The Cedar Pattern Axe: Design, Use & History
The cedar pattern axe was invented in Kerrville, Texas, in 1927, by store manager Henry Weiss and blacksmith Frank Krueger. The lighter head (2-2.5lbs) and wide blade make it ideal for clearing the shrubby cedars covering the Texas plains. It was in production by 1928, and its popularity grew quickly.
The first production Cedar axe, based on the axe Weiss & Krueger had created, was made (at the request of Weiss) by the Hartwell Brothers company. It was branded the “Grey Gorge”. The Hartwell Brothers (who only produced handles), contacted Warren Axe & Tool Co. out of Pennsylvania to produce the heads for them.
With the success of the new axe, it didn’t take too long before Warren, Plumb, and other manufacturers were also producing their own Cedar axes to compete in the region.
The Cedar Pattern axe was one of the last great American axe patterns to be created, and lucky for us – the most well-documented. So we can get a peek at the type of evolution that happened for different patterns all over the US, with regional needs dictating axe features.
The Design of the Cedar Pattern Axe
The original design of the Cedar pattern axe came from the determination of Henry Weiss to repair a (broad) hatchet head that he found broken on the side of the road. The full story is further down and worth reading.
You can see above how the cedar design came out of a broad hatchet head with minimal alterations. This even explains the curve on the back side of the blade.
Before its invention, other common American axe designs were either too heavy or had too short a cutting edge length to be well-suited for dealing with these Texas cedars. Often, you had to cut through a bramble of scraggly branches to get to the trunk before felling the tree.
The look of the Cedar axe is quite distinct. The body or poll of the axe is shorter in height than a typical axe to cut down on weight, with a typical Cedar axe being about 2.5lbs. The blade is thin and wide, with a cutting edge length is over 5″ – making it perfect for both slashing through branches and bramble, and leaving wide chops into the trunks of soft cedar trees.
The taper of the back edge of the blade connects with the body with space left before the eye, which leaves enough room for a worker’s hand. This is helpful both when chopping with the axe, or if you need to choke up to deal with branches above you.
The handle was also typically a mid-size 28″-30″ in length, making it nimble and maneuverable with either one or two hands.
Sizes of Cedar Axe
Cedar pattern axes that were actually used for clearing cedars were almost always mid-size axes with about a 2.5lb weight (give or take a quarter pound for preference).
However, the popularity of the design soon meant more sizes were produced, and they were sold in more regions around the country.
- Smaller hatchets and camp axes were made going as low as 1.5lbs, which were a favorite of campers.
- Larger 3lb models were adopted by some for general tree chopping needs (not specifically cedars).
The Double-bit Cedar Pattern Axe
In 1946-1947, the Hartwell Brothers introduced a double-bit version of the Cedar pattern axe – Hartwell claimed at the time to be the only ones offering them.
The double-bit has wide, thin blades with dramatic curves to a shorter eye. These heads are also typically lighter than typical double-bits, being around 3lbs.
The double-bit versions instantly overtook the single-bit in sales for use by actual cedar clearing workers. Although the single bit was overall more popular, it had become a favorite with campers and outdoorsmen.
The Need for a Cedar Axe
The western side of South and Central Texas was historically covered in millions of acres of sprawling low cedar trees (in this region, they look more like a bush). These cedars don’t allow much else to grow, and would kill out the native grasses, leaving the earth rocky and bare.
As settlers first arrived, it wasn’t an issue. But by the late 1800s, as more and more people came to the region, more and more of the cedar had to be cleared to make room for agriculture, and to allow grass and plants to grow that could support herds of grazing animals.
By the early-mid 1900s, great teams of workers (often from Mexico) were hired privately or as part of government programs to chop down and clear millions of acres of shrubby cedar. It involved a lot of chopping.
The Cedar Axe Origin Story
The story begins in 1927, with Henry Weiss, the store manager of the Charles Schreiner Company in Kerrville, Texas, was travelling back from a business call to a local ranch.
On his way back to the shop, Weiss found a broken hatchet head on the ground by the road. But, despite its condition (being trash), Weiss apparently liked the look of the hatchet so much that he took it to his old German blacksmith friend, Frank Krueger, to get it repaired.
Krueger looked at the hatchet and confirmed it was infact junk – with barely any good steel left in the broken blade. But Weiss insisted, and Krueger went to work.
The finished axe weighed about 2lbs, had the blade extended to be 5.5″ long, and was hung on a 30″ handle – and Weiss loved it.
Version 2.0 of the Cedar Axe
It quickly became clear the old hatchet found on the side of the road could not hold up to much use, and was in fact – junk. But Weiss loved the new design so much, he commissioned Krueger to make him another one. This time out of a brand new 3lb standard felling axe.
Krueger took the new axe and cut down the poll to lighten the head, then the blade was hammered out to be both thinner and longer, and shaped to mimic the original axe he had made.
The final axe was a little over 2lbs, and again hung on a 30″ handle – and Weiss loved it.
Enter the Hartwell Brothers
Lee Judd was a factory representative of the Hartwell Brothers company, working in Texas. As he spoke to his customers throughout the region, he continually heard complaints about the performance of the available axes for dealing with a vast number of shrubby Cedar trees.
On one routine trip to Kerrville, Texas, he got talking with Weiss at the Charles Schreiner Company, and Weiss was singing praises about his new axe. He then asked Judd if the Hartwell Brothers could reproduce at scale.
Of course, Weiss refused to sell his axe at any price, or even lend it to Judd to take to be replicated. Even after many promises of it being hand-delivered back to Weiss by Judd. Eventually, Judd gave up, drew a picture, took measurements, and went back to the office.
Another Prototype
After several weeks, he returned. The factory couldn’t use the drawing alone and needed a physical example. Weiss was still stubborn, so they went to get another made by Krueger.
Turns out, Krueger was just as uninterested in making another one of these axes as Weiss was in giving up his. But with Weiss’s help, eventually Krueger relented. Krueger is quoted as saying, “I want you to know that you are the only person in the world whom I would spend so much time and hard work on making another axe of this sort”.
The Kerrville men also wanted Judd to name the new axe “The Kerrville Cedar Axe”, so if the axe was successful, Kerrville would get the recognition it deserved.
Judd agreed, and another axe was made, and Judd took it with him.
It’s important to recognize that Judd saw the true potential in this opportunity and persisted despite all the hurdles thrown up by these stubborn old Texans. Not to mention Hartwell didn’t even make axes; they made handles
The First Production Cedar Pattern Axe
The Hartwell Brothers company contracted Warren Axe & Tool Co. to make the heads for their new Cedar axes. And they were finished and hung on Hartwell handles in the Hartwell factory in Tennessee.
It didn’t take long for the new axe to be sent out, with the first crate going to Kerrville – and the rest is history.
Only point of contention was that L.A. Copp of the Hartwell Brothers decided against calling the axe “The Kerrville Cedar” – instead choosing the name the “Grey Gorge”. The name is meant to connect the wide, deep chop of the new Cedar axe pattern to the wide, powerful bite of a grey wolf.
It was probably the right call.
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