Is There a Good Canadian Axe?

Sadly, here in the Great White North, we have almost no axe makers left. However, there are a handful of Canadian axe options you can feel good about, including some homegrown custom axe makers.

Esker Outdoors is a recent and welcome addition to the axe game in Canada. They offer a premium Canadian option that rivals the quality of other premium makers like Gransfors Bruk and Hultafors.

Upfront, the heads of Esker axes are not forged in Canada; they are forged for Esker in Austria. However, the handles and masks are made in Ontario, and they are assembled and tuned here. Making the most Canadian-made axes you can readily get.

I’ve been using my Esker hatchet for the past 6 months to put it through its paces, and I am convinced the quality matches any other premium axes I have used.

Esker Axe Options

Esker Outdoors is a company that is focused on gear for fairly robust camping, specifically winter camping. And, their lineup of axes is geared towards that as well. All their options are compact and portable, but with heavier heads to deliver maximum performance in harsh conditions.

The Esker Hatchet (what I own) has a 1.6lb head with a thin, sharp blade similar to the popular Swedish axes. Excellent for chopping branches and brush, and splitting kindling from larger pieces of firewood.

The Esker Camp has a full-weight 3.6lb head on a compact 24″ handle, making a very effective general-purpose axe. The blade has more of a wedge profile, which can both chop and split effectively.

The Esker Splitter is meant to be a dedicated camp or cabin splitter. It again has a short 25″ handle, but a beefy 3.8lb head, with flared cheeks to help split logs apart.

Esker Axe Quality & Finish

Aesthetically, I really like the forge finish of my Esker, but more importantly, I’ve been impressed by the edge retention. I have used it for normal campfires, clearing, and breaking down brush, and testing on some 4-6″ deadwood logs. The factory edge held up really well.

The handle is a nice shape, not too thick, nice swell, and mostly straight with a curved grip (ideal for compact axes). They have large shoulders, which are more of a European styling, but I think it’s done to add extra strength.

The sheath quality is very nice, much thicker leather than Gransfors, and better finish than the Hultafors I have received. It feels like a handmade sheath for a custom axe, over a production line sheath. Love it.

While the parts aren’t made here, Garant is still a Canadian company and one that’s been around since 1895. So if you want an average axe that supports a Canadian business, you should consider Garant. They are in all the hardware stores.

The Garant axes are a good value work axe, better than your average hardware store axe, like Yardworks or Husky. But they don’t come very sharp, or with a sheath, and the handles come thick and varnished.

The lineup seems to change, but they have a range of axe sizes and weights available if you look around.

Note: Garant axes come with a red-painted head. On my well-worn Chainsaw axe, the paint is basically gone from work, and cleaning off rust with sandpaper (don’t store your axe in the trunk over winter).

Garant axe heads are effective but dull

The profile is quite stout and wedge-shaped, which won’t chop as deeply but is good for clearing chips and helps in medium-sized splitting tasks. I would consider this an okay option for a general-purpose “work axe”. 

Garant axes don’t come sharp. The profile is fat, and the edge is dull so you will need to do some sharpening to get the best results.

Most of the Garant axe heads tend to have a wide bit that flares out in both directions with a deep, curved cutting edge. This is a great head design for felling trees or chopping branches, but it can dig into the dirt if you are chopping on the ground.

Tip: Don’t store the axe in the blade cover once you start using it, the rubber can trap moisture against the steel and build up rust

Garant axe handles are well-shaped but fat and varnished

The overall shape is excellent, with a nice flared palm swell that locks in the hand. The handles come varnished (which is not great) and are thick (very common in axes today), but they aren’t the worst offenders. 

The varnished handle is the most annoying part. Varnish keeps the handle looking good on the shelf, but is hard on your hands and will contribute to your handle drying out (and loosening) over time. 

I have articles on how to remove handle varnish, thin your handle, and to properly oil your handle.

Canadian Tire Yardworks Axes

This will be quick. Canadian Tire’s wood-handled Yardworks axes are crap.

The handles are poorly shaped and inconsistent. The hang is bad, the head is small and dull. And they are only $10 cheaper than a Garant.

The replacement handles are also crap.

Home Hardware Benchmark Axes

Same with Benchmark axes – avoid them. Cheap imported heads on crappy imported handles.

Also, Home Hardware used to sell quite nice locally made handles (at least where I live), but a few years ago, they switched to branded “Benchmark” handles, and they are awful. Very disappointing.

The small custom forges produce some nice axes, but they aren’t at a price point that’s for everyone and focus primarily on smaller camp axes or specialty pieces.

Broad River Forge

Neustadt, Ontario

Broad River Forge is a real family-run business with a big reputation.

Owner Brad forges every piece by hand, and his daughters work on the grinding, and final fit and finish of these heirloom quality tools.

