Eyyyyyy--I designed this axe!

Eli Chaps said:
Can you show us the axe you designed?
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The success? Not yet. It's a full sized 4lb head that will be in production soon. Hopefully under the $100 mark and it's a copy of a famous pattern so it is not like it's the pinnacle of axe design.
The failures? Hahahah, no. They were failures. Want to know why they were failures?
"The problem is when you try to do everything you do nothing well."
That's why my first designs were failures. Then I struggled with the fact the only few places who can mass produce cheaply want little to do with adding to a product line that the market is shrinking for.
When it hits I will pay up here and advertise. Hopefully I get more people like me and less fanboy stuff. This is disheartening.
 
Spear said:
The success? Not yet. It's a full sized 4lb head that will be in production soon. Hopefully under the $100 mark and it's a copy of a famous pattern so it is not like it's the pinnacle of axe design.
The failures? Hahahah, no. They were failures. Want to know why they were failures?
"The problem is when you try to do everything you do nothing well."
That's why my first designs were failures. Then I struggled with the fact the only few places who can mass produce cheaply want little to do with adding to a product line that the market is shrinking for.
When it hits I will pay up here and advertise. Hopefully I get more people like me and less fanboy stuff. This is disheartening.
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Be sure to post your axe up here for all to see, so we can criticize and pick it apart, tell you how unworthy it truly is, and how it’s good at doing nothing. :)
 
Spear said:
The success? Not yet. It's a full sized 4lb head that will be in production soon. Hopefully under the $100 mark and it's a copy of a famous pattern so it is not like it's the pinnacle of axe design.
The failures? Hahahah, no. They were failures. Want to know why they were failures?
"The problem is when you try to do everything you do nothing well."
That's why my first designs were failures. Then I struggled with the fact the only few places who can mass produce cheaply want little to do with adding to a product line that the market is shrinking for.
When it hits I will pay up here and advertise. Hopefully I get more people like me and less fanboy stuff. This is disheartening.
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I can assure you that you've practically guaranteed that an entire forum eagerly awaits the chance to critique your design when you begin to advertise it.
 
Great work Benjamin, I'm really pleased to count you among the forum contributors. She looks like a real winner- like a GBA small forest axe and a C1 Ariete tank and the 1990's Batmobile got together and had a baby. (You know... the real one- sorry Adam West). There's no one axe that does everything well, but this might just do most things well enough. I'd hate to shake the hand of the guy who carves with that on the regular!

I'm a big fan of the idea of a compression fit handle. If I was going to be stranded in the woods with just an axe and a knife, I'd choose a compression fit axe despite my love for wedged axes.

I'm guessing you went with 3 lbs to increase it's splitting capability over a 2.5 pounder?

What's the length of the face?

About how much edge can you grind away before you start losing the geometry?

I'm really pleased to see someone like yourself who knows axes as well as you do involved in the development of a new one. You've clearly put a lot of thought into this. I think axe-folk tend to lean towards tradition, which might be one reason this didn't receive as much praise as I would have expected. I think it's easy for folks to design what they've seen before, and hard to imagine what hasn't been attempted yet. I'd bet there's a bunch of guys out there with a GB SFA and a pile of unsplit rounds at their camp who would love this.

And just so someone gets to say it, how cool is that?! you got to design a production axe! that's not something many folks get to do. What a great achievement!

and finally... in the parlance of the today...
"dat poll tho..."
 
Cool design, though not my cup of tea. I'm loving the Rinaldi's and the slip-fit design is great, IMO. I have 3 different handles to choose from now including the off-set handle you designed. I like that this one is designed to be balanced from the head so the handle off-set isn't as needed. Still, the 2 trentos and milano I have are hard workers, though I did knock a little weight off the milano as it was a bit heavy for me to swing a lot one-handed. I lost some of the splitting for sure but I can chop more comfortably with it. I say this about the milano because if that was part of the design ques for the forte', I think it would be better for my preferences with either a longer handle or with a lighter head. And, I'm not really considering the hammer poll function which would benefit from the higher weight so I'm likely not giving the head it's due credit because of the limited uses I have with axes right now, chopping and trail clearing. I'm probably not your target market either with this one. Your baryonyx machete, complete different story.

That's a long way of saying the axe looks very easy on the eyes, well thought out, and very useful just not for me/my current uses. I always like seeing your product designs and releases and hearing how you got there.

Ben, would this head design even translate well to a lower weight or does that just compromise the versatility? Is there a video overview available or coming like you have for some of the products on your website? I would love to listen to the discussion of the design along with so use shots.
 
Spear said:
This is disheartening.
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Well, it's enlightening that it's actually you who has brought an aggressive, dismissive, disheartening tone in here. Anyway, I hope your axe turns out well, I appreciate people trying to create something. That's why I rate FortyTwoBlades very highly. Get on speed with BladeForums, it's a very nice and informative place... for people who have a minimal understanding of polite behaviour.
 
