Ax Men (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Ax Men is an American reality television series that premiered on March 9, 2008 on History. The program follows the work of several logging crews in the second-growth forests of Northwestern Oregon, Washington and Montana. The show highlights the dangers encountered by the loggers. Following in the footsteps of other shows from Original Productions, like Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers, the series is considered part of a recent "real-men-in-danger" television programming trend.

Cast Descriptions

Season 1

J.M. Browning Logging

J.M. Browning Logging is owned by Jay Browning, a 34-year veteran of the logging industry. His left hand was torn off in a logging accident, but he now wears a prosthesis that allows him to operate a chainsaw. Jay runs his company with a "hire the best in the business and use the best equipment" philosophy. His sons Jesse and Jared work for him; Jesse is scheduled to take over the company one day. Jay Browning started his logging company in 1985. His company has been headquartered in Astoria in Clatsop County ever since.

Stump Branch Logging

This company, owned by Melvin Lardy, is based in Buxton, Oregon. His crew is a fairly young one, using secondhand equipment and willing to take any job to make a living. Melvin goes to work for Pihl Logging in Season 3, but quits partway through the season.

Pihl Logging

Pihl Logging is owned by Mike Pihl. Comments by employee Dwayne Dethlefs are often featured in promotional spots for the show; his son Dustin also works for the company. Both of them quit at the end of Season 2, with Dustin moving to Alaska in Season 4 to work for Olson Marine (see below). Pihl is based in Vernonia, Oregon.

Gustafson Logging

Gustafson Logging Company is a clearcut logging company based out of Astoria, Oregon.

The company takes contracts to cut timber in Oregon's second growth forests. Gustafson Logging is currently owned by three brothers, Clay, Mark and Wade Gustafson, sons of Duane Gustafson. The company was started in 1974 by Duane Gustafson. Darrell Holthusen is the "side rod," or crew foreman.

Season 2

The Pihl and Browning crews are featured in this season, along with three other companies.

S&S Aqua Logging

Founded by Jimmy Smith in South Cle Elum, Washington, S&S recovers sunken old-growth logs from the beds of rivers that were used by earlier generations of loggers to float them downstream. The company motto is "Recovering the forests of yesterday to save the forests of tomorrow," reflecting their commitment to never cut down a live tree. His son James is active in the business, leaving to work for Collins River Logging in Season 3 and returning to S&S in Season 4.

Rygaard Logging

This company, Port Angeles, Washington, was founded by Craig Rygaard in 1993. His sons Gabe, Jason and Burt are his business partners.

R&R Conner Aviation

Ryan and Robin Conner founded this company in 2000 in Conner, Montana. They specialize in "heli-logging": using a helicopter to airlift felled trees from terrain too steep or hostile to reach with an access road. The helicopter was restored at The Pitstop Inc..

Season 3

The same companies from Season 2 (Rygaard, Conner, Browning, S&S and Pihl) are featured in Season 3, which takes place during summer rather than fall/winter. Due to trouble with Washington state permits (see below), S&S relocates to White Springs, Florida and begins working with Collins River Logging, run by Joe Collins, to pull logs from the Suwannee River. One new crew appears alongside these five:

Swamp Man Logging

Shelby Stanga has lived in the swamps north of New Orleans since he was nine years old, and he has been logging in the area for 37 years. He recovers abandoned logs from the nearby waterways with an ever-evolving cast of sidekicks"?his dog Willy, his friends Earl and Bob, and his cousins Jarvis and Belinda.

Season 4

Pihl, Browning, Rygaard, Collins, S&S, and Swamp Man appear in this season, again working the summer logging season, along with two new crews.

Papac Alaska Logging

Headquartered in Craig, Alaska, this company was founded by Mike Papac as an offshoot of his father's Washington-based logging business. For job sites on islands, the Ketchikan, Alaska-based tugboat company Olson Marine hauls Papac's logs over the water to reach a collection point.

Lemare Lake Logging

This company, based in British Columbia, was founded by Dave Dutcyvich in the mid-1980s and is now owned by his son Eric. They concentrate on harvesting timber from the remote islands off Canada's west coast, hauling in equipment and supplies by barge to allow them to live on the job site when necessary.

Season 5

Papac, Rygaard, S&S, and Swamp Man appear in this season, along with six new crews.

Big Gun Logging

Based in Vernonia, Oregon, Big Gun is a new company started by former Pihl cutter Levi Brown. Mike Pihl, his former boss, helps the crew start out by contracting a job to them and leasing an old yarder. Later in the season, Levi leases a more powerful yarder and calls in Pihl operator Leland Bontrager to run it.

