Allagash cruiser, anyone use/have one?
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I've not used one, but I've heard nothing but good things from people who have.
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It looks like a great axe! Well made too. My only question is, and I'm really not trying to be a douche here, why have i never seen a "Maine wedge" advertised before? I've heard a lot of people use the term but I've only ever heard people say it. I've seen offered for sale a wedge, half wedge, yankee or new England and a Maine pattern before but never a Maine wedge. I'm the newbie here(relatively speaking) and I've wanted to broach this subject before but didn't want to sound like an a-hole. So maybe guys that have been doing this a long time can point me to where i can find a reference to the Maine wedge? I'd really appreciate it because I've been looking. Was it some kind of lore?
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https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1173/1446/products/AC_on_The_Trail_1024x1024.JPG
Their webpage is funny. Apparently the axe is made for folks who stick their bedrolls in the snow and don't bother to clean them off. Very authentic woodsman!
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Because of use "Maine Wedge" term, I assumed their axe would resemble those wide poll, old wedge pattern axes. I am disappointed and consider it bait and switch marketing. Maybe it will sound harsh but I lost interest in their product.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/maine-axes-post-em-up.946603/#post-11113371
https://photobucket.com/gallery/user/lmalterna/media/cGF0aDovMDM0X3pwc3VlcnltZWxiLmpwZw==/?ref=
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https://www.fieldandstream.com/new-brant-cochran-allagash-cruiser-axe-review
Mention of the poll hardened some - described as less than the bit but more than the eye.
Mention of the poll hardened some - described as less than the bit but more than the eye.
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Namely, the wedge pattern and its variants are associated with Maine. They can essentially be arranged in a progression from thinnest to thickest from Maine --> Half-Wedge --> Wedge. Maine patterns may or may not have a high centerline while Half-Wedge and Wedge patterns are flat-cheeked. The B&C axe pattern was supposedly copied from an original NOS head in one of the Maine lumber industry museums, but I haven't seen the original myself.
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Thanks for your response. And i just want to say first thing, I'm not being argumentative, i would just like to get to the bottom of this. It's always kinda rubbed me the wrong way to hear "Maine wedge" so often without ever seeing it offered by any of the old manufacturers.
Do you know why they are associated with Maine specifically? Pretty much all makers made wedge and half wedge patterns. And the Maine pattern was always a different, specific pattern. As seen here;
And here;
And all the other ads I've seen, for instance from E&S, always offered them as separate, distinct patterns.
So is the "Maine wedge" a misconception or am I missing something?
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The "Wedge" and "Half Wedge" patterns originated in Maine by all accounts, and were most popular here as opposed to in other parts of the country. The "Maine" pattern is a Maine pattern, of course, but so are the "Wedge" and "Half Wedge", just like "Sleeper" pattern axes are a distinctly Maine style. But if one were to denote the pattern name by use of quotation marks like I've just done here, the best way to do so in the case of B&C's chosen descriptive terms it would be Maine "Wedge" rather than "Maine Wedge". Having not seen the original they based it on personally, it's difficult for me to assess whether or not it was a straight-up "Maine" pattern being mistakenly described as a "Maine Wedge" or if it's just a "Wedge" pattern originating and made in Maine. Does that make sense?
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Agreed. I wouldn't classify that axe as a Maine wedge for the reason you stated.
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I have never found wedge pattern axe. I suspect they were distributed locally. They were popular in Maine, Massachusetts. I am curious about those oddly shaped handles that JB finds all the time: Maybe the reason is that some of the wedge pattern axes were not balanced like regular American axe.
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Nah. They balance like most other Maine axes do. Big chunky poll on 'em in typical Maine fashion. Not much deeper than you usually see from other regions, but a good deal wider.
And calling it "Alagash Cruiser" further muddies the water. I thought I would see a DBL bit when I clicked the link. Not a fan of their naming but from a marketing stand point it will probably be a success.
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And calling it "Alagash Cruiser" further muddies the water. I thought I would see a DBL bit when I clicked the link. Not a fan of their naming but from a marketing stand point it will probably be a success.
I just did the same thing, expected to see a small double bit axe that weight and dimensions would put in a cruiser catagory. I have come across this description before for single pole axes and misrepresented full size doubles.
Does the cruiser description lay a broader swath to include single pole axes?
Thanks for the wedge info too, this has been a good read and very informative from my next to nothing knowledge of the Maine patterns.
Thanks
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I checked some of my historic catalogs and here's what I found.
In 1923 Collins identified a Maine pattern as being a narrower-bitter version of a Yankee pattern, not have the wedge shaped poll.
In 1937 Warren showed it's Maine pattern as being a similar narrower version of a Yankee pattern and distinctly different from their wedge pattern.
AATCO - undated showed a distinction between their Maine pattern and their wedge pattern.
I would conclude that Maine and wedge patterns are distinct.
In 1923 Collins identified a Maine pattern as being a narrower-bitter version of a Yankee pattern, not have the wedge shaped poll.
In 1937 Warren showed it's Maine pattern as being a similar narrower version of a Yankee pattern and distinctly different from their wedge pattern.
AATCO - undated showed a distinction between their Maine pattern and their wedge pattern.
I would conclude that Maine and wedge patterns are distinct.
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AATCO also offered a DB wedge pattern
and a Booming pattern with a distinctly wedge-shaped poll.
and a Booming pattern with a distinctly wedge-shaped poll.
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AATCO also offered a DB wedge pattern
and a Booming pattern with a distinctly wedge-shaped poll.
It's not at all in question that "Maine" and "Wedge" pattern axes are distinct patterns. This 1947 Rixford catalog in my personal collection similarly lists them as separate patterns and it's long been a pet peeve of mine when people treat them as interchangeable. As far as the poll issue goes, that's less a defining characteristic of the "Maine" pattern and more one of Maine manufacturers in general. I've got a Spiller "Jersey" with that big ol' boxy poll to it. It's like diamond-shaped eyes on double bits--it's something Maine makers liked to do, and didn't seem to be the trend elsewhere. See that feature on an axe and it's usually going to be a safe bet that it was made in Maine, regardless of the specific pattern.
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I think i see... so a "Maine wedge"is more of the class of axe rather than a specific pattern. That's what i always assumed but I felt that some were actually calling an axe a Maine wedge. Which it kind of is but it's not a pattern. Haha. I did not realize that the wedge originated in Maine. Interesting... I'm hanging that legitimus axe in between posts. Progress so far.The "Wedge" and "Half Wedge" patterns originated in Maine by all accounts, and were most popular here as opposed to in other parts of the country. The "Maine" pattern is a Maine pattern, of course, but so are the "Wedge" and "Half Wedge", just like "Sleeper" pattern axes are a distinctly Maine style. But if one were to denote the pattern name by use of quotation marks like I've just done here, the best way to do so in the case of B&C's chosen descriptive terms it would be Maine "Wedge" rather than "Maine Wedge". Having not seen the original they based it on personally, it's difficult for me to assess whether or not it was a straight-up "Maine" pattern being mistakenly described as a "Maine Wedge" or if it's just a "Wedge" pattern originating and made in Maine. Does that make sense?
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Another view of their cruiser