Colonel (Ret.) Mark Harrell is the founder of Bad Axe Tool Works and owner of SawSharp. Hailing originally from Oklahoma, Mark completed a 28-year career in the Army, with much of his service spent in Special Forces and officer production assignments. Upon redeploying from Afghanistan in 2007, Harrell retired from the Army and started a saw-sharpening business with his late wife, Yvonne L’Abbe, quickly followed by development of the Bad Axe line of saws; and thus, Bad Axe Tool Works was born. Bad Axe saws closely follow traditional designs established by the Henry Disston & Sons, Simonds, and Wheeler, Madden & Clemson lines, using today’s tools and processes those sawmakers from the 19th century would likely have approved of—without sacrificing any of the time-proven design imperatives they established. Throughout the 14 years Mark owned and operated Bad Axe, he developed basic weekend and advanced five-day saw-sharpening seminars. Mark has taught over 65 workshops at such programs as the London School of Design & Engineering as well as MASW. Entering semi-retirement, Mark passed Bad Axe ownership to his former employees in 2022 and now works independently restoring vintage saws. He is also completing work on his book, The Continuum of a Toothline: How to Select, Use, Sharpen, and Maintain Traditional Handsaws.