Northmen Guild builders?

It wasn't to suggest that the axe represents a speculative opportunity, this is no motivation I would like to encourage, just the opposite in fact.
What you write, es, about their presentation is interesting and just shows that these things can cut both ways, attracting the one and turning off the other. So far though in terms of getting themselves attention it seems to be working out to their advantage numerically anyway and admittedly it is fun to see their videos, so well produced as they are. But come on now, you can be a down and dirty woodchopper and at the same time have a poetic streak, or the other way 'round, don't you think?:)
I hope you and your Latvian axe share very many flying chips together.
 
I'm in NO WAY affiliated(or even acquainted,barring a couple briefest communications)with Guildsmen,but can vouch for the absolutely top-notch,nay,superlative,craftsmanship,quality of mat's,the whole enchilada of their tools.Those guys produce as quality of a tool as it gets.
The idea,kinda/sorta(strictly my own opinion here as well) was to be able to garner a minor edge in profit margin,being that Latvia is still recuperating after the disasterous decades of being part of USSR,and the cost of operating there is a bit less...(which idea i don't think panned out for them too well,not enough to've made them competitive).
Unfortunately,producing large,complex tools such as an axe on a smaller scale is just so heartlessly Tough...:(...even there(where shop-space can be had reasonable;large soviet-era hammers&parts abound,et c.).
The tools they produce,however,are worth every penny they charge for them.
If you broke that pricing down into hourly wages it'd probably be Way below minimum wage of any "developed" country...
Much of current thinking about axe prices is still based on that incredible phenomenon of the extremely competitive,tooled-up(mechanised),and very large-scale production in the USA in the late 19th-early(-ish)20th c.c.
Then,and for a few decades after the quality/price ratio hit some unprecedented math,unequaled before and probably unlikely to ever happen again...
But in the here and now,considering the skill-material-time-fuel-shopspace et c.,the Northmen come as close as one can.
 
jake pogg said:
I'm in NO WAY affiliated(or even acquainted,barring a couple briefest communications)with Guildsmen,but can vouch for the absolutely top-notch,nay,superlative,craftsmanship,quality of mat's,the whole enchilada of their tools.
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The case can be made for sure and thankfully Jake has laid out the historical picture isolating these blacksmiths and their works within a particular construct but when I see the skill and refinement embodied in the old axes, in particular the more complex ones, coming from the smid who not only was making them as part of the normal routine of localized labour and production in order to earn his daily crumbs but also was the product himself of a continuous process of passing along a vast accumulated body of knowledge, like Jake implied up there, while not wanting to detract, the modern axes, the ones that really test the qualities of the smid, represent a struggle to catch up with the true craftsmanship quickly fading into obscurity. OK, all this is just to say congratulation to these blacksmiths of the Baltics for their efforts.
 
extrastout said:
Who are these mystical men of the Northern Guild that work in a shed in the middle of the mountains??
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Frederick89 said:
The shed in the forest doesn't house any smithy. Being a guild every member has his own workshop
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FWIW, this is what I could find:


"From January 2017 John Neeman Tools has become a guild of northern master craftsmen - Northmen."

"Each craftsman is working in his own workshop, that is located on his own farmland."

From the Northmen Guild webpage: http://northmen.com/en/about-us/who-where-and-why


FrDoc said:
John Neeman is not a person, but a name used for broader appeal by the Northmen Guild.
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Not sure what you are referring to.:confused:

"John Neeman leaving Neemantools​


Lately I hear many people asking, whether I still perform in project Neemantools, considering I now run my new company – AUTINE. The answer is: NO, at present blades made by me, John Neeman, are only available under AUTINE brand."
http://www.johnneeman.com/en/articles/John-Neeman-leaving-Neemantools


Bob​
 
Bob,

Sorry about the lack of clarity in my post. My point was that, in the enigmatic group called Northmen, there is apparently no person named John Neeman. That moniker is an Anglicization of the name Janis Nimanis, a member of the group, used for a more broad appeal for the entire group. I was merely trying to lend a bit of precision, and it was clear as mud.

If you Google, “The Story About John Neeman Tools on Vimeo”, that was my source as I was investigating these guys as they were unknown to me.
 
