Who buys a $350 designer axe?
A few days ago, I got an email solicitation for a wood axe made by a company called Best Made. The axe is sold in a beautiful wooden presentation box. The kind of box one might expect to to be used for jewelry, perfume or some other luxury item.
And this axe costs big coin; The "Pale Male" model will set you back $350. That's probably five times more expensive than other brands of well made axes.
I did some searching on the web and found a blog posting by Graeme Cameron, one of the co-founders of Best Made, where he reveals something about his customers that's interesting.
"We just don’t believe that our product requires a heavy technical explanation for being as good as it is. It is far more than Steel and Hickory. Our customer base is generally not interested in grind angles on the bits or in hardness testing. They are interested in becoming part of a company that tells a story about a product, gains their trust by actually acknowledging them, offering a unique experience through the purchase and in the end delivers an outstanding quality axe. We are not interested in being technical here – we are interested in providing motivation to think about good citizenship. We are interested in sharing our “Inspiration” and watching how it builds a “Tribe” of people – people with a common thread…. and guess what… that thread is not the axe."
In other words, people who buy Best Made axes are not buying it as much for the axe itself, as for the statement it makes about them as owners of such a high quality and beautiful tool --it's a lifestyle purchase.
You can see this same principle at work with the axe sling that is merchandised as a fashion statement and object of desire.
I wouldn't criticize anyone for buying a Best Made axe because it's expensive. Let's face it, we all buy things for reasons that go far beyond their specific technical functions.
For example, I own a Laguiole brand pocket knife made in France that I purchased for $150. Like the Best Made Axe, this pocket knife is much more expensive than other good knives on the market. But I really enjoy using it and carry it with me every time I go into the garden.
I use my knife to harvest vegetables, cut cord, a do a variety of miscellaneous cutting tasks like opening packages, cutting down boxes etc etc. It's a very versatile tool and one that almost anyone could use whether finely fashioned and pricey like my knife or more basic and cheap.
However, in my opinion, an axe is a horse of a different color. Unlike a knife, the axe is a specialty item, and one that's likely to be dangerous in the hands of a novice. Exactly the kind of people who are being targeted for the Best Made axe. The fact that Best Made also sells a first aid kit may be telling and a bit unsettling.
Caveat Emptor. For their sake, let's hope that owners of the Best Made axe keep it permanently in its presentation box.
Comments