on logging sides around here. I have several of the older ones) so they switched to the fancy boutique models to keep their doors open. Few axes at high prices.
The up side is every flea market in this part of the world has plenty of old axes heads at cheap prices if you don't mind putting a handle on them.
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pretty well sums up the axe making business in short.
plenty of makers and models out there but not readily available in hardwear stores where i live in Mudzoory.
i just bought two second rate Sears Craftmen hatchets
 
Couple other high end axe makers that are making great stuff that I don't see on this thread are James Austin, Jan Tommy Kirkholt (Norway), and Øystein Myhre (also Norway).
 
Gransfor Bruks over Wetterlings but both are the baseline for axe making at this point in time. God I want one.
 
Oxbow said:
Couple other high end axe makers that are making great stuff that I don't see on this thread are James Austin, Jan Tommy Kirkholt (Norway), and Øystein Myhre (also Norway).
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Oxbow,thanks for posting these (outstanding) makers.
Among others in the US/Canada i could think of J.Helms,and the gentleman from this topic here:http://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?showtopic=19425

Outside the US,a very good British smith,Josh Burrell,http://thenewhearth.blogspot.co.uk/...d-max=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=1

A while back there were questions about this maker:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1348572-Russian-Axe-Toporsib

I know these people,they're a good,solid forge in Siberia,two brothers,one a smith another a machinist.I've alerted them to this topic,and their response was that they'll soon be marketing their axes through some Finnish company,meanwhile,between their lack of English,and staying very busy running their one-horse shop,you can only deal with them through someone that you may know personally in the RF.
 
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