Pioneer Axe
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- This is a short film made by Peter Vogt in 1965 about axe making in Oakland, Maine. It documents the process of creating fine axes in the Emerson Stevens shop -- the last axe factory to operate in Oakland. Oakland was once a world-famous center of quality blade-making.
Love how he lights his pipe with the red hot metal 5:02
THAT'S WHEN MEN WERE MEN 😉
A corn cob pipe no less!
And 2s later u see his mother is in wall(tha picture)
Love all the BS comments about "how much we've lost" or "how far we've slipped". We didn't lose it, we gave it away. Every time you buy something at Walmart or every time you whine about the cost of an item made by an American tradesman making just enough to feed his family, you put another nail in the coffin of these people. Places and industries like this still exist, but you're too lazy and too cheap to find and support them. The cherry on top is when you make fun of young people for always wanting locally-sourced, artisan food and products. This right here is what locally-sourced artisan products look like.
Nonsense, you can't blame the present viewers of this old film! I don't know where or why you are bitter and blame others, but this is progress, what was once the standard method is superseded by more efficient methods and systems, simple truth and history bears this out. This outfit and ones that closed before it were victims of changing industry, simple as that. It's too bad and I suppose ironic that 50 years later guys with these skills now make a good livings. In Europe the transition was made with a few axe makers, and people happily pays hundreds of euros for "hand" forge axes. These guys were craftsmen, but they didn't have the ability to somehow sell their skill as pure skill. Same as wheel makers, arrow makers, musket makers, plow makers, whale spearmen, the list is endless.
randy dewees, You're right on that. There are still artisans making handmade axes, knifes, tools or what ever you are looking for. You just have to pay premium prices. I also to some extent agree with gasfiltered too. We have moved into a throw away culture and buy crap all the time and care more about price than quality. Now it seems you have the expensive handmade or the cheap Chinese made but very little in the middle. Company's focus on low price over quality cause that is what most people want.
Australia is the same, cheap imported goods, very little manufacturing any more. people look at price an not give a dam about quality or jobs. Its very sad.
Glad to hear someone else say it. I’m a small business man, and every time I hear someone say, wow, that’s a lot, I think, yeah, compared to cheap, skilless, taxless, insuranceless, labor.
@@randydewees7338 Friend, I think you need to read Gasfiltered again. That post is not about blaming anyone, its about calling out the hypocrisy of commenters. It's right there in the very first sentence.
Thank you so much for preserving this piece of history
It's sad when I drive through Oakland and see the spots where the factories used to be, even the buildings are gone. Proud to say I own more than one axe made by Emmerson and Stevens! They sure don't make them like they used to.
I love the old Axes. I have a beautiful Collins Ax and a Nice Council double bit Ax from my Family's home state of North Carolina. Council was still in business in 2019, not sure of now.
One thing people don't get. You take one of these fine old Axes and you can split a Lot more wood, in a given amount of time, than with a cheap imported ax. After you sharpen the old ax to a point that it will shave the hair off your arm, you can split wood all day and easier than trying to cut wood with a piece of garbage Ax that isn't tempered for crap. You can't get a cheap ax very sharp and it won't hold whatever edge you can get on it, for very long.
Great video.
Yall Take Care and be safe, John
Beyond the Information, the filming is very good, as well as the postprocessing.
Its amazing that you had the foresight to make this video / film when you did back in 1965. Thanks for posting it.
Actually not really that amazing. In 1965 blacksmithing was all but extinct and its prospects looked even more so.
It wasn't until ca. 1975 when an old blacksmith named Francis Whittaker helped establish the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America (ABANA) where the art and craft of smithing was drawn back from teetering at the precipice. Today there are tens of thousands of blacksmiths across the land and the globe in fact who are keeping the art of smithing alive. I started in 1975, coincidentally, when I was 17 and forged my first cold chisel in school. Been doing it ever since.
But in 1965 things looked truly grim for the art and craft of the smith. All the new-fangled tech appeared poised to send smithing right into the dustbin of history. Francis was one of but a few remaining smiths and through his tireless efforts right up to his death at age 93, he continued to wield a hammer and tell the whippersnappers they were doing it "wrong". :) He was a good old soul, now whooping it up in blacksmith heaven.
I can only echo what others have said - what a magnificent video of magnificent workmen, and what a terrible tragedy it is long gone. Thank goodness the film remains for us to see. thank you
Josh, that kind of reaction warms the heart!!
Magnificent - it's wonderful to see such a well-documented account of craftsmanship from a bygone era.
Many thanks - sadly if we had known how many small industries etc would disappear at that time, how much more could have been recorded... The end of an era, but thankfully Peter's film/video has saved a glimpse for future generations...
One of the Best Historical Videos on the Tube👍🇺🇸 thanks for Sharing
I think that is the coolest video I have ever seen. That was awesome. Great film, great history. Thank you Peter Vogt.
