Finding Quality Axes in Quebec

R

Repliqwtl

Joined
Nov 29, 2012
Messages
55
Hey Folks!

I was honestly just hoping to crowd source some sound advice from anyone living in Quebec, or Central Canada more generally.

I currently live in Montreal, and the only axes I ever come across are at the flea market on St-Michel, in the north of the city, and they tend to be few, far between, and in pretty rough shape.

Does anyone know of other good places in or around the city where you've had good luck finding quality axes? Or how to go about tracking down estate sales and the like in future?

I'm particularly keen to track down a boy's axe for general use on canoe camping trips, and I'm really hoping to catch a Walters one of these days (given its importance to the whole Outaouais region, where a lot of my family come from and where I do most of my trips). Has anyone had any luck spotting these in the past?

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks. :)
 
Pickin's are slim in eastern Ontario. Best bet is to scour Kijiji or open a mailbox across the border and start bidding on flea bay stuff. I have a cache of Walters but it took 35 years of poking through garages and wood piles to gather them and the numbers are getting fewer every year.
 
Find mine at the flea markets and online, theres not many good picks in flea markets as most are beat up axes or overpriced. Good luck!
 
You would have good luck I think taking a trip across the border into northern Vermont and NH. I would go on a weekend with pre-planned flea markets and antique barns mapped out and then also stop at any yard sales that you passed on your route. You will take some nice things home.
 
Thanks for the tips! I would definitely be interested in potentially having a look south of the border at some point. Can you generally just look up regular flea markets and the like online?

I just lost an ebay battle for an absolutely gorgeous Walters boy's axe head, but it just got too rich for my blood. I think I'll just have to hit the road at some point and hope for the best!
 
Repliqwtl said:
Thanks for the tips! I would definitely be interested in potentially having a look south of the border at some point. Can you generally just look up regular flea markets and the like online?

I just lost an ebay battle for an absolutely gorgeous Walters boy's axe head, but it just got too rich for my blood. I think I'll just have to hit the road at some point and hope for the best!
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If you can figure out a way to contact me (the personal message thing on here always defeats me) I probably have a nice a Walters for you. Pictured below is a Morley Walters ((Walters Axe), Hull, Quebec) with 2+ lb head (pulpwood/boy's axe) on the daintiest OEM handle I've ever seen. How old this one is I don't know but I've have had it for 35 years and have always been scared to use it and whoever had it before did confidently pound on wood with it.

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That would be amazing 300Six!

If it's alright, I'll email you about it (spotted your email address in a message you sent to someone else) and avoid the hassle of messaging through the forum altogether.

That axe and handle look absolutely gorgeous to me! Not gonna lie.
 
That Walters is a prize for the handle alone.

I figure I could look up postage but is US to Canada rates pretty high?

Cheaper one way or the other?

Just wondering as we have quite a few Canadians represented here on the forums.:thumbup:
I wouldn't be opposed to going through the effort but maybe the shipping cost is a make or break point?

Visited Ucluelet, BC last year and I didn't find a single axe other than new production. Rust doesn't make something old...
 
Thank you for the compliments folks. The 2+ dozen utility Walters I gathered up between 1980 and 2005 did not come from garage sales or flea markets. I swapped owners of loose/broken hafts and dull heads for brand new Garants. $25 barter transactions seems to have satisfied all parties.
I was too young at the time to be appreciative of meeting a wonderfully interesting man but Morley Walters (already ancient in age at the time) enthusiastically hosted an evening public talk and demonstration of how modern Canadian axes were made, at the Victoria National Museum in Ottawa in 1965. I was only 12 at the time but the mystery of how metal can be transformed into something useful suddenly came alive for me. And I never forgot the name "Walters, Hull, Quebec". The newly purchased axe we had at home (my European war survivor dad always went cheap) of course was a Swedish Sandvik.
I worked for Ontario Dept of Lands & Forests in 1970 and all of the issue choppers in the tool cribs were Walters and when I became a Park Supervisor in northern British Columbia in 1980 similarly discovered that their entire inventory were Walters.
Walters have never been crudely made and are like a cross between a Euro flat profile and an American high cheek but I have never heard anyone old tell me they were inferior, and lord knows Walters was making (and selling) 1000 heads a day all through the early to mid 1960s until the 'Pioneer' chainsaw by OMC (of Peterborough Ontario) started making serious inroads into the commercial and recreational tree felling/cutting business.
 
Agent_H said:
That Walters is a prize for the handle alone.

