Axe via USPS, should I be worried?

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newsasquatch

Joined
May 4, 2013
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On Friday, I sent an axe head via priority mail at USPS. I was sending it to La Vista Nebraska to be professionally sharpened. It was supposed to arrive in La Vista on Saturday which seemed unreasonably soon, but it still hasn't arrived today. I sent this axe head:

it's my first axe and it means a lot to me, but I think I really effed up. The guy at the USPS store was rushing me and even though I was wondering about adding certified mail, I didn't figuring that I was being too neurotic. Heres the link to my tracking:
https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=9505500035304093000102
I called the last post office it was at and the woman said that it definitely left their facility. I asked why it wasn't scanned since, and she said that it might just be still on the road or in transit. I've been beating myself up all day for not getting certified mail, or going with ups or fedex.
I'm wondering, have any of you had issues with usps? Should I be worried? I filed a claim already, though it seems premature. I just think I'd be so fuckin upset if I lost it. I spent hours on that thing and was hoping to have it as a family heirloom. Damn :distress:
 
I've shipped and received a ton of axes with USPS and never once had a problem. Don't sweat it.
I'll be interested to see what your professionally sharpened axe looks like when it comes back.
 
I've shipped hundreds of items through USPS and they never lost one yet. I had one package delayed once getting to a small town in Missouri but it still made it. I'd take the USPS over all others.
 
I hope so, I'll show it, and if it has flaws, please let me know. I just didn't want to practice on my favorite axe. If it's a good job then I can have something for comparison. I don't have much confidence in sharpening. I ruined the edge on my fiddleback machete and it took a while to get it back to what it was so I didn't even want to mess with this one.
 
butchesforge (Registered User) sent me in Russia for more than 10 hawks and none of them USPS not lost. I hope that all will be well.
 
It's extremely rare for a package to be genuinely damaged or lost. However, it's not unheard of for a package to miss a scan point (which "breaks" the tracking number) and/or for a delay to occur.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
It's extremely rare for a package to be genuinely damaged or lost. However, it's not unheard of for a package to miss a scan point (which "breaks" the tracking number) and/or for a delay to occur.
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I've had this happen a number of times even with certified mail. It will get there, just be patient (I know that's hard,
I nearly went nuts the first couple times it happened).

Rich
 
Rich S said:
I've had this happen a number of times even with certified mail. It will get there, just be patient (I know that's hard,
I nearly went nuts the first couple times it happened).

Rich
Click to expand...
Yeah I figured if anyone understands the frustration and fear, its you guys. my wife was like, "It's just an old axe head" and thinks my obsession is unwarranted.
 
I've had delays and/or broken tracking numbers occur (rarely, but it happens) on customer shipments before and it always makes me extremely anxious. One time it took long enough that I was about to be able to file an insurance claim on it, but it showed up the day before the option would have become available. Fortunately the customer was a good sport about it, but it was a very frustrating circumstance. Any carrier, unfortunately, has coverage areas that have a higher rate of incompetency than others. I've heard of problems of varying sorts regarding FedEx, UPS, DHL, you name it, but the incidence rate is very low. Sometimes fate just draws you a short straw and you get to be the one the problem happens to. :o
 
Like the guys have said, it happens. I'm not in the axe business (firearms and accessories instead), but I still buy sell and trade my knives and other goodies. And the same thing happens from time to time with everything. Just had it happen with a knife coming to me. Its been stuck for a few days says its still at that place, but I just opened it, as it came in the mail today.

In Canada, Canada post with tracking and signature required is the ONLY carrier allowed to ship firearms at the single unit level. Talk about stress when one stops "tracking"... They take it pretty seriously if one goes astray...
 
I ordered a strop block with leather and compound from Knives plus, and it came today from USPS, only thing wrong was that the package came--without a strop block inside--there was a tear on the side where it fell out. I called my local post office to see if it was lying around over there somewhere and they said it wasn't. I called the company and reported it to them and theyre sending another one out. Man I felt bad that they had to replace it but oh well. This appears to have happened because the packaging was too cheap for such a big block but it still doesn't make me feel good about my current situation.
 
newsasquatch said:
I ordered a strop block with leather and compound from Knives plus, and it came today from USPS, only thing wrong was that the package came--without a strop block inside--there was a tear on the side where it fell out. I called my local post office to see if it was lying around over there somewhere and they said it wasn't. I called the company and reported it to them and theyre sending another one out. Man I felt bad that they had to replace it but oh well. This appears to have happened because the packaging was too cheap for such a big block but it still doesn't make me feel good about my current situation.
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That's nothing... I once had an ebay seller send me a 3.5# double bit in a priority mail flat rate envelope. Obviously I received it empty with a tear hole on one side. I guess I was lucky in that the seller realized he dun goofed and was quick to apologize/refund my money without any hassles. I've only once had to resort to a paypal claim (on a computer part I received in a clearly damaged state) and trust me when I say it's quite a stress inducing and drawn-out experience.

