About Oak & Adze

OAK & ADZE IS MORE THAN A NAME. Oak & Adze is the foundation of our home, our history. Our home is St. Augustine, FL, an ancient landscape, and the nation's oldest city. A town built on fishing and boat building in ages past. Oak & Adze founder Stephen DiMare comes from a family who has been living and working in St. Augustine for generations in shipbuilding and construction. WE BUILT THIS CITY ON OAK & ADZE. Oak is the most pervasive hardwood found in Florida and has been crucial in the development of our state. Oak protects. Oak dominates. Oak cultivates its own ecosystems. Oak is a representation of strength and longevity. Adze introduces the human element. The idea of craftsmanship. Adzes were used prevalently in the shaping of structural pieces in the keels of fishing boats. Long-handle adzes hew the wild oaks into workable wood, while short-handle adzes shape the oak into finished works. Stephen's grandfather Vincent, who immigrated from Italy in 1951, had adzes custom-made from his hometown of Augusta, Sicily and shipped over for use in the shipyards of St. Augustine. Adzes represent the human involvement in this landscape and the long-standing heritage of shipbuilding and sturdiness in our town.Read their story