An interview with Axis
Axis is an innovative brand powered by inventive thinking, inspired by common issues encountered by smokers who roll their own cigarettes. Our smoking solutions make life easier and make smoking a more pleasurable, fulfilling experience. In this Q&A we answer some of the questions we’re most commonly asked about our brand and our products.
When was Axis first conceived?
I only started the business in 2014, but in fact the foundations for Axis were laid early on, when I graduated college with a Bachelor or Engineering degree. I’d become Precision Machinist at my father’s shop when I was just 16, so I already had a lot of experience behind me. In my early twenties I designed the very first Axis clip using brass tubing from a ballpoint pen refill. That was to become the very first prototype for the products we sell today!
How did you get the idea for innovative smoking products?
In 1968, at home, I designed and made the first AXIS clip using the brass tubing of a ballpoint pen refill. It worked great, and I used it for many years. I thought of manufacturing them, and marketing
them, but didn’t feel it was the right time. Hand rolled cigarettes were not that popular. Now that the laws have been changing and more people are smoking hand rolled cigarettes I started building machines to help make them so that we could produce them in quantity. I designed a mouth piece so that it would hold the back end of the clip instead of the brass tying wire and a front triangular piece to hold the front end of the clip.
Why did you decide to design this product – and what does it mean to you?
I realized two things in 1968. The first was that the strongest part of the cigarette was as it was finishing. It seemed like I was getting more of the active ingredients from the tobacco in the last few puffs. I did some research on tobacco companies and it turns out that the last part of a cigarette is 3 times as strong as the first part. The second thing I realized very quickly was that the last part of a cigarette is too hot to hold and the smoke is too hot to inhale. I needed something to hold the last part of the cigarette, and cool the smoke too. After designing it I also realized it’s healthier to use it because it’s not good to inhale hot smoke into your body.
How is your product different from others on the market?
There isn’t anything like our products on the market today. Stores sell electronic devices for vaping and pipes for smoking, but nothing for the hand rolled cigarette smoker. Also, hand rolled cigarettes are not looked upon by society as classy or sophisticated. I wanted to design a complete smoking system for these smokers that is elegant and tasteful as well as efficient. I obtained a US Patent for the clip (US Patent #9386804) and put it on the market in December 2014. In 2015 it was picked as one of the Hot New Products by High Times Magazine in their October printed issue. I then designed a precision Rolling Machine with Preparation trays so rolling a cigarette is clean and easy.
Why the name ‘Axis’?
I called the product ‘the AXIS’ because the cigarette is on the same axis as the clip, whereas all the other ‘Alligator’ type clips hold the cigarette at a right-angle to the clip, not on the same axis. This feature was an integral point of difference within the whole design, so it made sense to have a name that reflected that.