***** Many I would imagine.
Fewer than you might imagine. The wheels and the trip hammers are most hazardous and are the ones that require the greatest skill. And you'll note the wheels turn away from the user rather toward him like a modern powered wheel does. There's no hazard of the wheel throwing the axe back at the fellow doing the work.
Vance Hinds Nijmegen
i appreciate that axe much more than industrial made modern axes..
This is extremely well done! Thank you for taking the time to film this when you did and also for getting it to YT!
Wow, it's obvious those two have been working together a long time. Bend, twist, hit, punch.. the wordless interplay's intriguing. Then again, maybe it's just Maine.. ;-} Thank you for posting this.
That generation of Americans were awesome craftsmen! thanks for sharing this video.
Very good and informative film. Nice that You shared it with us.
A Great old film on how they made axes back then
Impressive film, and documentation. Thanks for posting it up!
Thanks for making & preserving this film !
Awesome old video!
I've got a few E&S HandMade axes in my collection 1928 being the oldest. They get handmade handles here and I make sure to take them out for a swing whenever I can.
Documentary film makers need to revive this style.
As an arborist who spent his whole life in maine, I appreciate every second of this video!!!
Incredible and overlooked piece of history recorded well, thank you.
Just awesome. Reminded me of films we used to watch in middle and high school.....back in the 70s.
Great behind the scenes look at a loss process
Great to see the film and subject matter. Thank you
Every Hard working human know how much hard work it is and the satisfaction seeing his products in action
Fabulous. What a treasure of preservation.
I like how the edge bit is an onsert rather than an insert .Possibly stronger? Most likely easier to forge!
Most of the American axes use to be made that way. It is way stronger cause doesn't put pressure on the welds
Almost all good axes are made that way. The body and poll of the axe are softer and can absorb force without damage. The bit is harder steel, more expensive, and thus the less you leave as dust on the floor the better. Older blacksmith made axes have the bit steel inserted between the two cheeks of the body and use considerably less high quality steel.
I think one of my favorite parts is when he lights his pipe with the corner of the hot metal.
Thank you, Peter, for making this. As a "Mainuh" - this touches me deeply.....
That was very well done, however short it may be.
It was interesting to see that those guys placed the bit in what I consider to be the better way. Most smiths I know who have made axes leave the body split and place a wedge of steel into it and weld like that. The way shown here is WAY better. It leaves no room for cold shuts, all else equal, allows for better control of the weld, makes easier provision for any size bit... it's just the better way. I'm glad you showed this because other than myself, I have never seen a smith do it this way prior to seeing your film.
Well done and thanks.
We need this kind of craftsmenship now!! It's a work of art that you can use!
Many a true word . Great film . 👍🇬🇧
wonderful video. sure would love to be able to buy some of those today.
What a great film. I could watch hours of your work.
Much gratitude for this.
I just can't help watching this over and over
Thank you for making this film. Snow and Nealy was right on the Bangor side of the Penobscot. I have a short kindling axe, under two feet long. Had no idea the cutting edge was separate steel.
Thanks for documenting this.
I shared this on the facebook page axe junkies, they'll love it. I did thanks
I thought the bit was sandwiched in between the softer steel. It makes much more sense now. Thank you. I learned something useful.
With the way the tool steel is added by Pioneer there is more tool steel width/surface available on the blade. If/when the tool steel is inserted in a slot, tool steel is buried in a useless position in the axe head and only offers a narrow band of tool steel exposed on the axe head.
JIM
This video is a true treasure. Thanks!
Very good video!
Thank for show our forefathers and our America we need to preserve some how.
Such Twilight Zone vibes from this film. Ron Serling would be proud. Excellent content, thanks for posting
Absolutely brilliant film and real workmanship. Those axes were literally "man made", I wonder how many are still in use.
Excellent video.
Thank you Peter,Great video!73s
That was sad. That was when men where men and a days work was a days work. This was how my dad worked no wounded he was tired at night after dinner Love you pop. Thx John for sharing ....paul
My great grandfather was the local community of Goldsmith,Indiana in the late 1800's and early 1900's
Beautiful documentary.
Great little movie here, Peter....thanks for this!!
It's all good. putting the punch line where he did was perfect. "No precision measuring tools were used in making this axe"
Thanks very interesting,very instructional.
That's really awesome 🤙🏻🪓🪓🪓🪓
This is legendary... I'll never be "lighting my pipe with the axe head I'm forging" - cool
I was a professional blacksmith for years, made mostly 18th century axes and knives.
Made many small axes like these only I used an antique hand crank coal forge and didn’t have any power hammers.
Usually made them out of old wrought iron hinges or buggy tires with a broken file for cutting bit.
Absolutely excellent. Thank you so much.
