What's the market for antique axes

[Storm W]

Hey this is a tricky thread and I hope I am not breaking any rules. Mods feel free to let me know if there is something I should be avoiding. I do have a upgraded membership but I'm not sure if its showing yet.
It has been awhile since I have spent much time over here. I'm mostly on the knife makers page now. A few years ago there was a good market for old quality axe heads. It doesn't seem like I hear as much about them now by the non collector crowd. I suppose guy like Liam Hoffman are filling some of the need now. I collected at least a dozen high quality old heads then as well as a stockpile of handles. I even got some Kelly Perfects and a couple of Jersey patterns. Times have gotten a bit tight and I am going to have to let a few things go. Is it worth the time to do a nice hafting project on these or is the market gone. If it is I will just keep them for myself and friends and family and try to get more knives out the door. Thanks in advance.

 

[Square_peg]

Is it worth the time to do a nice hafting project on these or is the market gone?

There's still plenty of market for old axes. Watch a few sales on ebay to judge current prices.

It's almost never a good idea to haft an axe for selling. The buyer wants to do that himself. Plus it makes shipping prices skyrocket.

The buyer might also wish to reprofile or mod the axe and that is more easily done while it's un-hafted.

 

[Hickory n steel]

What he said.
Most people like putting the work into them, that satisfaction is certainly one of the biggest reasons I like vintage tools.
I would definitely never pay more for someone else to have fun I get out of doing it myself.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Yup. If a person wanted an axe and didn't want to work on it a bit they'd typically be more likely to buy new rather than vintage. Some will buy fancy restoration jobs for bragging points, but that requires having sufficient hype built up around your personal brand to move 'em, 'cause a lot of people are gunning for the market now, with middling success. Overall it's definitely more of a seller's market than it was a decade ago, though. Pricing varies wildly by make, model, and condition.