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 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 I don't know where or why you are bitter and blame others, but this is progress, what was once the standard method is superseded by more efficient methods and systems, simple truth and history bears this out.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.
Thats my great grandfather I have some of his tools and axes
Shiiiit tell us some more about him!
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)
Just wonderful, I am a full time tool maker and blacksmith, seeing a forge that well equipped makes me quite emotional. Sincerest thanks for sharing this video with the world. This stuff is global heritage.
Ahmen brother!
God Bless you in your craft
Josh Burrell, absolutely right, absolutely wonderful and almost completely 19th century technology. Artwork. I wonder how many viewers notice that this used to be an assembly line of craftsmen, a row of likely water-driven workstations, overhead driveshafts, triphammer after triphammer...not just 3 craftsmen made obsolete by modernity. Maybe chainsaws are better, climate change might be the judge of that. But those hands, and those eyes, absolutely marvelous and the aesthetic loss to our culture is unimaginable and incalculable. Hammer away Josh, it is indeed important. And Peter Vogt, kudos to your youthful wisdom. Very nice visually, some shots are just gold. Black and white at its finest. 35mm film, my oh my. I was a Colby student in the late 70's, and later studied photography.
People simply do not suffer enough for their craft anymore. I am a classically trained Butcher ( hanging meat not boxed up bullshit). The skills that used to be commonplace are long gone now. The training that most "craftsmen" in the workforce today is nothing compared to the toil and pain endured by our predecessors. That type of hardship "separated the wheat from the chaff". Thus ensuring that those remaining in the craft cared about and took pride in what they do. There are also many countless things that a craftsmancannot understand unless they are hands on throughout the entire process. Thank you for preserving this.
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.
Thank you so much for preserving this piece of history
I never comment on youtube but... I really miss this kind of filmmaking. This is excellent!
Welcome aboard Tod. Commenting grows on ones and many create ideas for others to build on, maybe by you too over the years since '95, when the web time began to get cheaper. Adding, installing the blade end was new to me.
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
My grandfather- Stowell- owned this ax company!
Is the building still standing?Are the machines operational?
we really appreciate the craftsmen who made these axes. :)
Great looking axe! Any idea where I might find one?
@@DarrellD. It's not cheap, but Brant & Cochran make an axe called Allagash Cruiser using the same methods seen in this film. www.bnctools.com/products/the-allagash-cruiser
@Stephen Stephe This was in 1965 in central Maine. There were a lot of people making a lot less money.
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
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS
Buckin'..... I was about 2 minutes into this video, when I thought....."Buckin Billy Ray would absolutely LOVE this video!" Glad that you got to see it.
Just found the video, and was thinking of you ;-) Keep on......
Great video I love seeing how things where made when people made things Buckin’ do you have any Pioneer Axes.
I was about to send to you buckin until I read comments. I love these old videos
Thank god these types of products are making a comeback locally. Today at Home depot you could find good quality tools made in the good old USA. However don't blame people for the capitalist who went abroad for cheap labour and big profits. Put that on the shoulders of your elected officials.
One of the Best Historical Videos on the Tube👍🇺🇸 thanks for Sharing
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.
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
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...
Beyond the Information, the filming is very good, as well as the postprocessing.
Thank you Peter Vogt for your vision in 1965
This is extremely well done! Thank you for taking the time to film this when you did and also for getting it to YT!
For most people today this is special to watch, especially to a Blacksmith like myself. To these men it was a another day on the job doing piece work. They make it look so easy. I've made axe and hammers before, it's not as easy as it looks, especially if you're not making them everyday as a job. They know exactly where to strike, how hard to strike, along with every other process like robots.
This reminds me of the 16 mm films we used to watch in grade school in the late 60s
Wonderful. They'd be able to stay open today - I can see a small handmade axe shop like this staying backed up with orders.
