The "Swift" Axe design was created as a more simplistic body shape for use with my AxePro unmilled body blanks. The other AxePro bodies have a high level of detail, so the purpose of this milling graft was to create a clean body appearance using less detail than my other bodies. If executed correctly, this new body wouldn't need as much time to fabricate, which can lead to a reduced cost. (hopefully!)

The Swift AxePro design was modeled after the Tonton Shocker NXT, which is one of my favorite markers from the Shocker NXT private label lineup. Naturally I had to adjust the milling shapes because AxePro bodies are shorter yet wider than Shocker NXT bodies, so the finished appearance is immeditely different. There were many ways to adjust the cosmetics, so it took a few weeks to refine the CAD design.

During the prototyping process, the body ended up saving a bit of time compared to the Pro Fireaxe, but I still needed to perform some cleanup operations on the new body in order to define the smooth milling lines. That's no problem; the finished product looks nice and smooth, so spending the time to ensure a good surface is acceptable.

Swift AxePro CAD design

Swift AxePro during machining

Swift AxePro finished and prior to anodizing

Swift AxePro finished and prior to anodizing

Permalink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efgRuWFLOmc

A batch of these bodies was produced in Spring 2017. They were anodized gloss black and dust black, or sold raw to custom marker builders.