Hultafors (AKA Hults Bruks) wants to hear from American axe consumers

R

RockyMtnBushcraft

Joined
Apr 14, 2012
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41
Hey everyone,

Hultafors/Hults Bruks, Sweden's oldest axe maker, wants to hear from American axe consumers regarding possible US distribution. They are seriously considering selling products here, but aren't sure if they can sell enough axes to make it worth their while. They would like to hear from you by replying to this thread to gauge interest. If they get enough of a response from large forums like this one and Bushcraft USA, for instance, they will probably give it the green light and start to sell axes here.

Cheers, Jason

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I specifically went looking for them at my Husqy dealer last week, and bought the one promo hatchet they had on hand.
If they're going to sell in the US, I think they should aim for the ourdoors equipment vendors to displace some of the mediocre lines out there. They MUST come with a decent edge grind, else people will just buy the mexican and chinese competition. There has to be an obvious difference in more than just name and country of origin. They have to bring quality to the table, not just reputation.

-Daizee
 
daizee said:
I specifically went looking for them at my Husqy dealer last week, and bought the one promo hatchet they had on hand.
If they're going to sell in the US, I think they should aim for the ourdoors equipment vendors to displace some of the mediocre lines out there. They MUST come with a decent edge grind, else people will just buy the mexican and chinese competition. There has to be an obvious difference in more than just name and country of origin. They have to bring quality to the table, not just reputation.

-Daizee
Click to expand...

See this thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-Is-Hultafors-Bruks-as-goo-as-Gransfors-Bruks
 
Tell 'em to get in touch with a distributor like Blue Ridge. I'm sure they'd love to pick up the brand and it could simplify things drastically for them in terms of setting up distribution of their product.
 
I would be interested, I have not had the opportunity to try their axes, but some of them look like they would be worth giving a swing.
 
I have the smaller hatchet version and am happy, would give a larger ax a try, if available. Not a hard user like some here but need a quality tool to use around the homeplace from time to time without sinking a bundle into it.
 
I would be interested if they they had a lower price point than some of the other axe makers.
 
While I dislike the flat cheeks found in Swedish axes, I have already emailed them regarding this and decided if they sell here I will be picking up their 2 3/4lb boys axe. What a perfect weight.
 
I have been looking for a good hatchet and from what I can gather, the Hults Bruks is in the same league as the Gransfors Bruks. Problem is that there is not many HB products around. I've been told they are not sold in the U.S. I suppose the used ones available here probably were new purchased in Canada. I really cannot justify buying a new GB as they are just too expensive for my budget, but I was fortunante enough to find a fairly reasonably priced HB hatchet on e-bay. I should have it by next week. Looking forward to seeing if they really are as good quality as their reputation claims.
 
If they were up to the quality of GB but cheaper and easier to get (major retailers) I would be interested. But if they were like wetterlings were they are still tough to find, almost the price of GB and much lower quality (the ones I've been finding) I simply would not be interested

That said they look very nice
 
Their high end line I would be interested, I already have their forest axe and it is quite nice. Their low end line not so much.
 
I love cruisers and have a collection of 17 of them, 11 are hafted. Of these two are HB cruisers, the rest are vintage American cruisers.. In working with them, I can't see any advantage of the HB over any of the other cruisers.

The mystique of the Swedish steel is a (snobbish) legend but it doesn't have anything over a quality American made axe when they are side by side..



Just my two cents, Double Ott
 
Double Ott said:
I love cruisers and have a collection of 17 of them, 11 are hafted. Of these two are HB cruisers, the rest are vintage American cruisers.. In working with them, I can't see any advantage of the HB over any of the other cruisers.

The mystique of the Swedish steel is a (snobbish) legend but it doesn't have anything over a quality American made axe when they are side by side..

Just my two cents, Double Ott
Click to expand...

A shame that most of the American companies capable of putting out axes of that calibre are long gone. :o

Who knows--perhaps if their standard models do well in the 'States they might entertain the idea of a model or two aimed at us specifically. :)
 
I'd be interested, but I have too much fun finding vintage axes and restoring them. Once you get used to paying two dollars for a Kelly or a Plumb it's pretty hard to justify spending more.

I think the US would be a tough market. I doubt one in a thousand americans ever buys an ax, and out of those I bet it's one in a thousand that cares about or even understands quality. There's a reason premium axes of yore end up in the junk bin.

Having collected and hung too many axes to hide from my wife I decided to sell a few of them. I went to the local mom n' pop Stihl dealer and asked them if anyone ever came looking for a high quality ax. They looked at each other and replied that they didn't remember anyone ever looking for any sort of ax in the twenty-plus years they'd been in business.

The POS chinese pot metal on a stick seems to satisfy the US market just fine.
 
DB, is it fair to compare modern Sweedish to vintage American? I dont have any experience in a cruisers, but would like to get one for some limbing work. Any reasonably priced modern American models available? I do have a full sized double bit but dont use it much because its not a very good cutter , doesnt hold its edge long and quite frankly seems a bit dangerous in my hands.
 
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