The Marathon Axe of Champion Elwin Griggs
Made in Taiwan
for the Australian Market
Date unconfirmed (1960s – 1980s)
The Marathon Axe was a short-lived brand of felling and racing axe heads made for the Australian woodchopping market. They were manufactured in Taiwan in partnership with Champion Australian axeman Elwin Griggs. They were only made for a short span, sometime between the late 1960s to early 1980s.
Not a lot of information is known about this brand, and what I have found is mostly anecdotal. The actual manufacturing run did not last long, and it’s unclear when it actually started and stopped.
Marathon axes often get mistaken for being Australian-made because of the connection to Elwin Griggs, whose initials “E.G.” were stamped on the heads. But it does appear they were produced in Taiwan (although not technically 100% confirmed).
Marathon axes were typically Tasmanian-pattern heads weighing around 4½ lb. They were marketed primarily in Australia and secondly in New Zealand, where woodchopping was a popular sport. For a time, they offered athletes a reliable alternative after the decline of Australian makers such as Hytest, combining good steel quality with affordable offshore production.
Despite their performance, the brand’s life was brief. By the mid-1980s, newer competitors like New Zealand’s Tuatahi began dominating the racing axe market. With Griggs’ death in 1984 and no further production runs, Marathon fell out of use.
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