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Best Made Co? Anyone need a $500 axe?

This is madness.. I understand that not everyone is a knife/axe nut that wants to re-handle and axe and fix an old grind, etc, but if you had a hankering for a $500 axe couldn't you have one forged to order from a real blacksmith for close to that?

I would love to actually hold one of these right next to my GB American Felling Axe and try to figure out why it's worth almost double to someone?

It does make you wonder if you could rehandle some great old Collins and Plumb axes and sell them to some dopes for serious money, totally crazy.
 
Let's hope a response comes in soon--I'm on the edge of my seat to hear what makes them worth their salt. :D
 
An axe is certainly not abstract, but I think Al Capp's comment still says a lot about the kind of scoundrel that charges half-a-grand for a paint job on a stick.


"[Abstract art is] a product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered."
Al Capp (1909-1979), American cartoonist, known for his comic strip "Li'l Abner."
 
I saw this article about these axes:
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2009/07/best_made_co_ax.php

It's states that they are "Tempered and shaped—all by hand—at one of the U.S.'s oldest axe-makers in Maine, they then ship the axes to New Jersey to hand-paint and polish the hickory handles"

Aren't S&N made in Maine? I can't find any other axe mfg's in Maine (I only have a brown belt in Google Fu)

So are these just painted and polished S&N axes? These axes look alot like the S&N "our best" with the 30" handle:
http://www.snowandnealley.com/products/axes/obsb3530.htm
 
I read that the S&N heads are now Chinese made---but I'd like to be wrong about that.

DancesWithKnives
 
Well, the language is interestingly similar. The article about S&N says that the initial metalwork is done in China but they do the "tempering", etc. in Maine. The article about the Best Made Axes also refers to the "tempering" being done at one of the oldest axe makers in Maine. Nobody seems to be claiming full US forging and manufacture.

It's possible you guys may have correctly ferreted these out as dressed up S&Ns. It will be interesting to see what further info we receive.

Thanks,

DancesWithKnives
 
"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." -- H. L. Mencken
 
I sincerely hope they do well.

I simply don't get the responses here. They're presumably selling an axe for premium prices. Yet for some reason folks here want to go so far as get violent because someone, somewhere, might actually pay a high price. As if it's anyone else's business someone wants to pay $500 for an axe, even if it allows them to brag to their Manhattan neighbors. Is capitalism truly dead?
 
I know my RMJ tomahawk was over $500 :p

as for axes a GB is the way to go...or spend a little time in antique stores and you can find REAL gems of axes that will last forever and shave hairs. The ones being debated dont sound like much of a deal for that sought of money, if it were a high quality old axe maybe.
 
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shecky said:
I sincerely hope they do well.

I simply don't get the responses here. They're presumably selling an axe for premium prices. Yet for some reason folks here want to go so far as get violent because someone, somewhere, might actually pay a high price. As if it's anyone else's business someone wants to pay $500 for an axe, even if it allows them to brag to their Manhattan neighbors. Is capitalism truly dead?
Click to expand...

Not angry, certainly not violent, curious as to why a standard looking axe with a flourescant, partially painted handle is going for 400 bucks a piece. No answers yet. Also, why a black an white picture of any random item qualifies as art.
 
Some of their axes are listed for $250 on the website. They charge $75 for those packing crates/storage boxes, if you buy them separately. So it's possible that you may be buying a Snow & Neally with some finishing work, paint, and a wood box for a considerable premium.

I think I'd rather have a S&N on which Brian Andrews has done practical modifications.;)

DancesWithKnives
 
DWK2 said:
I think I'd rather have a S&N on which Brian Andrews has done practical modifications.;)

DancesWithKnives
Click to expand...

+1 DWK2. I'm still thinking of having Brian mod a 3.5# "our best" axe and comparing it to my GB American FA, that would be interesting.

I can't imagine what the guys we camp with would say if I brought out a pink and lilac axe:barf:
 
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