I figure I could look up postage but is US to Canada rates pretty high?

Cheaper one way or the other?

Just wondering as we have quite a few Canadians represented here on the forums.:thumbup:
I wouldn't be opposed to going through the effort but maybe the shipping cost is a make or break point?

Visited Ucluelet, BC last year and I didn't find a single axe other than new production. Rust doesn't make something old...
Click to expand...

I now have a UPS box in Ogdensburg, NY. It's a 45 minute excursion (one way) from Ottawa but at least incoming and outgoing parcels no longer get fleeced/hosed financially in order to cross the supposedly 'free trade' Canada/US border.
 
Agent H, to answer your question, the exchange rate is currently killing me, the canadian dollar is lower than I've ever seen it before so I avoid looking at popular auction site altogether to save myself the burns.

300Six, thats quite an amazing story you tell, glad we have someone with this much experience on this side of the forum boarder. I am wondering however, how come i've never chancemet any Walter axe in my flea market hunts here in Québec City, ive seen alot of Welland Vale, Garant, a few swedish ones, the odd true temper here and there, but never a single Walters, which i find odd.
 
Remzy said:
Agent H, to answer your question, the exchange rate is currently killing me, the canadian dollar is lower than I've ever seen it before so I avoid looking at popular auction site altogether to save myself the burns.

300Six, thats quite an amazing story you tell, glad we have someone with this much experience on this side of the forum boarder. I am wondering however, how come i've never chancemet any Walter axe in my flea market hunts here in Québec City, ive seen alot of Welland Vale, Garant, a few swedish ones, the odd true temper here and there, but never a single Walters, which i find odd.
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Don't know. Morley was a monied Englishman but obviously wasn't scared of maintaining a Quebec-based business. Garant is (was for 100 years) entirely a French Quebec enterprise and most Canada-wide buyers had no idea they were buying 'made in Quebec'. Sherbrooke, Lac Megantic etc wood products were world renowned until 40 years ago when Canuck manufacturing gradually headed offshore and when plastics started to replace traditional materials.
This all is shameful but at least history can (and will) prove over and over again that money talks and BS walks, and that buyers (in the long run) do appreciate well-made durable goods.
 
I'm not that surprised you haven't seen any Remzy. Honestly, I am deeply surprised by how poor the overall market for axes seems to be here in Quebec. Just go look at kijiji to see the difference. Axes in Quebec, maybe 5 listings at a time. and none of them anything special. Axes in Ontario, 100 listings, and a lot of it beautiful old pieces. I have no idea where this difference comes from. Maybe Quebeckers are simply sitting on / still using their old pieces? Even when I go out to flea markets, etc, pickings are very, very slim. Tend to be hatchets, and none too nice, and not much substance.
 
Ive seen a beautiful true temper Welland Vale fireman axe the other day, was in near perfect condition, but you know why I did knot get it? I was too afraid to ask the price... people over here will sell you a beatup rusted up piece of steel that has a stamp on it for twice as much as its actual worth, couldnt bear to hear how much he wanted for it, probably 100+ dollar.
 
Remzy said:
Ive seen a beautiful true temper Welland Vale fireman axe the other day, was in near perfect condition, but you know why I did knot get it? I was too afraid to ask the price... people over here will sell you a beatup rusted up piece of steel that has a stamp on it for twice as much as its actual worth, couldnt bear to hear how much he wanted for it, probably 100+ dollar.
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Never hurts to ask! Also helps to count out 3 or 4 crisp 20s and have them in your hand while you're conversing. Is there a vibrant (read expensive) market for stamped fire axes, let alone fire axes? I don't think so. I had an opportunity to pick up a clean Walters fire axe about 5 years ago but merely shook my head when the fellow said $100. Chances are he still has it or he had someone flash a few 20s in his face at an opportune moment! And it wasn't me.
 
Well, a Walters pulp axe head (2 lb 6 oz) found a new home over the weekend. An uncommon Black Diamond version no less. Please do report back on how the blade sharpening and hang turn out.
 
Thanks 300Six! Finally picked up a handle for it this week, so I'm aiming to get around to cleaning it up and hanging it this weekend hopefully. Will definitely post some pics here afterwards!
 
Got around to cleaning the head up today, so I thought I'd just post some updates of it!

It started off a little rough, especially after sitting on the back porch for the past little bit, but a bit of quality time with a wire brush and some filing brought it back beautifully! Really looking forward to finishing up rehanging it, and getting it out into the woods!

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