Eyyyyyy--I designed this axe!

How does a partnership like this come up? I notice they have a hatchet... which though it looks fine, it doesn't really have that same chutzpah. Minus some features, it's kinda like everything else. One thing your axe has going for it is no one could mistake it for anything else. If Batman had an axe on his tool belt, that might be what it looks like.

I keep thinking of Batman, but really the thing looks like it's medieval. Almost like you put a small blade on a sledge hammer.

Does the handle have some kind of lacquer finish?

The more I look at it, the more I love it... and I'm looking at it... a lot. haha

The partnership came up specifically because they were looking for a designer to help them out. Their parent company normally does contract wood manufacturing where a client comes to them with pre-designed parts so they aren't used to having to design stuff themselves, so when I reached out to them regarding what I observed to be a lack of direction with their already-existing design they gladly took me on due to my experience and familiarity with both American and Italian design and the partners they were already established with, so it was a good match.

That spine between the hollows seems like it would help splitting somewhat similar to a wedge ?

Yes, it helps pop chips when chopping and acts as a ramp through the bit/eye transition during splitting.
 
Slip fit allows for a lot of different uses and applications that aren't possible with a wedge fit. In addition to simple ease of replacing the handle (no drilling and crap, just knock out the old handle with a hammer and you're golden!) it also allows you to use the head on its own as a crafting tool and use multiple handles of different lengths on the same head. You can also fashion a replacement handle from a piece of wood using nothing more than the head itself, and if the head loosens on the handle all you have to do to tighten it up is tap the handle a little deeper in the eye. Also, the head cannot ever fly off the end of the handle. All of this comes at the expense of the whole handle having to be able to pass through the eye of the head, which usually means that unless the eye is humongous you're not going to have a significant handle swell to them, but the eye on this one is designed to be large enough for there to still be a bit of one, even if it's not as large as on a wedged handle.

As far as the geometry goes it's designed to strike a balance between general chopping/splitting and crafting/shaping work, based largely on a combination of Italian "Milano" woodworker's axes and American half hatchets. The bit is only mildly curved and nice and broad to make shaping cuts nice and precise, and the crisp heel and toe are similarly useful for such work, but the overall bit width and thinness gives good penetration and makes connecting repeated blows easy. The diamond-like concave bevels help keep the bit lighter while still having a good high centerline for chip popping and splitting. The beard allows you to get behind the bit when choking up, of course, but with the way the balance is, the center of gravity is literally inside your hand when you grasp it below the head.



Thanks! It's a full production item--not limited!


Thanks for the great reply. I wish you luck with the axe. I hope to pick one up
 
From what I can see, on paper, there is a lot to like with this axe. I like the bit; I like the slip fit eye; I almost like the pole; and I dont like the haft. The pole would be an easy fix. There is a little too much mass behind the rear of the eye and there is way too much chamfer on the rear of the poll. On a hard poll I like a flat face with just a little chamfer. For me-a little shorter poll with a flat hard face and a small chamfer. Now the haft-I would want 26"-28" straight haft with a butt swell and vertical grain orientation only.

Now I do not usually like tools that try to do too many things. But, there are times when I do see a need for combination tools, like a leatherman tool in your pocket. In this case, a axe that you carry on your person or on your pony when traveling in the wilderness. I mean actual wilderness, not some weekend wilderness camping trip. Something like the Bob Marshall, Great Bear, and Scapegoat Wilderness complex (look it up). I almost always carried a Boys Axe, but this axe, with a slip fit haft, could be a great wilderness axe.

All in all-good job on this axe. I hope , in person, it is everything it appears to be on paper.
 