Uncle Buck Logging

This Florida-based outfit is run by "Uncle" Buck Livingston, a Suwannee River logger who helped both S&S and Collins by killing an alligator that menaced the crews in an earlier season. He has recruited Patrick Swilley from Collins to work as his diver.

Siderius Logging

This company was started by Dan Siderius in 2009 and is based in Kalispell, Montana. His crew is younger than most others and focuses on jobs on/around rugged mountain terrain.

H.H. Horse Logging

This company, founded by Jason Rutledge and based in Floyd County, Virginia, has been in operation for 10 years. The crew uses teams of horses to pull felled trees off job sites without the need for heavy machinery or access roads. Jason's son Jagger is the crew leader.

Wheeler Logging and Willett Logging

These two companies operate in rural New Hampshire, using teams of oxen to pull logs off job sites. Wheeler Logging was founded by Barry Wheeler, who now runs the crew with his son Marshall; Devin and Justin Willett, Barry's nephews, formed Willett Logging to compete with them.

Season 6

Rygaard, Papac, S&S, Swamp Man, Lemare Lake, and Big Gun appear in this season, which was filmed before the death of Jimmy Smith. S&S relocates to North Florida's Withlacoochee River. Two new crews appear in this season: Dreadknots Logging and Wisconsin Woodchuck.

Dreadknots Logging

This crew, headed by Clint Roberts, has been working to recover logs from the Withlacoochee for over four years. Clint's crew consists of diver Dave Stone ("The Kraken") and deckhand Chris Miller ("River Guide"). They find logs by firing a revolver into the water and listening for difference in the echoing reports.

Current and Former Cast

Current Cast

Rygaard (Season 2-)
S&S (Season 2-)
Swamp Man (Season 3-)
Lemare (Seasons 4, 6-)
Papac (Season 4-)
Big Gun (Season 5-)
Dreadknots (Season 6-)
Wisconsin Woodchuck (Season 6-)

Former Cast:

Browning (Seasons 1-4)
Gustafson (Season 1)
Pihl (Seasons 1-4)
Stump Branch (Season 1)
Conner (Seasons 2-3)
Collins (Seasons 3-4)
Olson (Season 4)
HH Horse (Season 5)
Siderius (Season 5)
Uncle Buck (Season 5)
Wheeler (Season 5)
Willett (Season 5)

Episodes

Logging terms

Back cut " A saw cut in a tree trunk, on the side away from the direction that the cutter wants it to fall. Usually done after a face cut has been made (see below); wedges can then be driven in to unbalance the tree and break it loose from the stump.

Barber chair " A situation in which a tree splits along its length/height while being cut and pivots higher than intended as it falls, the split end swinging out like a barber chair footrest. This poses a safety hazard due to the fact that this end can snap up and inflict serious injury.

Blowdown site " An area in which large amounts of timber have been damaged by storms or high winds. Some trees may have fallen completely over, while others may lean at dangerous angles due to being uprooted.

Booger wood " A piece of worthless wood, originally said by Joe Collins of Collins River Logging.

Bucking--Cutting a fallen tree into logs of required lengths. May also refer to limbing (see below).

Bug--A transmitter used by the rigging slinger to sound horn/whistle signals on the landing as instructions for the yarder operator.

Butt rigging--Use of a heavy chain, connected to the skyline, with cables and chokers attached. Logs can be secured directly to this and hauled up to the landing along the ground.

Chaser eraser--A tangle of logs and branches hauled up by the yarder in a single turn. So named because the branches can spring out in unpredictable directions on the landing and injure a waiting chaser.

Choker--A cinching device used to secure cables onto logs so they can be hauled away from where they were cut.

Dead head--The end of a sunken log that protrudes above the surface of a river. S&S targets these logs, which have been preserved and stained by the water and find use in specialty decorative construction.

Dead man--A skyline anchor point created by digging a trench, placing several heavy logs in it, cinching a cable around them, and filling in the excavated dirt.

Downhill logging--A practice in which the landing is at the downhill end of a sloping site. Presents special challenges due to the force of gravity constantly pulling logs down the skyline once they are off the ground.

Face cut notch--A notch sawed out of a tree trunk, on the side toward which the cutter wants it to fall.

Feller buncher " A machine that can take hold of a standing tree, cut through it, and place it in a pile for later pickup. Most easily used when the site is on level ground.

Fog fan--A fan used to remove fog from an area no greater than one acre of land.

