Blade & Timber’s Founder on Extraordinary Shared Experiences

My favorite memories with friends or family are almost always created through shared experiences. I did a 100 mile bike ride with two of my best friends. The whole city joined in to watch the Kansas City Royals beat Oakland after nearly 30 years of waiting for a playoff game. I once grew my hair out just to get a ‘Forrest Gump’ haircut to hand out chocolates at a bus stop for a few hours on Halloween.

My most cherished relationships were built through amazing experiences that always give us something to return to in conversation.

My goal is to create gathering places that make it easy to have fun. Initially, I was just looking to solve my own problem: I wanted something fun and out-of-the-ordinary for the sake of entertainment. But in creating Blade & Timber back in 2017, we realized that we had created something that was far bigger than axe throwing; we had created a place where people could be certain that they were going to create truly memorable memories.

I spend quite a bit of time reading the reviews of Blade & Timber – mainly because they remind us how we bring people together:

• Couples who went axe throwing on their first date and ended up getting married.
• Families gathering for the first time since the pandemic at one of our facilities and were finally able to experience life together in a safe, controlled environment.
• Pictures of a 40th birthday at Blade & Timber – the best birthday party they have ever had.

• Companies who plan a company outing at Blade & Timber, only to find that Jan the receptionist hits nothing but bullseyes even though she didn’t think she had an athletic bone in her body.
  

• Families who bring 4 generations of axe throwers to have an epic family reunion.
  

• Loved ones gathering for the first time since Dad passed away, honoring his legacy of always being the ‘fun one’ of the family.
  

Our company lives not just for reading the reviews, but for being intentional about helping make the memories that drive the reviews. For every story we learn about, we know there are ten that never made it on Google, Trip Advisor or Yelp.

There are countless amazing restaurants and activities in the cities where we operate. Kansas City has some of the best BBQ on earth. Nashville has one of the best music scenes in the country. Honolulu is known for their amazing beaches and mountains. Seattle has a mixture of arts and culture unlike any other city. Wichita is one of America’s great ‘big-small-towns’. Portland is surrounded by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. There are amazing things to see and experience all over the place. Regardless of the city, our team has spent countless hours creating an environment to make amazing memories worth sharing. In a world where it is easy to kill time, we make it easy to have fun – and to do so on purpose.

At Blade & Timber, we pride ourselves on teaching guests of all ages and abilities how to throw axes. It’s our mission that you walk away after 90 minutes knowing how to stick the board with a one-handed or two-handed throw. For those who pick things up a bit quicker, we also teach how to throw underhand, how to throw two axes with two hands, and how to play a handful of games. Whether you walk away as a full-scale lumberjack or not, we can all but promise that you’ll have a photo roll of smiles, a handful of memories, and an incredible experience to share with the folks you care about the most.