I find it a little hard to wax nostalgic on old vs new. I often feel that the 'old school' axes get a bit overly romanticized. Do I like vintage and antique axes? Yes, some of them are my favorite axes to use. Are there differences in material and design between most current production axes and those made 150 years ago? Yes, absolutely. But if you were to ask me if the basic conception of axe production has changed at all, I'd have to say, 'Not a whole lot.' As far back as 1832, The Collins Co. was developing machines to punch axe heads, weld bits, and control hardening and tempering. The shear amount of patents held by the Collins Co. is pretty impressive. Often times a new machine, creating increased efficiency in the production process would cause bottle necks 'downstream' and new machines and processes had to be developed just to keep up.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the improvements made in modern steel actually make for better axes today because it allowed for the
simplification of the manufacturing process, and thus better consistency in both materials and manufacturing. In 1859 at the Collins factory, an axe could have gone through at least 3, maybe more, mechanical processes: punching, welding, shaving, hardening and tempering. Each of these steps were mechanized innovations developed by Collins, and were subsequently adopted and modified by competitors (this is not to say that other companies didn't offer innovations, just that Collins had a reputation for it.) With increased complexity in manufacturing, I'd have to imagine that the chances of defects also increased. Additionally, quality control measures have increased beyond the mere visual inspection of the 1850s, and the 'hammer test' of the 1930s.
Current day axes, being made of a single piece of steel actually go through a much less complicated process than those of 100 years ago. I'm getting a little off topic here, but wanted to offer a bit of manufacturing perspective. I guess the story I'm getting at is that innovations in manufacturing drive more innovations in manufacturing. In the case of improvements in creating steel both more efficiently and of a more consistent quality, it actually allowed for the streamlining and simplification of the entire production process and the doing away with complicated machinery, something which no manufacturer could afford to walk away from.
I'll admit that I'm not as knowledgable about steel history as a lot of other folks, so I'd be happy to hear from others on how exactly the manufacturing of steel has changed, in process and quality, over the past 150 years.
For more info on the Collins manufacturing process in 1859 check out this Scientific American article (pgs 36-37):
"Our Visit to the Collinsville Ax Works"
