What happened to Snow and Nealley?

S

Steve Tall

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Aug 28, 2010
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Looks like Snow & Nealley doesn't even have a functioning website anymore, although there currently are sellers with some of their axes still in stock. After doing some digging to understand what happened, here's a summary of what was written in some newspaper articles, plus some more recent developments:

More than 40 people were employed at the Snow and Nealley facility on Main Street in Bangor, Maine. The former owners announced in 1998 that they were considering moving the company to New Hampshire, or potentially selling the company.

In October 1998, a private venture capital firm purchased Snow and Nealley. In April 1999, a car dealership showroom and shop was purchased for the new location of S&N, which brought it right next to the corporate headquarters of the owners in Bangor.

Five years later, in 2003, "...most of the operations at Snow and Nealley were shut down in what is likely to be a permanent move because the company was unprofitable. Seven people lost their jobs and were not given severence packages... Now a salesperson is all that's left to sell and ship off the remaining inventory, and Hutchins is interviewing people to hire a sole blacksmith to continue to make axes at a different location... Hutchins said "The axes these days aren't made to be axes. They're made more to be gifts. They're presents. So I think I can reposition the ax business."

Source: Bangor Daily News, Apr. 2, 1999, and Oct. 24, 2003
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=20031024&id=nSE0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZeEIAAAAIBAJ&pg=1758,2602482
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19990402&id=0aRJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eQ0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6000,288413

Fast forward to 2007, when the president of the Lehman's catalog store, Galen Lehman, was surprised to discover that the "Made in USA" S&N axes he was selling had heads that were forged in China.

"I was surprised to hear that part of the Snow and Neally “USA-made” axe was made in China. So, I called the manufacturer myself, who reported that the “raw forgings” are made in China to their specific quality specifications. All of the subsequent manufacturing steps (tempering, assembly, sharpening, etc) are done in the USA. They told me that they cannot find a USA foundry to make the type of casting (or “forging”) that they need. It seems that all the ones they know about have been put out of business by Chinese competition. (They appealed to me to help them find a USA foundry that can do this. If you know of one, let me know!) In addition, because of high import duties (apparently imposed too late to help US foundries), the Chinese castings cost about the same as they used to cost when USA-made. What a tragic state of affairs!..."
-- Galen Lehman, from http://countrylife.lehmans.com/2007/10/01/should-lehmans-be-buying-from-china/#comment-38

Feel free to add any missing pieces of the story.
 
A shame. The old ones are very good. if its stamped its old, even if its stamped with the weight only. I have seen some of the newer ones still made here and the steel is hard, some had high centerlines and the balance was acceptable.
 
That is a shame but they took that road a few years ago when they quit making axes. You can't beat the chinese on cheapness. Many years ago I saw a Snow and Nealley axe at a hardware store. It was really a nice quality axe but I couldn't afford it. I've regretted not buying it since then. It's easy to second guess after it's done but maybe they should have tried harder for the handmade, quality market. It's working for Gransfors Bruk. Even though I didn't "need" it, I bought a Council Velvicut to do my small part to help keep quality USA axe making alive.
 
I have a newer S&N double bit. It has very poor geometry. The bit was next to impossible to file (the file skipped off).

Another company that seems to use the same axes, whether from S&N or another source, is Base Camp X - more of a boutique reseller of painted axes. It's curious that S&N seems to be out of business but Base Camp X still appears to be churning them out. I guess.
 
I heard through the grapevine that they'd been bought by an Amish family. Not sure of what their current status is though.
 
I heard a while back from a member here that they were purchased as well. I wrote them at one point but didn't receive a response. I wouldn't be surprised if they're under a heavy transitional phase right now.
 
i have a couple S&N's,(Hudson Bay) nothing wrong with either.:D

poor decisions by the owners and bosses, but who knows what they had to deal with. seems like the owners are trying to raise a dead horse after they watched it expire. i'm shaking my head

what the heck happened to the good 'ol American can do attitude?:confused: maybe Snow & Nealley were behind the cusp when the web connected buyers with makers and business bloomed leaving them out in the cold?
 
When I watched the president of Granfors Bruks and his attitude and vision, I couldn't help but think about Snow n Nealley, as well as a few other companies.
 
Maybe the "older" ones I had weren't do old and hence me not being impressed with them. I have one laying around somewhere ill check it out.
 
John Frankl said:
When I watched the president of Granfors Bruks and his attitude and vision, I couldn't help but think about Snow n Nealley, as well as a few other companies.
Click to expand...

That was a great video/talk. I guess I'm bigger on american axes now but I still love my GBs that I own (Maul, felling, and wildlife hatchet). Really nice craftsmanship.
 
I'm also bigger on American axes. I was just wishing more American companies had the vision displayed by the GB president.
 
It was very sad to see all those American companies go under.If it's any consolation the golden age of China is over for many reasons .I hope companies come back but in clothing the items now are being made in various countries Hondurus, Kenya , etc .
 
mete said:
I hope companies come back but in clothing the items now are being made in various countries Hondurus, Kenya , etc .
Click to expand...

Clothing has always trickled in from other countries. I used to like the shirts I got from Indonesia and Pakistan better than from China. It would be nice to see African products more widely available, too.
 
From the outdoor gear forum, about Snow & Nealley's new owners, supposedly Amish and based in Smyrna, Maine:

htroyer said:
Hi guys!
I have some information for you on the status of Snow and Neilley...
I am the brother in law of one of the new owners, and visited their facility this weekend.
They bought out the previous owners, including a very limited supply of axe heads. They fully intend to have the heads American made, as they believe in the USA. They are in discussions with potential manufacturers. One problem they are running into is that the manufacturers so far are interested in much larger production runs than they can support at this time. Discussions are continuing. In the short term, because their supply was nearly exhausted, they did order one more small run of ax heads from China, and they were sitting there in boxes. They hope to have that be the only order from China.
They do the tempering and annealing in-house, as well as assembly, grinding the heads, painting, and final (lacquer) finish. Laser etching the logo into the handles is done out of state, before the handles arrive at their facility.
Regarding the website, that won't be functional, at least in the short term, and maybe (probably) never. The owners are Amish. They don't even have a fax machine, but will take phone orders.
Click to expand...

from
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/940662-Snow-amp-Nealley-New-Owners!/page2
 
fingerscrossed.gif
 
Hi all,

I live in Maine and if the new "Snow & Nealley" Axe is made here in Maine by the Amish, I will buy one
(as long as it's truly 100% American made and not Chinese made). Please dear Amish folks, put me down for a 100% USA Amish made (Snow & Nealley) Axe! Thank you.

Regards,
HARDBALL aka Tom
 
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