When it comes to shipping, it's actually very rare that a package gets lost so long as it's well packaged (which they weren't in our shared situations) and has some form of tracking. My favored method is actually USPS flat rate boxes with delivery confirmation. As a general rule of thumb, I put enough padding (usually just newspaper) around the item that it doesn't shake around freely in the box. Extra packaging tape never hurts. I also rarely insure things unless I place a $100+ value on it. Never once had an issue with an item I shipped and I have quite a number of dealings under my belt (mostly tech related).

From the looks of it, your package is probably just experiencing some delays. Don't stress it.

On a topic to take your mind off things, can I ask your reasoning behind deciding to ship the head off to be sharpened up? I think learning to sharpen and establish good profiles is not only a very educational and rewarding experience - it's also a very personal one: you're the only person who can really judge what profile would work well based on your intended tasks and the sort of woods you're working with. Sometimes those profiles even need changing as you work with the tool and learn from usage.

Lastly, how reputable are the people you sent it off to? Do they specialize in axes or do they sharpen everything? Because if it's the latter, they might be applying knife-sharpening-logic to the axe. If you look at my early work restoring heads, I did exactly that... the heads are very well refined, there's a good convex, and the edge cuts well. But does that mean it works well cutting into wood? Nope - at the time I had no real concept of the importance of the bit profile and how thicknesses at varying points affect wood penetration and release.
 
killa_concept said:
On a topic to take your mind off things, can I ask your reasoning behind deciding to ship the head off to be sharpened up? I think learning to sharpen and establish good profiles is not only a very educational and rewarding experience - it's also a very personal one: you're the only person who can really judge what profile would work well based on your intended tasks and the sort of woods you're working with. Sometimes those profiles even need changing as you work with the tool and learn from usage.

Lastly, how reputable are the people you sent it off to? Do they specialize in axes or do they sharpen everything? Because if it's the latter, they might be applying knife-sharpening-logic to the axe. If you look at my early work restoring heads, I did exactly that... the heads are very well refined, there's a good convex, and the edge cuts well. But does that mean it works well cutting into wood? Nope - at the time I had no real concept of the importance of the bit profile and how thicknesses at varying points affect wood penetration and release.
Click to expand...

I understand that me sending it off doesn't make sense for some but I think I have good reasons. I like to have an example to go off of when trying something new. I see a lot of your guys' sharpening work and it looks quite impressive, but I don't really want to do a trial and error thing-even though I'm sure it would work in the long run. I guess it also has to do with confidence in these things. I bought this http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Kell-...F8&qid=1397165222&sr=8-4&keywords=bevel+gauge because I want to actually learn how to sharpen axes as well. I also bought a file card and some files. I just acquired a double bit kelly perfect axe that has some pretty bad edge damage so I plan on practicing on that. I feel like the combination of an object to look at for comparison + the tools I've bought + all of the tutorials on here, will allow me to learn to reprofile and sharpen the best that I can--in theory. If they do a bad sharpening job then I guess it wouldn't be such a great model to work off of.
I have quite a bit of confidence in them though. They are a very reputable dealer that primarily sells axes. I talked to the owner and he was saying that he would put something called a "bananna grind" on it. He seems to know his stuff. I'm sure I could figure it out, I just didn't wanna mess the axe head up.
Yeah I just checked the tracking # and it looks like it's getting there. That is super frustrating, but I guess I just got dealt a bad card, and I guess (according to some of the other peoples experiences) it could be worse.
 
Good ole usps is usually pretty good, but sometimes things will get backed up for whatever reason. Just keep an eye on the tracking and go from there.
 
I know this is late, and it arrived, but I trust USPS quite a bit. Use them exclusively, with great luck. Glad your package was delivered safe and sound. :)
 
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