Throwing an ax takes the same finesse as shooting a basketball, Jessie Harris said.
Harris coaches ax-throwing at Axe to Grind — downtown Loveland’s first ax-centric bar, which opened last week across from The Foundry on Third Street.
First, the thrower faces the wooden bullseye target with their feet a sturdy shoulder-width apart.
Using one or both hands, they lift the ax over and behind their head.
Then, they bring the ax forward in a forceful, chopping motion and release.
The ax flies down the lane, ideally completing one full rotation in the air before smacking headfirst into the target.
“When you get it to stick for the first time, it’s just this amazing, powerful feeling,” Harris said.
Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald
Ax throwing coach Jessie Harris, center, gives a high-five to Josh Mastin after he hit the “kill spot” or blue dot on the target on his second day trying his hand at ax throwing Monday, June 29, 2020, at the newly opened ax throwing bar, Axe To Grind at 217 E. Third St., in downtown Loveland.On Monday afternoon, some of the bar’s first repeat customers took turns overhanding axes alongside Harris on the bar’s “tournament” lanes.
Josh Mastin of Loveland and two friends, one newbie and one second-timer, egged one another on as they stepped up to the line.
“It’s addicting,” Mastin said. “It really is. I think it could be a new hobby for me.”
Axe to Grind is the latest bar in Colorado to invest in the buzz surrounding the sport, which has developed an international following over its past decade and a half in existence.
The bar includes a front patio area, where customers can enjoy food bought from nearby restaurants and drinks poured in-house, as well as indoor seating and five ax-throwing lanes.
Three of the lanes are separated by chain-link cages, while two tournament lanes in the back are open, allowing competitors to throw side-by-side.
While alcohol and axes may seem like a volatile pairing, manager Allison Cech stressed that the bar was designed with safety in mind.
“All of our coaches are taught our safety protocols and procedures,” she said. “We just want to make sure everyone has a good time, and no one gets hurt.”
Throwing lanes are enclosed on three sides by cages or walls, and axes cannot be taken outside of the lanes.
Harris added that closed-toed shoes are a must for throwers, and, on the tournament lanes, throwers must throw and retrieve their axes at the same time.
There is also a three-drink maximum for throwers, and Harris said anyone who shows up visibly intoxicated will be turned away.
“We’ve only had that be the case for one person so far,” Harris said.
Besides becoming known as a safe place for people to get into the sport, Cech said Axe to Grind hopes to one day grow enough brand recognition through its Loveland location and three established locations in Kansas and Iowa to host the tournament of the World Axe Throwing League.
“It’s becoming more mainstream across the U.S.,” she said. “At the same time, I think it also has the possibility to unite people at all ability levels. It doesn’t matter your age range. You have the ability to throw axes.”
Cech said Loveland residents can expect to see local ax-throwing leagues organized through the bar.
Harris said she has already been encouraged by the local response since the bar’s “soft opening” on Friday.
“I think it’s going to bring a lot of people together,” she said.
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Loveland’s Third Street gets the ax, welcomes first ax-throwing bar in city - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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