daizee
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And yet you have both, you're saying they're good, and you have 17 of a specific type. So there's a market of some kind for sure.
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Hultafors (AKA Hults Bruks) wants to hear from American axe consumers
- Thread starter RockyMtnBushcraft
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And yet you have both, you're saying they're good, and you have 17 of a specific type. So there's a market of some kind for sure.
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Not specific to HB, but good marketing can create markets.
How many people really need a $1,000 custom knife? Yet they buy them all the time. I wish the U.S. had more people/companies as motivated as John Neeman or Gransfors.
How many people really need a $1,000 custom knife? Yet they buy them all the time. I wish the U.S. had more people/companies as motivated as John Neeman or Gransfors.
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I'm going to agree with you to a degree. I find the typical American axes to be hardened more than the typical Swedish axes (I've sharpened three, no Gransfors though). All three Swedes have been softer, though I haven't done enough work to comment on the edge retention. I will say that the softer steel is easier to get a scary edge though, which may be the cause of the legend.
Edit: I know making a generic statement is probably going to get me shot... but all of the decent vintage Americans have really hard steel and kill files. And all of the vintage Swedes I've found in my area are, well, softer. Just IMO.
daizee
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Interesting.
Have you ever tried throwing one in the oven to soften it up?
They must mostly be relatively simple steels, If you could hold them at 500F or so for an hour or two they might soften an point or two.
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I've found that the Classic line Hultafors (first pic) have steel that is excellent, and similar to a few vintage Kelly Perfects I've restored and profiled/sharpened. The standard line Hultafor's steel is close.
I can't speak for vintage Hultafors, but the steel on the modern ones seems to be close in overall quality and hardness to most of the vintage Kelly, Collins, Plumb, KeenKutter and Mann axes I've restored.
That's certainly true, but knives are a lot more useful to a lot more people than axes are.
I think the bushcrafting fad is going to die shortly after the TV shows come to an end, which they always do.
Granted need doesn't drive sales, but I doubt there are a hundred people in the US with an actual need for a top quality ax who don't already have one. If the romance of bushcrafting isn't being beamed into people's living rooms they aren't going to go looking for an expensive tool they will likely never use and probably never even thought of owning till someone on TV told them how handy it is.
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Agreed, partially.
That knives are useful does not necessarily mean that people are using the high-end knives they own. Some do, many others simply collect.
In any case, there are hundreds of companies making decent knives, and thousands of custom makers making very good/expensive knives. The axe market is much, much smaller. I am not advocating for hundreds of makers, but 3 or 4 would be nice.
That knives are useful does not necessarily mean that people are using the high-end knives they own. Some do, many others simply collect.
In any case, there are hundreds of companies making decent knives, and thousands of custom makers making very good/expensive knives. The axe market is much, much smaller. I am not advocating for hundreds of makers, but 3 or 4 would be nice.
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I disagree. The primary reason axes became popular over the last 2-3 years, is because of the "culture of uncertainty" that followed the Crash of 2007/2008. Axes, along with farming, home gardening, canning, etc are part of a societal trend towards greater self-reliance. Axes don't use fuel, unlike a chainsaw, so if gas prices go sky high or becomes rationed, you can still process firewood at your home or cabin. Good, sharp axes are also a blast to use, and have given many men a new excuse to sneak away from a doting wife or girlfriend to do something "good for the home."
Yep, my prediction is that axes are here to stay.Square_peg
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There's plenty of people still using firewood to one degree or another. That's probably the largest axe market in America.
Square_peg
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I agree with this wholeheartedly.
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Liam- yes, they are a bit thick compared to Gransfors axes.
daizee
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we burn 2-4 cord a year in addition to oil heat. The wood stove keeps the furnace from coming on as often.
I split a lot of it smaller than delivered, and have had to process a tree or two from rounds.
I disagree. The primary reason axes became popular over the last 2-3 years, is because of the "culture of uncertainty" that followed the Crash of 2007/2008. Axes, along with farming, home gardening, canning, etc are part of a societal trend towards greater self-reliance. Axes don't use fuel, unlike a chainsaw, so if gas prices go sky high or becomes rationed, you can still process firewood at your home or cabin. Good, sharp axes are also a blast to use, and have given many men a new excuse to sneak away from a doting wife or girlfriend to do something "good for the home."
Well, I could certainly be wrong about what drives ax sales. And I do agree that axes are "here to stay", though that's different than America being a productive marked for another high-end ax distribution. But if it gets to the point that a person can't find two gallons of gas to run their chainsaw then the main use for an ax is going to be to kill and process humans for food, ala The Road.
I LOVE using axes, but I can cut more firewood with my Stihl in half a day than I could cut with an ax in six weeks. And while an ax and maul is necessary for splitting wood, those POS chinese pot metal abominations you see at Home Depot split wood as well or better than a high-end chopping ax.
Again, I love axes...good axes. But I really don't see the US as a market for them. If it was you couldn't buy a top-end vintage ax for fifty cents at the flea market.
Square_peg
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I'm sure the survival shows are also driving a significant portion of the axe revival. And many middle-aged guys suffer from GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome - the need for every single piece of the best gear they can imagine - whether they'll ever use it or not. And after a guy has spent a couple days in the woods with a made-to-look-cool hawk he often decides that he needs an axe, too.
There's a market here.
Edit: One other thing. I just copied and pasted this from the bottom of this very forum. It tells the story.
There's a market here.
Edit: One other thing. I just copied and pasted this from the bottom of this very forum. It tells the story.
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Agreed, it will never be like it was a 100 years ago. However, axes are making a comeback compared to the last 50 years. I won't argue semantics over how people might be using their tools in the future, but very high gas prices because of an issue with Iran, for instance, might make more people supplement their chainsaws with an axe (i.e. limbing, chopping smaller parts of the tree). More importantly, axes have become a hobby for a growing number of people, especially the "doomsday preppers", and this alone has made the demand for "turnkey" axes much greater than even 5 years ago.
Also, check out this BCUSA thread 'Running out of axe heads in my area!'‏
People in many areas of the country are reporting a noticeable decline in the availability of vintage axe heads. I've seen the same in my area. I think this speaks for itself.
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"I LOVE using axes, but I can cut more firewood with my Stihl in half a day than I could cut with an ax in six weeks."
You could say the exact same thing about driving a car vs. running. But many people still run.
"Again, I love axes...good axes. But I really don't see the US as a market for them. If it was you couldn't buy a top-end vintage ax for fifty cents at the flea market."
Please tell me which flea markets you are going to
You could say the exact same thing about driving a car vs. running. But many people still run.
"Again, I love axes...good axes. But I really don't see the US as a market for them. If it was you couldn't buy a top-end vintage ax for fifty cents at the flea market."
Please tell me which flea markets you are going to
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I'd love to give one of their axes a go