Perhaps OSHA had something to do with the closing of the business. I think the chain saw was significant in the plant closing. I have several old quality axe and hatchets and can not recall the last time I used them. Maybe the owner died and there was no interest in Maine to continue, Maybe the equipment was too worn and no one available that knew how to repair it. Maybe the skilled men wanted to retire and there was no one to take their place. Just sayin, JIM
I saw this film at a blacksmith's meeting in the late eighties. Wonderful of you to share it with us. Thanks.................Ross
I just can't help watching this over and over
i appreciate that axe much more than industrial made modern axes..
All that skill, passed down through generations, died with those guys. One of those axes, in great shape with the sticker, would be worth a thousand bucks.
thanks so much for posting this. It's a great look into an industry that was already in its last throws in the late 60s. Maine axes are some of my favorites to use on the trail.
Chris G iiy
That generation of Americans were awesome craftsmen! thanks for sharing this video.
What a great video! I have an Emerson and Stevens axe that was my great grandpa's.
Wonderful. Thank you.
Thanks for documenting this.
Impressive film, and documentation. Thanks for posting it up!
Thank you very much for posting.
Thanks for making & preserving this film !
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 was great! Thank you.
wonderful video. sure would love to be able to buy some of those today.
I dont know why but this hit my heart. These guys were real tradesmen.. Actually today these guys would be Highly sought after.. Each man had a special skill.. Even the tempering was an art. These guys made it look easy. Back then when this was filmed, they were not as appreciated as in former times or present..Thank you for sharing this.. Its a Real American Story, craft and way of life !
Excellent!
Thanks that was really interesting and shows the superiority of Handmade over mass produced products.
That was an incredible experience, thanks for sharing this documentation.
Thank you Peter,Great video!73s
Very nicely done
Documentary film makers need to revive this style.
Very good and informative film. Nice that You shared it with us.
Great to see the film and subject matter. Thank you
Absolutely excellent. Thank you so much.
Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing!
Thank You...Exceptional quality
Awesome stuff. What a workshop! ❤️
thanks for such a wonderful video
That is so awesome!! Thank you
Fantastic piece of recorded local history. Thank you for posting this.
Beautiful film.
What a wonderful record, thankyou for sharing.
Great video. Thank you.
Good film! Thank You!
That was simply terrific. Thank you, Peter.
Much gratitude for this.
Very interesting film, thanks.
We to have plenty of films like this so satisfying. True craftsman.🇬🇧🇺🇸
Just awesome! Much respect!
What a great film. I could watch hours of your work.
This video is a true treasure. Thanks!
It's all good. putting the punch line where he did was perfect. "No precision measuring tools were used in making this axe"
Beautifully done.
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.
Incredible and overlooked piece of history recorded well, thank you.
great little movie here - thanks for the upload! :)
Absolutely wonderful bit of film!
Awesome Video Thank you
Thanks very interesting,very instructional.
Great little movie here, Peter....thanks for this!!
Great Film ! :)
Thank you for sharing.
nice video. thanks for uploading
Thank you so very much for making and posting your video. I watch it about once a month...i collect and restore vintage axes. I make my own handles with white ash from my property. I love watching how they made axes back then.
Beautiful documentary.
Wonderful! Such skill, such teamwork, such danger.
Great film!
Just awesome. Reminded me of films we used to watch in middle and high school.....back in the 70s.
What a beautiful axe.
Awesome just awesome I love old documentaries thanks and well done.👍🍺🇬🇧🤘
Anyone else watching this get the feeling that all of these men were at the end of their ropes and could see the end coming?
5:02 now that s how you light a pipe! Good stuff very interesting!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS. TOO MUCH OF OUR HERITAGE IS LOST FOREVER
Excellent video.
What a treasure!! Thank you!
Thank you, Peter! This was a nice Christmas morning treat in my KZhead suggestions! Very well done.
Very good. Thank you.
Great craftsmanship
Perfect. Thank you.
A Great old film on how they made axes back then
Thank you for sharing
Enjoyed this video.
Very good video!
amazing thank you I really appreciate it very much