Brant & Cochran Axes
It began with a gift. Or, at least, an attempted gift. The search for a Maine-made axe to gift a family member about to start forestry school came with a strange realization: no one made axes in Maine, anymore. As history nerds with longstanding Maine roots, the future owners of Brant & Cochran knew well enough that Maine was once the epicenter of American axe production. In the early 1900s, a group of 12 axe makers in Oakland, Maine along the Messalonskee River were particularly well-known for their craftsmanship and quality. Yet by the 1960s, none of them were left. So one night, while drinking scotch and telling lies, two brothers decided to restart the tradition of Maine axe making. One tiny problem loomed large—they had no idea how to make axes. They cobbled together a network of woodworkers, machinists, blacksmiths, and art students to collectively restart the craft. An antique axe pattern from a lumber museum in Patten, Maine became the blueprint for their first axe: the Allagash Cruiser. The name was a nod to the Oakland producers’ convention of wacky axe names like the Lumberman’s Pride and Cock of the Woods. On every Brant & Cochran axe is a stamp with the year of production and an initial from the blacksmith, just as the craftsmen along the banks of the Messalonskee did nearly a century ago.
