02-26-2023 Harford Magazine - Flipbook - Page 69
Axe thrower Jim McDermott,
right, checks where his throw
landed on the target as
competitor Tyrell Lacey
throws during a World Axe
Throwing League 10 throws
tournament at Crabby Axe
Throwing.
PHOTO BY KENNETH K. LAM
At Crabby Axe, patrons stand 12 feet from a
4-by-4-foot poplar target, the center of which
is a 1-½ bull’s eye. Nail the shot and earn six
points. Lesser throws score fewer points. It’s
like playing darts on steroids.
What is the appeal of axe throwing?
Novelty. Fellowship. A sense of danger. The
chance to let off steam.
“Safety is No. 1 here,” Miller said. Opentoed shoes and sandals are prohibited. Beer
and wine are allowed, but not hard liquor.
Staff members, or “coaches,” monitor each of
the six throwing lanes, offer advice and bench
anyone who appears drunk.
For a sport that you’d think would draw
hooligans, the Crabby Axe clientele is
remarkably tame.
“We’ve not had lumberjacks, though there
are men who dress the part in their buffalo
check flannel shirts and beards,” the owner
said. “Some get upset if their wives beat them.”
Gender-wise, patrons are split 50-50.
“Women love the sport. It’s an empowering
thing,” Miller said.
When couples compete, the results aren’t a
given.
“When men first arrive, they don’t
necessarily listen to the rules. Women are
very good at that and tend to throw better
sometimes,” she said.
Many embrace axe throwing to vent or
relieve stress. One group, celebrating a divorce
party, hung a marriage license on the target.
Sometimes, if patrons aren’t throwing hard
enough to stick the axe, they are given a pep
talk to get peeved.
“We tell them, ‘You’ve got to be mad about
something, whether it’s the price of gas or the
cost of eggs,’ ” Miller said.
Crabby Axe hosts celebrations of all types:
birthday, bachelor and bachelorette parties
and even baby showers. Other gatherings
have included some unlikely pursuits, from
accounting firms to church groups.
‘Throwing axes breaks the ice’
At the Route 22 Hatchet House, in
Aberdeen, singles’ groups meet to socialize.
“Here, you can hang with someone and
have fun without doing a lot of talking. It’s not
like trying to make conversation on a dinner
date,” owner Mike Jerscheid said. “For some
people, throwing axes breaks the ice.”
Jerscheid, a retired police detective, opened
the seven-lane Hatchet House last year and
soon made note of his patrons’ focus.
“People are so consumed by the
competition that no one talks or texts on
their phones,” he said. “It is such a socializing
game that even the kids actually communicate
[verbally] with others.”
Particularly intense was a recent rivalry
between doctors from a medical practice. A
cardiovascular surgeon and two podiatrists
went at it, tooth and nail. The heart surgeon
won.
“I guess he had the steady hand,” Jerscheid
said.
Many businesses hold team-building
exercises here, the owner said.
“They’ll throw axes for an hour [to bond],
and then hold a brief business meeting. We
have had people ask if they can hang a picture
of their boss on the target, but we don’t allow
that; it’s not appropriate.”
Most first-time arrivals at the Hatchet
House are novices.
“Some have thrown axes at Renaissance
festivals, and others say they’ve thrown at trees
in their backyards,” Jerscheid said.
Many dress in jeans and cowboy boots. The
staff follows suit, serving such snacks as Slim
Jim sticks and beef jerky.
Family Nights draw multigenerational
households. At Hatchet House, children as
young as 8 may throw an axe, with adults at
hand.
“Usually, kids will team up against their
parents,” Jerscheid said. “Some dads are very
competitive, but I see lots of kids sharing
high-fives. Honestly, I would take a group of
8-to-10-year-olds over most adults, because
95% of the kids who come here are very
athletic and don’t overthink the sport.”
Axe throwing can humble the best of men,
said Aberdeen’s Steve Horne, a regular at
Hatchet House. The co-owner of a concrete
company, Horne recalled his first try there.
“The axe bounced off the backstop,” he said.
“When I did stick it, I thought, ‘Wow, how in
the world did I do that and can I do it again?’
Once you figure it out, it’s fun.”
Now Horne, 62, and his daughter, Jessica,
33, throw there together, competitively, with
mixed results.
“I think she’s ahead of me, overall,” said
Horne, who has stepped up his game. “It
doesn’t matter how old you are, you don’t want
to lose. I hate to even come in second at Home
Depot, [when] going to the checkout register.”
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