A Growing Archive of Historic Axe Brands & Types
The project:
Information about historic axes shouldn’t just live buried in 10-year-old forum posts, with broken links and missing images. So, I’m building an archive of the historic axe brands and types through research and collaboration.
Jim Bell – founder and axe collector
Latest Articles
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Hartwell Brothers Grey Gorge Axe
The result of a sales rep seizing an opportunity in Texas that lead to the creation of a brand and of the Cedar pattern axe.
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L.A. Sayre & Co. Hatchets
A regional tool company from Newark, New Jersey, that made a wide range of small hand tools for tradesmen.
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Italian Titan Hatchets
A small line of Italian hatchets from the 50s and 60s that turn up all over the place.
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The Tobacco Hatchet
A light, thin-bladed hatchet used for whole-plant or stalk-harvesting tobacco.
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The Cedar Pattern Axe: Design, Use & History
One of the last great American axe patterns, which started as a broken hatchet in the mud.
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True Temper Black Prince
The True Temper Black Prince was the successor to one of the longest-running axe brands in Canada.
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The Brick Dressing Axe
A specialized masonry tool for squaring, and smoothing bricks so that each piece can fit cleanly.
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The Lineman Axes of the Phone Companies
Two distinct types of axe were used by phone company linemen.
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Masback’s Red Diamond Axe
There were far too many “black diamond” axes – finally, used a different color.
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L&F Axes of the Ontario Department of Lands & Forests
Axes issued to and used by the Department of Lands & Forests.
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Canadian-Made True Temper Worlds Finest Axes
A little known Canadian version of a famous American axe brand.
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Craftsman Axe Markings & Timeline
A look at Craftsman axe markings over the decades (and an attempt to date them).
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Diamond Brand Axes
Decent axes made in China between the 1960s and 1980s, for export around the world.
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D.H.O. Axes on the Road
Axes issued to and used by the Ontario Department of Highways.
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The Marathon Axe of Champion Elwin Griggs
A short-lived brand axe heads made for the Australian market in partnership with Champion axeman Elwin Griggs.
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Tryon Axes of Philadelphia
The house brand for one of America’s largest sporting goods retailers in the early 1900s.
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The Bodgers’ Axe
A unique axe used for rough-shaping chair legs, spacers, and spindles out of green wood.
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The Free Forge of Pembroke
Thomas Free started a small forge in Pembroke, Ontario, around 1857.
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The Coopers’ Axe
A coopers’ axe is a broad, heavy hatchet designed for barrel making.
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George Conley Edge Tools
A small axe maker from Pictou County, Nova Scotia that operated for 56 years between 1847 – 1903.
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The Turf Axe
Turf axes (peat, bog, or sod axes) were unique axes used to cut and lift blocks of peat.
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The Miners’ Axe (US, UK & Other Variations)
The Miners’ axe was originally used to shape and fit timber posts and post caps within the mine.
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Newark’s M. Price Edge Tools
M. Price was an edge tool maker in Newark, New Jersey, from 1847 to 1892.
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Marsden Brothers & Co.
A multi-generational edge tool business operating in Sheffield, England in the 1800s.
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A Brief History of Reaney Edge Tool Makers
The Reaney family was a part of the thriving edge tool industry of 19th-century Sheffield, England.
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The Infamous Chopper 1 Axe
The Chopper 1 axe was designed in 1975 to improve splitting efficiency over traditional axes.
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Proax Racing Axes
Timbersport axes, handcrafted in Victoria, Australia, by a father-and-son team: Garry and Geoff Meyer.
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The Ardex Axe: An Axe Brand Made in 6 Different Countries
A unique range of axes originally imported from various European countries before finally being made in Canada.
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The Cruiser Axe: Definition, Uses and History
The name comes from the Timber Cruisers who historically used these axes to blaze trails and mark trees.
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Lewis Bros. Black Diamond Axe
A private label brand by a Montreal-based hardware wholesaler. These uncommon axes often get misidentified as Walters.
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The Chillington ARPAX & Diablo
A fire and rescue axe introduced just in time for WW2. For the civilian market, it was branded the “Diablo”.
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Encyclopedia of Axe Types: Illustrated
Over 120 illustrated entries of unique and historic axe types.
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Barrel, Produce, & Packers’ Hatchets
Unique hatchets designed for packing and unpacking goods shipped in wooden barrels and boxes.
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The Pulaski Tool: Designed After Disaster.
An iconic tool invented to fight forest fires after the “Big Burn” of 1910.
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The Adirondack Axe: From the Mountains of New York
A double-bit axe with on a unique curved handle developed in the Adirondack region of northern New York.
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AB Gefle Smidesfabriker (Gefle Vapen) Axes
Founded around the turn of the century (1900), in the port city of Gävle, Sweden.