John Neeman is the anglicisation of Jānis Nīmanis, a former member of the team now going by the Northmen name. He was the first smith contacted by the founder, the carpenter Jakebs (Jacob), before parting ways and founding his own brand as Autine Tools, as already said.

The reasons of the split were never clear, nor were clarified by either part, and something has always feld quite shady. The current explenaion of Autine's website has been written in place of a less polite one that lasted only a few days, years back.

Plus, at the beginning of Autine's life there were complains coming from the John Neeman Tools company, about the fact Janis was making copies of the same models the original company was crafting.
The original company was indeed born as a premium maker of old tools copies, with and english name and an agressive marketing, focusing on romanticize the image of the craftmen, with the declared goal to get a strong grip on the US market, so to give a push to Latvian craftmen image. All this was explained rather clearly on the original website, now sobstituted by the current one.
 
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FrDoc said:
The Story About John Neeman Tools
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Another story:
Some on this forum will remember back when this Jacob figure was casting here and on many other website forums for suggestions and information for prototypes, let's say doing some early and intense market research. Once he latched on to a group in the early days of facebrook known as "Axe Addicts" or something, begun in England but soon taken over by an American, opportunities & notoriety took off in a big way. The drama of their birthing pains never really interested me so much, garnered a degree of sympathy but overshadowed in my mind the products and now here we are. All these stories, they've truly anchored themselves within a certain segment of the axe world. It's incredible really.
 
So I'm supporting a good honest hard working crew that make an above par product....or a company with a lot of shade?...I'm getting more confused, for some reason... getting mixed up on if we are talking about Northmen or Autine or the Autine guy that has 2 different aliases. Break ups are so complicated o_O. Either way thank you for all the information. I'm starting to understand who I'm doing business with I think
 
Thanks, es for bringing it all up.
extrastout said:
So I'm supporting a good honest hard working crew that make an above par product....or a company with a lot of shade?
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An answer to this question is not so simple but we can be sure lies somewhere in between your two propositions, which probably is only obvious, thinking it over in a sober-minded way. It would be a mistake to regard anything I posted up as malicious since my intent was only to provide some needed perspective plus it's all verifiable to anyone with the inclination to look, make an interpretation on their own. As you say the best we can do is approach an understanding and I think you've gone further than most to get there. That's why I added my appreciation.
 
They do a ton besides making axes and tools. I would say based on my digging and interactions a while back Ernest is spot on. Some stuff seems to have happened but Autine, and Northmen both do good work and seem to be solid people.
 
Silverthorn said:
They do a ton besides making axes and tools. I would say based on my digging and interactions a while back Ernest is spot on. Some stuff seems to have happened but Autine, and Northmen both do good work and seem to be solid people.
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Autine seems much bigger and say they keep a close eye on manufacturing (not as hands on). Northmen give the impression its one man for each part of the build. Autine is a bit lower in price and out there, but again Northmen came knocking and I feel better about going with them. I now know that not many out there, or at least on this forum have a northmen crafted axe....again I thank all you members for your input and look forward to giving some feedback this summer. I think this post is the most knowledge I can get out in the web. THROW EM BACK THURSDAY!....keep them coming (knowledge, experience...feedback):D [/QUOTE]

 
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Well it finally arrived from Latvia and I am impressed. No steel wedge which was my only concern. But Jacob responded quickly and said:

"I'm glad to hear that you've received your axe! We stopped using the small metal wedges about 3 years ago. There has been a lot of tests and there is no difference if the metal wedge is used or not. So we decided to keep it traditional and simple. That is why our axes now have only the oak wooden wedges. You don't have to worry about the handle staying in its place. We also provide lifetime warranty so there shouldn't be any worries at all. Thank you for reaching out and I hope that you'll have a lot of good time using your axe!

Sincerely,
Jacob"

The fit and finish is fantastic, the label on the handle is a tad tacky though. As for customer service....the communication was great through the process, but once I paid in full it took some time to get a response as far as finishing times and then shipping and tracking as well. I'm very happy but am on the fence about keeping it. It's up for sale now and if it does not sell this week I will put it to some use. This hatchet is big...almost a small axe in feel. Only time will tell and if me and the hatchet find a good common ground. As of now it is looking fantastic hung on my wall.

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