About
What is the FROST Axe?
The First Responder On Scene Tools, or FROST axe, combines seven of the most common fire fighting tools in use today. It's unique design supports attacking a hydrant, hose and coupling work, forcible entry, vertical and horizontal ventilation and self-rescue all with a single tool.
The FROST axe allows firefighters to lighten their load and save precious seconds by ensuring that the tools they will likely most need are already in their hands. And if backed into a corner, they can use it to rappel out of harms way, making it a potentially life-saving tool for firefighters to carry.
What can the FROST axe do?
Saving time saves lives--sometimes even their own--which is why the FROST axe is designed for both durability and versatility.
Head: The FROST axe has a 45 degree cutting head to maximize blunt force, keep it from getting stuck and ensure that the blade doesn't chip or deform on hard materials like steel fasteners or concrete. The head is also topped with a hammer cap that can be used as a hammer and ram.
Pick: The FROST axe pick is designed for demolition, forcible entry and self-rescue and it features a safety lug which prevents over-penetration in softer materials like drywall.
Windshield Cutter: Located just beyond the safety lug, the FROST axe has a sharpened cutter to assist in removing a car windshield.
Hose Spanners: The head of the FROST axe is designed to be used for hose and manifold couplers in all four of the major coupling sizes in use today.
Hydrant and Utility Wrenches: The butt of the FROST axe contains a set of wrenches for fire hydrant and utility management. The hydrant wrench comes in the smallest and most common size, but may be ordered in the specific size that works on your hydrants.
Forcible Entry Tool: Extending from the butt of the FROST axe is a pry-bar that can be driven into gaps in window or door frames to gain entry. (A pair of FROST axes can take on some of the jobs normally approached with the irons but they aren't intended to entirely replace the much heavier Halligan.)
Self-Rescue: If necessary, a firefighter may use the FROST axe for self-rescue. To do so, they drive the pick into the floor, wall or roof of a building, rock it past both of the safety lugs to lock it into place and then clip into the hydrant wrench and rappel to safety.
How is the FROST axe made?
The FROST axe is cut out of a solid sheet of AR400 steel--the same metal used in construction equipment and vehicle armor--and fitted with a handle made from fire resistant material.
Overall, the FROST axe is 35" long and weighs in at 8 pounds.
Each and every FROST axe is proudly designed and built in the TradLabs shop in Seattle, WA.
Lifetime Warranty
Because the FROST axe is made out of such durable material, each one comes with a lifetime warranty. In the unlikely event that you ever need to return an axe for repair or replacement, we just ask that you tell us what happened so we can keep making improvements to the axe.
Firefighter Axes Ship First
We want to get FROST axes into fireighters' hands as soon as possible so that they can be put to good use. Therefore, we will be shipping axes going to active duty firefighters first. If this applies to you, we'll ask you to identify yourself after the Kickstarter is over, so we can be sure to get your axe to you as soon as possible.
Stretch Goals
Our base funding goal represents what we need to get the base FROST axe out into people's hands, but if we raise more than that, we can add more bells and whistles to both the FROST axe itself and this Kickstarter project.
- $40,000: Challenge Coins [LOCKED]
- $50,000: New Handle Colors [LOCKED]
- $60,000: Expanded Production [LOCKED]
- $75,000: [LOCKED]
- $100,000: [LOCKED]
Risks and challenges
Thanks to generous firefighter feedback and our rapid prototyping ability, the design of the FROST axe is pretty solid, and should not change dramatically during the Kickstarter campaign.
Additionally, we have already invested in an industrial waterjet--an expensive piece of machinery that let us rapidly prototype and ultimately produce the finished axes.
Consequently, with a solid design and the machinery in house required to produce the FROST axes, our biggest risks and challenges are around sourcing the steel and other supplies necessary for production, but we already have a good relationship with suppliers, so the only thing we're missing is the funds to kick off production of the FROST axe--which is why we've turned to generous people like you for help.
With your support, we could be spinning up production of the FROST axes immediately after the Kickstarter is over.
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Funding period
- (30 days)