Neeman Hatchet Value

Very valid indeed, but isn't it also valid that every piece coming out of their shop should be held to the same standard? And isn't it also valid that with any operation, there will occasionally be a mistake, or an unforseeable error, especially when working with natural materials?
 
Wranglerstar volunteers with the fire department, I think, and helps with fighting wildfires. Don't know how long he's done it, but I don't think it's his background.

A Neeman Northlander was sold last fall on wintertrekking for $300 CDN. That is compared to $440 USD new.

That said, I don't think whatever is offered is the real price. There is not a huge market for high-quality/high-priced axes so the offers will be subject to a lot of randomness. As well, the economy has been hard on a lot of people and has shifted the mindset of most to low-priced products, so popular opinion is skewed against quality products now as everyone thinks cheaper is better.

I would say that a top-quality axe should be equivalent to an ounce of gold, but those prices are all out of whack now too...
 
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Wranglerstar is a land steward, meaning that he is given the right to use and live on the land in exchange for maintaining the forest. He is also a wildland firefighter and has done tons of training to gain certain certifications and is qualified to run a crew.

I don't think that he has a long background in the area and is far from the most experienced guy out there, but he has had to pass tests and prove a certain level of expertise. Besides, he refers to An Axe to Grind, so....:D
 
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Where do I sign up to be a land steward?
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I'm with you pardner, where do I sign up. ;)

As was pointed out earlier, it's worth what the Market will bear. If, you have raging 'wood' for a JNT Axe and don't want to wait 6 to 12 months to get it, you might have to pay a premium. JMHO, YMMV. :satellite:

SJ
 
Chignecto Woodsman said:
Where do I sign up to be a land steward?
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I have never looked into being a "land steward", so take this FWIW. 40+ years ago I bought a small piece of land with a beautiful stream running through it. The stream is designated by the state as a "cold water stream". This means for one thing that trout are able to breed in it. One of the first things I did was to have a conservation guy from the county come out. The service then was free. I don't know what is offered today. Anyway, we walked the property and he pointed out the various species of trees etc. and offered suggestions. I subsequently built a house overlooking the stream (which I still live in today). I've put out various nesting boxes for wrens, wood ducks, bluebirds and even bats. I have also I have added plantings purchased from the county mostly to create wildlife habitat. My mowing is minimal, mostly along the edge of my 500 foot long driveway, just enough so vehicles won't get scratched. No Lawn area, fertilizer, or weed killers. Throughout the years I have enjoyed a wide variety of wildlife and plants here. I think it is obvious that I am very passionate about this property and I have made it clear that my ashes will end up here.

This is NOT an argument against being an official "land steward" or that I know best. It is just an example of what I have done through research and sweat. YMMV.

As to Cody, I'm not a fan, but if he is doing his best to preserve his land, then my hats off to him.:thumbup:

Bob
 
Bob...you ARE a Land Steward! Good on ya, Mate.

As far as being able to 'afford' an expensive tool, I have always looked at it this way. Most hand-forged or hand-crafted tools are made by small, in many cases, single-Craftsman Workshops. Depending on the popularity, it increase wait times. For example, if you take a very expensive JNT Axe, let's say $500 USD, where there is a wait 6-months (180 days) to receive it, I distribute the cost over the 6-month period. In this case, it works out to roughly $3.00 a day. Not even the cost of a six-pack. If, you have to wait 12-months (365 days). Well, then the calculation becomes ~$1.40/day. The cost of a Sunday newspaper.

Since I'm not wealthy, this is how I 'rationalize' the purchase of a relatively expensive item. Maybe I'm just fooling myself. Who knows? The bottom-line? I like hand-forged, hand-crafted, edged tools. It's my passion and my hobby. The fact these tools can be used to create things or make me more comfortable while camping, or hunting and processing game, etc., is a bonus. Let's not forget pride in ownership. Yes, a Yugo will get you to and from work. But, a Porsche will take you there in style.:D

SJ
 
rjdankert said:
I have never looked into being a "land steward", so take this FWIW. 40+ years ago I bought a small piece of land with a beautiful stream running through it. The stream is designated by the state as a "cold water stream". This means for one thing that trout are able to breed in it. One of the first things I did was to have a conservation guy from the county come out. The service then was free. I don't know what is offered today. Anyway, we walked the property and he pointed out the various species of trees etc. and offered suggestions. I subsequently built a house overlooking the stream (which I still live in today). I've put out various nesting boxes for wrens, wood ducks, bluebirds and even bats. I have also I have added plantings purchased from the county mostly to create wildlife habitat. My mowing is minimal, mostly along the edge of my 500 foot long driveway, just enough so vehicles won't get scratched. No Lawn area, fertilizer, or weed killers. Throughout the years I have enjoyed a wide variety of wildlife and plants here. I think it is obvious that I am very passionate about this property and I have made it clear that my ashes will end up here.

This is NOT an argument against being an official "land steward" or that I know best. It is just an example of what I have done through research and sweat. YMMV.

As to Cody, I'm not a fan, but if he is doing his best to preserve his land, then my hats off to him.:thumbup:

Bob
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Good for you! I wish we all had the opportunity, and long term gumption, to be a conscientious caretakers (we're merely temporary owners) of a piece of God's green earth. Whatever 'land steward' is sounds to me like a way to avoid property taxes and for a municipality to have something it owns to be maintained for free. I doubt this includes building permanent structures or land clearing to sell the lumber.
 
