To "hide" the structure of the axe, all its surfaces were grinded, polished and thereafter painted. Colorful brand-labels became the standard.

Before industrialism, axes were forged at many small smith’s shops. The form and structure of the axes were decided by the function of the axe, the demands of the user and the craftmanship of the smith. Up until the middle of the 19th century axes were used in small-scale activities, the self-subsistent peasant society. With the booming forest industry and professional logging in the 19th century, there came entirely new and bigger clients for axes: specialized forest workers and forestry companies. The increased demand for axes made the commercial interest in the axe business increase and the production was concentrated to big axe factories. Mass production and rationalizations of the production lowered the production costs. Little by little the form and structure of axes changed, often at the expense of quality. Axes became standardized mass produced industry products. Great amounts of energy were used in order to make the axes conform to the current demands on an industry product: every axe of a certain model should look exactly alike. In order to hide the structure of the axe head forged by hand, the surface of the forging was stoned, ground, buffed, painted and stove varnished. Colourful brand labels became a must.