Thanks!!!
fascinating video. being an old timer and remembering the quality and craftsmanship of hand made tools from my younger days I do not like to hear mass produced and foreign import. I detest the words made in China. I have a lot of handmade tools that I have preserved and still use in my shop. numerous old handmade tools hang from the ceiling joists in my shop and I get them down and use them as needed. In my travels I visit small back road towns and seek out junk stores, old authentic hardware stores, and visit flea markets looking for old quality made tools stamped "made in the USA"
Beautifully done.
Awesome stuff. What a workshop! ❤️
Today the same axe would cost a couple of hundreds of dollars. And I would buy it without a hesitation. I love North American axes. They are one of the most beautiful things created by the New World; a canoe, an America sailboat Clipper and the American axe!!!
While metal detecting about a mile down the wash that runs through the old ghost town of Silver King, AZ I found an old hand forged axe head similar to those in the video. Similar in that it was made by rapping a plate of steel around to form the handle hole. Very heavily corroded as it was about 18 inches in the sand.
It's sad how much we have lost as a whole.
+Aussie Steve 2nd that!
+Aussie Steve Yeah, made in China for next to nothing under who knows what working conditions with "mistery" alloys, rice handles, etc. I recently bought a genuine, new old stock Swedish made axe here in Argentina, everything else is made in China and Brazil here, axes balance like a piece of railroad, Sad...
2nd that TOO!
+chapiit08 - The last axe I bought at the farm store looked good but upon sharpening was found to be iron, not steel! Now that's cheap.
rotunda57 Best bet these days would be flea markets where people sell old stuff and look for an old Norlund, Kelly, Vaughan, etc.
Also antique stores, thrift shops, garage sales, etc. I keep an eye always on the look for top name items that are currently out of production. Usually people don't have an idea of what they are selling so they let it go for a few dollars. I personally don't mind buying axe heads minus a handle as I prefer to put my own handles which, by the way is a skill worth learning.
Perfect. Thank you.
Thank you for posting this. I had never seen footage of the axe mills until now, only stills. I hope you were able to negotiate with the Oakland Public Library as a repository.
A great video of an era gone by. Thanks for helping preserve the history of an industry that is now almost dead in the USA. OSHA idiots would have a heart attack because they don't realize people back then used common sense and when they got hurt they had the character to say they got hurt by their own carelessness and it wasn't the company's fault. We didn't need to be told: "Don't try this at home"; we were told: "Don't be stupid" and we paid attention...
when labor was cheap and materials expensive, the opposite of manufacturing today
Great video. Thank you.
Beautiful
Before the cesspool of globalization.
Thats pretty badass.
This is golden.
That was so cool
What a treasure!! Thank you!
That is so awesome!! Thank you
How times have changed, then mass production had value and handmade went out of favour, now handmade is back and skill is valued over machine.
Sadly the US Government would close that place down today! They would concider it to unsafe to operate! You know because only they know whats safe for us!
+John C True, and look at who the windbags are that are doing the rule making. Whatever happened to common sense. They sure don't have any.
Sad that this type of craftsmanship is long gone! I go out of my way to shop at old second-hand shops and look out for old tools, axes., Disston saws etc. Nowadays, if you want a saw sharpened by a saw doctor it costs more than going to the shop and buying a new imported, throw-away one! My most cherished tools are ones inherited from my father and an old IXL pocket knife my grandfather gave me when I was 14 - still got it almost 60 years later! Call me sentimental, but those were the days.
Very good.
Thank you.
I wish i could run across one of those beauties.
if only the workshop could have been preserved exactly as shown!
I’ve got one of these heads. I dug it out of the ground while metal detecting about 2 years ago here in Virginia.
want to sell it?
Now that was cool 👍🏻👍🏻
I've got an old stone grinding wheel that says 'Colby Maine' on the side of it. It's a nice setup but I won't use it, probably be a bit pricy to replace the stone wheel
Life before OSHA and the EPA...actually got stuff done. Seriously, awesome Americana - comment by" gasfiltered", you are absolutely right ;)
What a shame these wonderful places have had to close.
thanks For this.
I Wonder if you can still get an Axe that was made by them ?
I have two hand forged axes,I need more
Life has gotten easier...whether it is better or not...
He says unappreciated...not so..any blade collectors look for these when scouring garage and yard sales. I rescued a beautiful hatchet made by these craftsman. It has original paint and nice leather sheath.. it is one of my most valued tools, and will pas it on to one of my sons... the narrator should have said unappreciated by people who do not value quality things !
Great movie ,Buckin' Army 👍
God, where can I find one of those axes?
You might want to check out the current catalog of Council Tools. Many items there are sold by Bailey's in CA. www.baileysonline.com/
That was a good fix for me being a axe junkie
The hard steel for the cutting edge was put on as an onset or like a cap covering the softer steel body, rather than a wedge inserted between the ax cheeks. Was this a commen method, did it produce better quality axes?
Those two guys really had an ax to grind...
I have an ax to grind regarding this video. I don't believe it was explained anywhere where the power for all the machinery cam from. From the stream?