They have worked with the infamous Buckin’ Billy Ray, and are currently collaborating with experienced bushman Jordan Jonas (History Channel’s “Alone”) on a range of axes based on Jonas’ years of experience living in the Siberian Taiga.

They always have a range of impressive projects in the works and can be contacted for commissions if you are interested in getting a truly one-of-a-kind axe. Or at the very least they are worth following on instagram.

Toronto Blacksmith

Now in St. Catharines, Ontario

Beautiful custom hand-made axes – no two are the same.

Website

Instagram

Paul Krzyszkowski is a blacksmith whose quality is second to none. While I don’t own one myself – I’ve had the chance to use the one pictured above. And getting one of these axes is on my “list”.

He makes a beautiful range of unique and historical axes and even offers classes for you to make your own. Prices range from $250-$500, which is reasonable for a custom-made tool.

VintEdge Tools

Newmarket, Ontario

Restoration | Sharpening & Rehandling | Custom Leather Work

Instagram

Ryan from VintEdge Tools finds and beautifully restores vintage axes. Including hand-carved handles and leatherwork. A great option if you want an heirloom quality axe that was made (and then re-made) in Canada.

He’s worth following on Instagram and can be contacted there as well.

Front Step Forge

Edmonton, Alberta

Run by Shawn Cunningham, this is a custom blacksmith shop that doesn’t just stop at axes. He does, hammers, punches, decorations, and anything else you might want. 

With Shawn, you can commission a piece that’s made for you and incorporate exactly what you want. He also has a good Instagram feed.

A wonderful way to get a true Canadian-made, full-size or boys’ axe is to find a vintage axe or axe head and restore it yourself. The old axes you find are usually better than what they are selling in stores now (unless you are paying big bucks).

They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

As the “golden age of axes” came to an end around the 1940s, they all started to consolidate and then shutter, one by one. The Canadian axe industry fell hard as the chainsaw took over. The silver lining to this quick fall is that (unlike the US) we didn’t have the period from the 70s on where axe makers held on making cheaper axes. We just imported them.

So if you find a Canadian-marked axe, you can be pretty certain it was made well. So I recommend that if you want a good quality Canadian-made tool, you make it a project for yourself and bring one back to life.

How to identify a vintage Canadian axe?

The nice thing about identifying an old axe is it’s generally pretty easy – or impossible. There’s not a lot of middle ground.

Traditionally most axes were stamped with the maker’s name or brand mark, so the logo or design will be pressed right into the metal. This makes it very easy to identify and I have a list of brands to look out for below.

In later years basically, all companies switched to paper labels – often in conjunction with a simplified stamping, but sometimes just paper. The paper labels have all the info you need to identify an axe (if they survive), but as you can imagine they didn’t last long with use.

If you find an axe with no stamp and no paper label, there is no way to tell who made it.

Vintage Canadian Axe Brands to look for:

The big players were always Walters & Welland Vale, but there were many options and it gets confusing. As the industry changed, many companies were bought out or merged, and there are Canadian versions of American companies (True Temper / Mann / Warren). I’m working on growing the list below and adding more details for a more thorough history.

If you are interested in the background of some historic Canadian axe brands, check out museum.axeandtool.com (work in progress). Here is a (not-complete) list of the bigger players below.

Allan Hills (Galt)
Ardex (Toronto, ON)
Ashdown’s (Manitoba)
BC Marine (BC)
Blenkhorn (Canning, NS)
Bradley Axe (Nashwaak Villiage, NB)
Burgess Tool Co. (Ottawa, ON)
Campbell’s (St. John, NB)
Canadian Warren Axe & Tool Co. (St. Catherines, ON)
Canadian Foundries & Forging (Brockville, ON)
Dundas Axe Works (Dundas, ON)
E & H Broad and Co. (NB)
Howland’s Samson (Toronto, ON)
Howden’s Trueset (London, ON)
James Smarts MFG. Co (Brockville, ON)
Josiah Fowler Co. LTD (St. John, NB)
Kloepfer Hardware Co. (Vancouver, BC)
Lion Brand (Welland Vale Brand)
Mann Axe & Tool Co. LTD (St. Stephen, NB)
Marshall Wells of Canada (Made by Welland Vale)
Merrick-Anderson Co. (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Rixford (St. Paul, QC)
StrikeMaster (Unconfirmed – Gravenhurst, ON)
True Temper Canada (St. Catherines, ON)
Walters (Hull, ON)
WAJAX (Ontario)
Warnock (Galt, ON)
Welland Vale (St. Catherines, ON)

About the author:

About the author:

Jim Bell | Site Creator
I’m just a guy who likes axes. I got tired of only finding crap websites, so I set out to build a better one myself.

I’m also on Instagram: @axeandtool