Lately I've been intrigued by the idea of a Renaissance Man, which has taken the form of learning new talents. Which has taken the form of reading up on Agriculture and taking Kite Boarding lessons. Not so much Renaissance but give me a break. Thus, this past Friday I put on my best plaid shirt and cleaned up my oft-used axe and visited Arts and Architecture for an Axe Restoration Workshop put on by Nick Zdon of Best Made Co. It was just hot enough inside to activate a brow sweat but considering the topic I found it quite appropriate. Nick went through axe history, various types, qualities and restoration techniques. The group of ten or so even brought in some hand tools of their own. Even better was the respect and passion Nick had for the craftsmanship and art of such a utilitarian hand tool. But thanks to him and BMC I'll be restoring my own axe this summer and hopefully paying a little homage to ye olde lumberjacks while doing so. Alas, if you haven't heard of BMC they've made axes an art form and the outdoors the escape. Everything is impeccably designed from the website to axe handles and blocks. Go buy something. Because when I do buy those 10 acres in southern MN I'm sure I'll need some help clearing the trees.
