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August 2008
>>Read Full Article (pdf 1.1MB)
2008 Gear Hall of Fame
by Field & Stream editors
Seven pieces of hunting and fishing equipment that have passed he ultimate test of time.
There's one thing the hunting and fishing equipment on these pages have that a lot of other gear out there does not: proof. Every inductee iin the 2008 Gear Hall of Fame has been a historic success, not just commercially but in the harsh, cold eyes (and hands) of sportsmen. To qualify for consideration in the Gear Hall of Fame, each pices of gear must have been in existence, basically unchanged, for at least 30 years, and it must still be available. That is the case with every piece of equipment here (and some of the gear has been around for much longer than three decades). From Fairbanks to Key West, these seven items have proved themselves to be indispensible to hunters and fishermen.
6. Marble Safety Axe: Introduced c. 1898. Webster L. Marble patented his Safety Axe in 1898, claiming it could chop down an 8-inch Norway pine in five minutes. More than a century later, marble's axes are still being made in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where he started his now legendary company in a one-room building. The Safety Axe, sold in two sizes, has changed very little from those offered in turn-of-the-century catalogs. It never had to. It still features a hickory handle and the distinctive metal bladeguard that folds inside the handle when the axe is in use. And yes, tou can fell a mature pine with one, although these small axes are more suitable for chopping saplings, opening the chest cavity of a whitetail buck, or splitting wood blocks to start a fire.
— Keith McCafferty
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