Spear said:
When it hits I will pay up here and advertise. Hopefully I get more people like me and less fanboy stuff. This is disheartening.
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You should know, and maybe you'll be around to find out, I hope, but this forum has evolved to be more about positive affirmation than serious understanding, so you see a lack of tolerance to even honest critique and a huge emphasis on the form rather than the content of a critique.
 
Ernest DuBois said:
You should know, and maybe you'll be around to find out, I hope, but this forum has evolved to be more about positive affirmation than serious understanding, so you see a lack of tolerance to even honest critique and a huge emphasis on the form rather than the content of a critique.
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If everyone in a large public forum seems to be under the impression that you're acting like a horse's ass, it's likely time for you to go buy a saddle.
 
Good Ernest, you waste wood on something not related to the forums but to the behaviour on forums. Well, it's a thing ! When you have something to say : be accurate, concise and polite. What's the difficulty here ?
 
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herisson said:
Good Ernest, you waste wood on something not related to the forums but to the behaviour on forums. Well, shit, it's a thing !
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I don't understand and if you wish to speak on relevance I have a sledge hammer to show.
herisson said:
be accurate, concise and polite. What's the difficulty here ?
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This is pretty much how I read what Spear said, maybe with a little more color, but I can accept that.
 
herisson said:
Good Ernest, you waste wood on something not related to the forums but to the behaviour on forums. Well, shit, it's a thing ! When you have something to say : be accurate, concise and polite. What's the difficulty here ?
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Some people seem like they've aged out of common courtesy and proper manners. Or perhaps they never had either in the first place. Then they get offended when others reciprocate in kind.
 
I acknowledged it on the "Interwebs" (hey, why not be snotty on Internet if you can't get slapped for it ? Right !). But what about your human / being behaviour ?
 
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Ernest DuBois said:
You should know, and maybe you'll be around to find out, I hope, but this forum has evolved to be more about positive affirmation than serious understanding, so you see a lack of tolerance to even honest critique and a huge emphasis on the form rather than the content of a critique.
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Are you talking about the axe subforum or all of Bladeforums? Because I can assure you that people will absolutely pull apart designs that don't work on a regular basis.
 
Ernest DuBois said:
I have a sledge hammer to show.
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Show it, my good Sir. Show it ! And lest be known that I still split my firewood with a very lowly (but well designed maul) which works wonders. So, I will have a keen eye on your production. If you may show it up here.
 
The former, tragically. I've spent little time on other subforums but have seen serious discussions and regret the lack of it in the axe section for some time now.

(I responded to the question about bladeforums or this particular section but failed in making the quote.)
 
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There’s a place for everything in these forums, including dissenting opinions. If you don’t like the design, absolutely speak your mind- but do so tactfully. I hope that’s common sense.

Benjamin’s got a pretty thick hide, but out of respect for the man’s pride in his creation I think dissension should be handled with care. There’s plenty of evidence that indicates this is an axe grounded in traditional features found in many different axes, so let’s not pretend like we’re critiquing something with anything more than opinions, and for the love of decency, voice opinions with utmost courteousness.

I’d betcha that axe will cut wood just fine, regardless of what we personally prefer in an axe.

Besides, sometimes it’s just more fun to celebrate someone’s personal success- especially when they enjoy supporting the things we enjoy.

I support freedom of speech, and I also support any backlash it instigates.

Great job on that axe, Benjamin- something truly to be proud of.
 
herisson said:
Show it, my good Sir. Show it ! And lest be known that I still split my firewood with a very lowly (but well designed maul) which works wonders. So, I will have a keen eye on your production. If you may show it up here.
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You tempt me but, in my effort at self discipline I will resist deviating from the subjects proscribed in the forum description. And similarly, my wood splitting is confined strictly to classical axes, I possess no mauls.
 
I will spend one last post on you, Ernest Dubois. The gist of it is you didn't get it. Relax, have a cold one, enjoy your porch (and a dram), whatever. The Spear guy fucked up big time because he didn't start a conversation but he (some would say) "purposedly started a fight" and didn't get no feel at all for the room temperature and the people he was bantering with.
 
Spear said:
The success? Not yet. It's a full sized 4lb head that will be in production soon. Hopefully under the $100 mark and it's a copy of a famous pattern so it is not like it's the pinnacle of axe design.
The failures? Hahahah, no. They were failures. Want to know why they were failures?
"The problem is when you try to do everything you do nothing well."
That's why my first designs were failures. Then I struggled with the fact the only few places who can mass produce cheaply want little to do with adding to a product line that the market is shrinking for.
When it hits I will pay up here and advertise. Hopefully I get more people like me and less fanboy stuff. This is disheartening.
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So hang on. You're a fellow ax designer but all your work has failed? And you're mad that a successful guy has had his design brought to life?

Ok seems legit.
 
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