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GDR Axes From Behind the Iron Curtain
Axes made in East Germany during the Cold War period, stamped “GDR” for the German Democratic Republic.
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The Michigan Pattern Axe: Design, Use & History
One of the most widely made patterns of all time, established around 1860 for logging pine trees in winter.
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CNR Axes: Tools of the Canadian National Railway
Axes made for the Canadian National Railway during the 50s and 60s.
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The Berghaus Axe: A “Swedish” Axe Made in Canada?
Sold in Canada from the early 1900s into the 1950s, the maker of these “Swedish” axes will surprise you.
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Utilization of Waste in Handle Making (1915)
A look at early adaptations for reducing waste and boosting efficiency in handle production.
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The Welland Vale All Steel: A Canadian Etched Axe
One of the few Canadian axes with a large etched design
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The Kinds of Material that Come Out of Giant Douglas Fir Log (1920)
A look at the potential of uses of a 48-inch wide Douglas Fir.
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How Axes Are Made (1882)
A contemporary explanation of how axes were made in the late 1800s.
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Walters Pulpwood Axe
A line of mid-size axes made to accomodate the shifting needs of the lumber industry.
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Howland’s Samson Axes
The high-end private label brand of Toronto-based hardware wholesaler H. S. Howland, Sons & Company.
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Howland’s Waverly Axes
Howland’s affordable entry-level line of tools that followed the success of the premium “Samson” brand.
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On The Weight of An Axe (1885)
A woodsman buck’s conventional wisdom in support of using smaller and lighter axes.
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Owl Quality Axes
A brand made by Welland Vale in the 1930s-1940s for an unknown Canadian hardware retailer.
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Howden’s Trueset Axes
A private-label axe brand created by one of Canada’s most long-lasting hardware businesses.
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A Mere Outline Against the Blue Sky (1921)
A High Rigger performs many marvelous aerial feats and seems to defy death at every move in his poised position.
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The “Canadian” Kelly Axe & Tool Company
A “company” created to cleverly bypass foreign tariffs and conquer foreign axe markets.
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Ashdown’s “Diamond A” Axe
Ashdown’s Hardware earned its founder the nickname “the Merchant Prince of Winnipeg”.
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Tuttle, Date & Rodden: A Flash in the Pan
This small firm only existed for 5 years but it started one of the most influential axe factories in Canadian History.
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Allan Hills Edge Tool Company
A short lived company that produced a wide range of lumbering tools out of the old Warnock plant in Galt.
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Hobbs Hardware Axes
A prominent hardware wholesale & retail business founded in London, Ontario with top-tier axes.
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A History of Garant Axes
Garant axes are well-known in Canada. But, it might surprise you that they never made axe heads in Canada.
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Strikemaster Canada Axes
Strikemaster Canada was manufacturer of striking tools including axes. They were likely imported from overseas.
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Canadian Axe & Harvest Tool Co.
The Canada Axe & Harvest Tool Co. was founded in 1892 by William Chaplin, the owner of the Welland Vale Manufacturing Company.
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The Short-Lived Canadian National Axe
The “National” axe was briefly produced by the National Farming Machinery Limited out of Montmagny, Quebec.
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Oximex Canada Axes
Oximex operated out of Toronto Importing goods (including axes) from Asia. The axes would have been made from 1994 to the early 2000s.
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Vintage Canadian Tire Mastercraft Axes
MasterCraft axes were produced for Canadian Tire by the Mann Edge Tool Company in Lewistown, Pennsylvania between the 1970s and early 2000s.
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Burgess Tool Co.
Founded in Ottawa in 1945 by Gerald Burgess, this axe producer operated until the 1970’s.
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True Temper Lion
The True Temper Lion was the final iteration of an iconic Canadian axe line produced out of St. Catharines Ontario.
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Lion Brand Axes
An iconic line of chopping axes and hatchets made by the Welland Vale Mfg Co. in St Catherine’s between 1912 and 1950.
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Garrett’s Black Diamond Hand Made Axe
A premium hand-made axe produced by Welland Vale Mfg Co. between 1906-1928.
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Risley & Kerrigan
Risley & Kerrigan was a wholesale hardware dealer and importer located in Toronto, Ontario between 1883 and 1889.
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Macleod’s Artisan & Expert Axes
The premium house-brand of tools for the Macleod’s Hardware chain, based on the US brand of Gambles Artisan.
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The WAJAX Axe
The house brand of the Wood, Alexander, & James LTD. hardware company, in Hamilton, Ontario.
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Australia | England | Germany | Sweden | United States
The Lehmann Collection
The Lehmann Collection is large gallery of vintage axes from makers around the world and is searchable by country.