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Looking at the dimensions of a pick eye to confirm, it does look like you should be able to pretty easily make a longer handle out of a pick axe handle, as I expected. I was away from the office (and went through a car accident where I got rear-ended by a big truck--not to worry; I'm okay) so I wasn't able to get those details until now. But yes I think if they release a 28" handle it'll be a homerun, and a 16" will make a handy crafting size, so fingers crossed I can convince 'em to do it. The original specifications called for less chamfering and I may be able to get them to lessen it in future runs, but provides about 1-1/2"x5/8" of flat unchamfered surface currently. Part of the reason for the poll being made narrower and deeper was to help provide enough balance for the bit without increasing the total weight too much, and minimizing the chances of obstructions causing impacts against the neck of the handle when used for pounding (more of a side benefit vs. the balance part, but still a consideration.)
 
Can't confirm 100% BUT I'm pretty confident that it would. You'd just need to rasp the end down to fit.

I've hand whittled hickory pick handles down more than once to fit a long socket poll axe... throwing an axe like that tends to be rough on handles.
Whittling hickory down from the size of a pick handle makes for sore thumbs.
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Microplane rasp and/or rotary shaper, bud! Saves a TON of time. The rotary shaper is like a mechanical beaver and can be smoothed down with the Microplane hand rasp, followed by scraping smooth. It's how I shave down scythe snath blanks from the curvy baseball bats that Seymour sends me.
 
Microplane rasp and/or rotary shaper, bud! Saves a TON of time. The rotary shaper is like a mechanical beaver and can be smoothed down with the Microplane hand rasp, followed by scraping smooth. It's how I shave down scythe snath blanks from the curvy baseball bats that Seymour sends me.


Well....I have a 2x72 grinder now.... with a 36 belt and 3000 rpm.... I also have a few hand saws including a silky arborist saw, and a radial saw now. I'm not likely to have to whittle the entire thing down now......but I might for kicks!!
 
I like to see Bernie’s impressions! Nothing like an old school guy’s opinion. I agree with the overall assessment- this might be the wilderness axe.

I could see whittling my own 28” haft out of a pick handle, no problem. The bonus is its easy to put the original handle back- I like that.
 
I tried to land an order on Friday with one simple question to WOOX's chat : do they ship to Europe ? They are still out of the office today so I was led to do some more digging on their site. Found it : no international shipping. Too bad. The Forte remains on my Christmas list, though.
 
I tried to land an order on Friday with one simple question to WOOX's chat : do they ship to Europe ? They are still out of the office today so I was led to do some more digging on their site. Found it : no international shipping. Too bad. The Forte remains on my Christmas list, though.

Haha, there's something ironic about this, considering the build of this axe. Why don't they just get Prandi to ship you the head (From Italy) and you can make your own handle? :D
 
Ha, ha .... Good idea ! I actually sifted through Prandi's offering (with this sneaky idea in the back of my head) but there is nothing to be had that resembles the Forte. Now, that you have risen the thought, I will post them a demand for a Forte head and haft the axe myself. I'll try it. Nice slip trough axes are also made by Hatchas Jauregui, but once again none comes close to the slick design FortyTwoBlades landed.
 
Ha, ha .... Good idea ! I actually sifted through Prandi's offering (with this sneaky idea in the back of my head) but there is nothing to be had that resembles the Forte. Now, that you have risen the thought, I will post them a demand for a Forte head and haft the axe myself. I'll try it. Nice slip trough axes are also made by Hatchas Jauregui, but once again none comes close to the slick design FortyTwoBlades landed.

Spurred by Benjamin's Italian-American offering, I've been looking at the actual Italian designs and been left wanting. They look neat, like an axe of older generations, and I'm sure they work, too- I don't think Benjamin would vouch for something unproven. I think I've become accustomed to having a pronounced poll and beefy eye.

Benjamin's design warrants attention because it does really Americanize the Italian design.
 
Prandi (and Rinaldi) make beautiful specialized axes. But I don't see myself rambling around with three axes on my belt ! FortyTwoBlades offers a versatile alternative which even has a poll ! This really get's me going (although the poll looks a bit small in hitting surface).
 
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