Gabriel Branby

The Quality of an Axe

“It’s more important to create a good company than it is to create a good product, because a good company produces good products” – that is the lesson Gabriel Branby learned when he took over an 80-year-old Swedish axe factory in 1985. Though the factory then was in bankruptcy, his initial efforts were to produce the very best axe in the world. The solution ultimately lay in a better understanding of the purpose and utilization of various types of axes.

Under the motto “the one who knows most, wins”, Branby and his team began collecting everything there was to know about axes, books, woodcutters tales, and every kind of axe you can imagine. The Gränsfors axe museum now has a collection of more than 2,000 axes. Meanwhile, Branby, a farmer’s son and economist with an artistic approach towards business, read a great deal about major topical issues and concluded that sustainability really was essential for his business. As a result, Gränsfors now offers a 20-year guarantee on all its axes. “Because one way to protect our natural environment is by making products that survive for a long time.”