Grapple " A set of remote-controlled tongs that can be used to clamp onto a log and move it around.

Grapple logging " A practice in which a grapple is attached to the skyline and reeled down to pick up logs so they can be hauled in. Safety hazards include the unpredictable swinging of the grapple and the fact that the yarder operator typically has no direct line of sight to the logs on the ground.

Grapple skidder--A machine that picks up piles of fallen trees and carries them to the landing. Most easily used when the site is on level ground.

Greenhorn--A newly hired member of a logging crew who has little or no experience in the industry.

Hanger/Hangup--A dangerous situation in which a cut tree gets caught in a standing one and cannot fall to the ground.

Hook tender--A person who supervises the movement of logs up to the landing.

Jammer logging--A technique in which the yarder/yoader (see below) swings cables and chokers at high speed, throwing them downhill toward the rigging crew. This method was used a number of times by Stump-Branch in an effort to increase production, but the risk of injury to the crew also increased.

Landing--Area where logs are piled up to be loaded onto trucks. Usually at the uphill end of a sloping site.

Leaner--An uprooted tree that topples against a standing one and gets caught, unable to fall to the ground; presents risks similar to those of a hanger/hangup.

Limbing/Chasing--Cutting limbs off fallen trees. Both bucking and limbing/chasing may be done before or after the logs are brought to the landing.

Loader--A machine that can pick up logs once they are on the landing and place them in piles or on trucks as needed.

Rigging--Securing logs to the skyline carriage using cables and chokers.

Rigging slinger--A person who decides the order in which logs are to be hauled up to the landing.

Side rod--Foreman of a logging crew.

Skyline--A cable strung high above a logging site, with a motorized carriage to which logs can be attached.

Sod stretcher--A tool used to stretch sod around a corner.

Spotter--A crew member who directs the yarder operator to the location of logs when grapple logging is being performed.

Tail hold--A tree or stump that serves as the anchor point for the far end of the skyline.

Timber faller/Timber feller--A person whose primary job is to cut down trees.

Topping--Cutting the topmost section off a standing tree so it can be used as an anchor point for the skyline. Also done if the skyline runs close to the tree and has the potential to become tangled in it.

Turn--A group of logs being moved by the yarder/yoader (see below); also, one round trip of the skyline carriage.

Twister--A pair of cables twisted together and used to anchor a skyline; provides more force than a single cable.

Upender--A situation in which chokers are attached to the downhill end of a log instead of the uphill end. When the log is reeled in, it can pivot 180 degrees with enough speed to inflict serious injury.

Widow maker--Limbs and debris that fall from a standing/leaning tree; so named because it has the potential to kill a man standing underneath it, leaving his wife as a widow.

Yarder--A machine that moves logs to the landing by reeling in the skyline carriage.

Yoader--A yarder that is also equipped with clamps to move logs around as needed once they are on the landing. Eliminates the need for a separate loader (yoader = yarder + loader).

Legal action against S&S Aqua Logging

On 13 March 2009, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) seized more than two dozen logs that may have been illegally salvaged by S&S Aqua Logging. DNR officers served a search warrant on the company to retrieve timber they had pulled from the Hoquiam River without a permit.

Jimmy Smith, who owned and operated S&S, said on the show that the logs were worth about $10,000, according to search warrant records.

"These are valuable materials that belong to the public and this looks like theft, plain and simple. They are part of the functioning ecosystem, so removing the log would be like removing part of the bed," state Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark said.

Accoording to Greg Hueckel, the DNR's fish and wildlife habitat programs director, "Logs provide a key function for rivers in trapping sediment, harboring insects and other food for fish, and creating pools and riffles where fish can rest." Hueckel said his agency typically grants permits to remove logs in situations where flooding causes log jams and it's unlikely that a permit would be granted for timber harvest.

Death of Jimmy Smith

On November 1, 2012, Jimmy Smith of S&S Aqua Logging passed away due to his illness with cancer; he was 56 at the time of his death. Details of the continuation of his business are still uncertain. The sixth season's debut episode, All or Nothing, was dedicated in his memory.

DVD sets

The first four seasons have been released on DVD, both as individual volumes and as a four-season box set.

International airings

Ax Men airs in Canada on History Canada.

Ax Men airs in India on History TV18.

Ax Men aired in the United Kingdom on the local variant of the History channel, then later aired on the terrestrial Channel 5, where the title was changed to Axe Men. The latest season has returned to History.

Ax Men is currently airing in Australia on 7mate and A&E Australia.

Ax Men airs in Germany on History.

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