Ax Men

2449 Views 22 Replies 14 Participants Last post by 338/378wm, Mar 22, 2013

Joe the Logger

Discussion Starter · Mar 21, 2013

I am curious to hear opinions on the ' Ax Men" show on history. Its about to come back on, and although I have my opinions, I want to wait and see what some others think.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

GobbleBuck

· #2 · Mar 21, 2013

Eh, I think that some of the guys they bring on are just for effect and ratings. One guy last year in particular swinging a chainsaw around like a complete moron was one of the funniest things I have ever seen, but at the same time it was like.... come on man.
I dunno I am not a logger, I am a tree trimmer. Two closely related but very different fields. It is something to watch I reckon.

Buk_Huntir

· #3 · Mar 21, 2013

I enjoy it. I could do with a little less yelling and drama. I find the entire logging industry interesting either way.

I guess tho without the drama and yelling, all you have is some dudes cutting down trees... Not sure how long anyone could watch that.

bigbear

· #4 · Mar 21, 2013

Pure entertainment. I enjoy it for what it is. I could watch an hour of Shelby and forget the rest of the yahoo's though.

Borden811

· #5 · Mar 21, 2013

They do things on that show that no respectable logger ever would. It's all hyped up drama and garbage for entertainment value.

richbat

· #6 · Mar 21, 2013

Drama or not i can't see how anyone could stand to take some of the abuse these guys take.I know it's all for TV ratings and such but some of the things said and done in my opinion make the industry in real life look pretty bad.

Buk_Huntir

· #7 · Mar 21, 2013

bigbear said:
Pure entertainment. I enjoy it for what it is. I could watch an hour of Shelby and forget the rest of the yahoo's though.

+1 That guy is funny!

Adam

· #8 · Mar 21, 2013

Shelby is a hoot, a fool, but a hoot. Last episode I saw he had his backhoe on the barge and was pulling logs outta the slough by his house. The crazy guy that shot his bow at his rolls up and Shelby tells his niece or whatever to go get his pistol. She comes out with it and he asks if it's loaded and she's looking to try and figure out if it is or not and he says "Just point it at me." She does and he looks down the barrel and says "Yep, it's loaded, give it here." LMAO!

Joe the Logger

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 21, 2013

The best part is, the guy shooting arrows at him and stealing the logs is his cousin! Shelby says, Yeah, he's tried to kill me several times! And we think the backwoods of Pa. is bad!

WADMAN

· #10 · Mar 21, 2013

Pure scripted entertainment! Enjoy the show, just hope Rygaard finds a shallow ditch on their site to leave old man Craig in. Seriously, if I wanted to listen to someone whine, cry, complain about EVERYTHING, I'd turn the TV off and have a conversation with the wife!!!!

GobbleBuck

· #11 · Mar 21, 2013

A guy over here had the first three seasons of swamp people... or whatever its called about the gator hunters down in "loosyannah" Interesting show also

Joe I missed it if you said, but what is your opinion on Ax men?

Bluetick

· #12 · Mar 21, 2013

I would assume that OSHA has a field day with these guys. Seriously, between Ax Men and the other home improvement shows, OSHA field officers should never have to go further than the office TV set to empty the citation book.

On the other hand, many of the participants have documented evidence for court if they ever go that route. A prime example was the old man Craig using the machine trying to hit the idiot JD. Then he did.

Sorry, that was no accident, comments before and after, with footage could be very lucrative if one took it to court. Other fist a cuffs and actions from all crews included in that.

Just saying, if your going to be a moron - don't do it on camera. One really has to wonder is on the cutting room floor....

GobbleBuck

· #13 · Mar 21, 2013

We Asplundh guys always joke that we would all be fired after the first episode aired.

Joe the Logger

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 21, 2013

I wanted to see some others opinions first. After watching the show since it came out, I feel its 95% bunk. It is very entertaining, which is what its supposed to be to make the History Channel a profit. There are a few on it who were the real deal. Pihl's faller Dwayne from the first season was legit. You have to be half crazy to do the job very long. Levi Brown is the real deal. I hope he makes it in the tough economy out there. He has the skill and the guts, but you have to be a little lucky too. The Papacs and Lemeres are BIG TIME. They portay them as on the edge of no work or poverty, which is far from true. Their equipment is worth more than most business's net. The Rygaards are a real business, but the drama they portray would NEVER last on a log landing. Gabe and his Dad are acting on script, but some of their scenes are truly ridiculous. When you work with men in a dangerous job, you all trust your life
to one another. There is no place for a renegade or poor attitude. You also deal with the fact that some of these guys are short fused and tougher than Chinese Algebra. I had to laugh when Gabe told DJ he would beat him up if he touched his Dad. In reality, DJ would have Gabes porch light out before he knew what happened.
Shelby is my favorite. I think you are seeing his daily routine pretty close to reality. He was wiped out by Katrina, and what you see now is his rebuilding process. I would just love to spend a day with him, on his turf, imagine the fun you would have! I watch the show and I like it, I just hope people realize thats not what a logger is all about.

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justgrad25

· #15 · Mar 21, 2013

Don't care for Axe Men but I did like "Heli-Loggers" when that one was one several years back.

RonM

· #16 · Mar 21, 2013

Joe, maybe you could sign on for a cameo appearance.....

Joe the Logger

Discussion Starter · #17 · Mar 21, 2013

The year before the show started they put out a nationwide email to find loggers. I responded, because I would like to retire early, so why not take a chance? They did very little on the East coast, we were not exciting enough. Generally, we cut a load of logs, skid it out, and send it on its way. The West coast high line logging is much more TV Drama suited. They made a decision early on to focus on the Western highliners, and make it a " Load Race". All malarkey, but it gets people to watch. There have been some east coast horse loggers on a time or two, and a few spots by some others, but the show I think will remain focused on the Western guys.

Diehardhunter

· #18 · Mar 21, 2013

IMO it was a better show when it first came out. Now a lot of it just looks staged. I like Ice Road Truckers and Deadliest catch better. I just saw the season is coming back on on Sunday 4/7

RonM

· #19 · Mar 21, 2013

When I was about 18 I worked for my neighbor who was a horse logger and used a 2 man chainsaw. ...I was the second man and knew how to work horses, so he put me to work..I was never one to be afraid of hard work, growing up on a farm......Joe did yyou ever have a 2 man saw......

Joe the Logger

Discussion Starter · #20 · Mar 21, 2013

I ran one for fun a few times at Heritage Days and Machinery shows, I sure would not want to run one today. The one we demo'd I beleive weighed 65 lbs. ! They make some specialty 6 and 7 foot bars with helper handles for modern saws, but they only get used in South America for the most part. We once had a Champion 7 foot two man bucking saw professionally sharpened at a show. That baby was from the 1880's. We set up a 48" log and did some crosscutting. No one, and I mean no one, volunteered to do it twice. Just imagine, they CLEARCUT 6 MILLION ACRES of Pa. with those saws! Think about that the next time you think you had a rough day !

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