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Best Made Company: "What the Tree Remembers, the Axe Forgets"

By Rain Noe - November 30, 2012

in Video | Hand Tools

What a sweet gig: Best Made Company manufactures outdoor products at a former chandelier factory in TriBeCa. The guys who work there make axes, among other things, and as part of the testing process they head out into the woods with their creations in tow. What ensues is currently stirring deep envy in your indoor-bound correspondent: chopping wood, getting campfires going, cooking over open flame, knocking back a few beers... I won't spoil the video for you with unnecessarily lengthy descriptions, just take a break and give it a watch:

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Observer

11 years ago

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I actually agree with most of you who previously commented. I have not used one of their products yet and I am not convinced neccesarily that they use quality materials and craftsmanship. However I am extreamly impressed with their overall design and branding knowledge. Their products, especially thier axe's come in the most beautiful and tactile packages I've seen. I think what they have successfuly done is tap into emotionally driven products that tell a story. Maybe they can work on building their credibility, but I applaud their ability to connect on a design and story driven approach. Sometimes it's the story or way a product or service makes us feel in the end that really counts. Food for thought.
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slippyfish

11 years ago

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+1 George Graham

"first order of business is to start a fire" blah blah pseudo poetic nonsense about campfires, as if it weren't the oldest human activity next to killing for meat and procreation. Documenting the contrast between living in a big city and then going camping in the woods is noteworthy, why? Or innovative? Or so they can tell girls at parties that they go camping, build fires, and make videos about it? Geez NYC you are full of yourself.
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George Graham

11 years ago

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Yeah - well....

They might re-brand someone else's axe - I don't know.

They might also be really good axes, again I don't know.

But what I do know is how to use an axe, and none of the guys in this video showed that they know how to.

That scene where they're felling the tree? They want to get someone to profile the edge properly for them,it was almost useless.

Oh yeah while they're at it they might want to get them to sharpen the crosscut saw too.

Pretty shameful video really.
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Ken J

11 years ago

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@ "film on product demo or male bonding?"

That fire pit is carbon neutral I'll have you know :p
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Tom Mc

11 years ago

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I prefer the Peavey Mfg Company myself for woodland tools..
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George

11 years ago

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Good to see they stopped importing from New Zealand though I still don't think stamping a logo and a little painting constitute making an axe or the extra $150+, just do it yourself ya fairy. I went with the Council velivicut last year for a gift, went over great much better made than these look to be and it's no doubt made in the States. I'm almost embarrassed to visit this hipster ridden site anymore.
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oscarthefuzz

11 years ago

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I have so many problems with this I'm not even sure where to start, I don't think you can design a better axe first of all, unless you find a new purpose for an axe and adapt a design to that purpose then you're not making a better axe.
I agree with bar, they're selling style and sentiment here in this video, not one mention of steel used or wood used for the handle, and if they really use an orbital sander to do the handles like they suggest in this video then they should really look at their manufacturing process cos that's just plain inefficient and will give that guy repetitive stress, plus it's a crap orbital sander on top of that!
I should go now before I get myself even more worked up...
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John C

11 years ago

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No, they don't make axes in NYC or at all. They paint and rebrand other peoples designs. In the case of the Hudson Bay Axe, Council Tool:

http://www.counciltool.com/product.asp?pg=product&item=JP20HB24C

A cover band for good products,an a longer handle is all.
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film on product demo or male bonding?

11 years ago

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There is little that says truly careful land husbandry more than a bunch of dirty beards packing nothing but beer in a new SUV to cook half a dead cow over a carbon emitting fire pit 12foot across 100 miles away from home.

Oh yes, amidst their reflective contextualization concerning their combustive source of heat and light, there was not much verbal expression about their wondrous instrument here; why would their ax be superior to another? What prominent attributes set this product apart?
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bar

11 years ago

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Well if you actually intend to use the axe to do all the stuff you say you envy, you should get a Council velivicut for half the price. The Best made axe is a rebadged version of it. But the painted handle and the "made in NY" story may impress your hipster friends more, so get that if that is your true agenda.
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Zed

11 years ago

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Axes have a long history of being manufactured in metropolitan areas: Plumb in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Collins in Collinsville, Connecticut; The American Axe and Tool Co. in Glassport, Pennsylvania; and yes, even New York City (Knickerbocker Axe Co.)
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slippyfish

11 years ago

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The products are nice, no doubt about it. Can't fault a person's choice of livelihood, but I just think activities that would be completely mundane if located in a proper locale (such as, making axes in a place where you can actually cut down trees) rather than a majorly huge city, seems hokey. If you really want to make axes, move to the woods. Being in the city is the only thing that makes it a novelty.
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