Th. Björnstad & Cie

Thorleif Björnstad, 1885-1930, was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, as a merchant's child. He studied skiing and was invited as a ski teacher to Bern, Switzerland, in the winter of 1904. After working at Tobler Chocolate Company in Bern, he worked in a sport’s store owned by his brother-in-law in Munich, Germany. After returning to Bern, he worked in a sport’s store in the city and later started his own independent store. A 1912 advertisement shows that the name of the store before becoming Th Björnstad & Co had been E. Dethleffsen & Co. In 1912 Björnstad had his main store in Bern, but also shops in Grindelwald and Zermatt.

The name of the blacksmith who made Th Björnstad ice axes is not known, but it may have been the Andenmatten brothers. The shape of the lower part of the blade is similar to the shape of ice axes from the Andenmatten brothers. The straight head was well received at the time when the elegant curve was mainstream.

Th Björnstad became chairman of the Swiss Sport’s Retailers Association and served as a ski coach and officer at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz in 1928. He died at the age of 45 in 1930. The cause of death is unknown. The store continued for a while.