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All the United States Minnesota Saint Paul Ax-Man Surplus

Ax-Man Surplus

The Midwest's reigning king of surplus stores is full of nothing you need and everything you want.

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Added By
Amanda Sullivan
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CAPTION
NWA inflatable plane balloon   Ax-Man Surplus
Gas mask hood, $4.95.   Ax-Man Surplus
Barrel of doll arms: buy 12 get the 13th free!   Flickr user Nick Sieger
“German” Sun und Dust Goggles   Ax-Man Surplus
Rick James Super Freak talking rolling papers   Ax-Man Surplus
Dummy pineapple grenade   Ax-Man Surplus
Arcade machine guts   Ax-Man Surplus
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
heads   Twin Cities Fancy / Atlas Obscura User
HMMM   cam424 / Atlas Obscura User
Pumpkin Baby   Wormfood / Atlas Obscura User
B EZ w/ Jeezy   cam424 / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Everything you didn’t know you didn’t need. Plus an iron lung.   Wormfood / Atlas Obscura User
Here be surplus, I hear   Wormfood / Atlas Obscura User
  Wormfood / Atlas Obscura User
Teddy Ruxpin’s retirement   Wormfood / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Located in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, Ax-Man manages to share a block with a vape shop, a dive bar/music venue, and a purveyor of sex toys yet comes out on top with providing the assortment's most guaranteed-unforgettable experience.

Stepping through the doors of this surplus shop means being transported into a metallic-tinged purgatory of things you really don't need but definitely want. No matter the department, the entire store is permeated with a faint smell somewhere between soldering iron residue and dust, aka: the magical smell of bad ideas forming. 

It's one of those stores that can, at times, be properly helpful for those who actually build or make things. For the rest of the population, wandering its aisles is no less fun. 

Quirky, messy and interesting, the nature of surplus means no two visits are the same. That said, there are a few constants: the functioning iron lung (with a dummy inside) is not for sale, nor is Bobble-Head Jesus in the window. Nearly everything else, however, can be purchased. Perhaps you need four-foot-long rubber bands? Or a literal army of yellow rubber duckies? Old movie theater seats are an oddly pragmatic temptation, as are the selection of erlenmeyer flasks in the chemistry section. Lonely golf clubs are paired next to ropes and cord, while aisles of resisters and transformers lead to the front desk, teeming with knives and surgical tools, all kept behind glass. 

As if that weren't enough, the place is lined with half-mannequins, giant fish, traffic signals, and cheeky signs written by Ax-Man's clever staff. 

So go in for a visit. Pick up a basket and don't look back. Upon arriving at the register, marvel at its contents – for this is, apparently, what your id consists of.

Related Tags

Stores Shops Markets

Know Before You Go

You can get there by light rail using the Green Line.

Community Contributors

Added By

AmandaShebang

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littlebrumble, Dr Alan P Newman, cam424, Twin Cities Fancy...

  • littlebrumble
  • Dr Alan P Newman
  • cam424
  • Twin Cities Fancy
  • traci81
  • Collector of Experiences
  • Wormfood

Published

October 9, 2015

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Ax-Man Surplus
1639 University Ave.
Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55104
United States
44.955865, -93.169323
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