Very valid indeed, but isn't it also valid that every piece coming out of their shop should be held to the same standard? And isn't it also valid that with any operation, there will occasionally be a mistake, or an unforseeable error, especially when working with natural materials?
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If you are talking about the failed wooden Haft? Absolutely! However, in this case, as was pointed out, this was 'review piece'. And, if you watched the Wrangler Star video, part of the issue was Autine tried to hide a forging issue by Stick or MIG welding inside the Eye of the Axe and then used an excessive amount of epoxy to fill-in the rest of the holes/gaps. IMHO, poor workmanship and questionable ethics. Again, JMHO, YMMV.

SJ
 
Scooter, same here. A weekend out on the town can cost a hundred or two, easily. So take a break from drinking for a couple months and you have that high-quality item. If you don't have much money you don't want to be buying things twice.

rjdankert, very nice. I am in a similar location, brook behind and river across the road. Last summer/fall there were 3-4 osprey using the end of my lane as perch for fishing. Bald eagles can be seen weekly, I often see blue heron fishing back in the brook, goshawk calling, plenty of hawks, etc. I'm doing what I can to thin out brush for trails and maple trees. There is a white birch over 30" in diameter and some other old-growth trees, so there is potential for the rest of the trees. I am going to try fixing the field next to the brook with some permaculture projects and get local fruit trees growing. Some of the old logging roads are great hiking trails.

And nearby there is a wilderness protection area, I have been thinking about how to get some work fixing that up. At my current job there are some guys laid off from silviculture so I am going to see what I can learn from them, and maybe even get something going in that area of work.
 
Chignecto Woodsman...Absolutely! I can also 'justify' (another way of saying, 'rationalize') my purchases by the fact I no longer drink or smoke cigarettes. A weekend swigging down Single-Malt Scotch can certainly do damage to your bank account, along with your Liver.:)

If, you want something bad enough, you'll figure a way to pay for it.
 
ScooterJammer said:
If you are talking about the failed wooden Haft? Absolutely! However, in this case, as was pointed out, this was 'review piece'. And, if you watched the Wrangler Star video, part of the issue was Autine tried to hide a forging issue by Stick or MIG welding inside the Eye of the Axe and then used an excessive amount of epoxy to fill-in the rest of the holes/gaps. IMHO, poor workmanship and questionable ethics. Again, JMHO, YMMV.

SJ
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I did not remember that from the video! Maybe I didn't finish it. That's pretty crazy.

And I also rationalize purchases based on how many beers/coffees something costs. Glad I'm not the only one :D
 
300Six said:
Good for you! I wish we all had the opportunity, and long term gumption, to be a conscientious caretakers (we're merely temporary owners) of a piece of God's green earth. Whatever 'land steward' is sounds to me like a way to avoid property taxes and for a municipality to have something it owns to be maintained for free. I doubt this includes building permanent structures or land clearing to sell the lumber.
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I know that you tend to assume the worst, but no need to in this case. I need to correct what I said, my memory failed me and what I said is not correct. I remember that he does something called forest stewardship, but they purchased the land. If I had thought about it for a moment, I would have realized that what I said made no sense. One of the main goals of homesteading is to be more self dependent, and living on government land that you could be kicked off of at any time would be the last thing that they would do.
 
300Six said:
Good for you! I wish we all had the opportunity, and long term gumption, to be a conscientious caretakers (we're merely temporary owners) of a piece of God's green earth. Whatever 'land steward' is sounds to me like a way to avoid property taxes and for a municipality to have something it owns to be maintained for free. I doubt this includes building permanent structures or land clearing to sell the lumber.
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The efforts of the caretaker could all be undone after his/her death, unless there is some lasting protection in place, such as a "conservation easement" set up with a land trust. These can recognize certain uses of the land, if desired (such as housing, agriculture, logging), on specific areas of the land, while the rest is kept "undeveloped". Property owners have received tax breaks by setting up a "conservation easement" because it reduces the taxable value for the land (lowering the property taxes), and also might be treated as a type of tax-deductible donation. The land remains private property and is still in the name of the owner(s). It's just certain (taxable) development rights that are voluntarily "removed" from the property (for example, the right to turn this beautiful 10-acre forest into just another tract housing development).

(I am not an attorney, and this is not legal advice, merely avenues to investigate.)
 
Aspiring to ideals of land stewardship is not entirely out of the question. In the late 1970s I befriended an interesting gentleman, by the name of Rip Kitchen, homesteading north of Price George BC along the Crooked River, that had applied for a settlers land grant in the early 1960s and had lived up to gov't expectations of punching in a mile long driveway (forestry & fire access road), clearing X number of acres, erecting permanent dwellings and farming some part of the land. Somewhat like Dick Proenneke he was energetic, determined and wonderfully skilled but had the sense to attract a like-minded woman and to seek work as a millwright for a few months every year in order to generate enough cash to maintain a vehicle, equipment and supplies. He had been General Manager of Manitoba's Churchill Airport in the 1950s and quit suddenly one morning, drove his pickup truck to Orillia, Ontario in order to obtain a Findlay Oval wood cookstove (finest stove in the world he said) and headed for central British Columbia to escape from it all. He had moose, bears, cougars, wolverines, otters and all manner of wildlife traversing his property and he welcomed wildlife biologists and conservationists to visit. His lady friend Marion Thompson worked at the nearby provincial park during the summer months and she was a master at gathering wild edibles.
 
Old Axeman said:
jblyttle-"Besides, he refers to An Ax to Grind" That sure does not make me feel good.
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That was not my intention. Like most of us, he has certain interests and passions but maybe did not grow up with this stuff. For people like us, all that we can do is learn by any resource available- be it online videos, talking to others, personal trial and error and topical publications. My point was that he seems to be putting good effort into educating himself and using the best resources that he knows of. That is all that most of us can do.
 
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