The Good Men Project

Graeme Cameron and I formed Best Made Co. last spring, but this was something that had been brewing ever since we first met, as young boys at a camp in northern Ontario. (We are both Canadian, were born on farms, and grew up with axes, tractors, and livestock.)

At the camp was a legendary character who taught canoeing at a PhD level. He also was known for disappearing for extended periods into the bush–twenty to thirty days at a time–with only the clothes on his back, a canoe, a paddle, and an axe. His name was Dave Conacher; he was the son of Lionel Conacher, the famous Canadian athlete and politician. Dave taught us by example that we could survive with just our wits and a good axe, that we didn’t need anything else.

Fast forward thirty years, and there we were, Graeme and I, living in Manhattan and Toronto, surrounded by iPhones, flat screen TVs, incandescent light bulbs, and ergonomic pillows. Then one day we both realized all we really wanted–and more importantly, needed–was just a good axe. So we got to work and formed our company.

We want people to know that an axe can be used for the good of the world. An axe is an inanimate, harmless object until someone picks it up. We want people to be compassionate when they raise their axes. There is nothing more awe-inspiring than a truly compassionate man who wields a very big and sharp axe.

Before you pick up an axe, or any tool, ask yourself, “What am I really going to use this for?” We are inundated with tools. Tools are ingeniously marketed to appear as though they will make our lives better. An axe isn’t necessarily going to make your life better. If you don’t know how to use an axe, or if you use it for the wrong reasons, it will bite you. So the notion of mastering a tool is a bit of a fallacy. Master your desire first, and then the perfect tool will present itself.  — Peter Buchanan-Smith