Bulgarian heads etc.

[jblyttle]

I am feeling the itch to carve a handle, and have always liked the fanciful shape of many of the modern made European heads that I see on eBay. I don't need one, but it's a want. My question is- who has experience with these and can tell me which are good and which to avoid? The title says Bulgarian, but I'm open to any of the European new makers. I just don't want to buy sub par products. Looking for acceptable steel/heat treat/quality.

 

[Square_peg]

There's a guy whos been here on bladeforums who markets some of these axes. He has a website, axeandadze.com. He went by username "ipt" on these forums. I don't know for a fact where his stuff is made. But he sent me one of his axe/adze combo tools and I found it to be well made and durable.

I've seen axes with the same shape as many ebay "from Bulgaria" axes offered by Chinese manufacturers for as little a $3 apiece when ordered in bulk - 1000 pieces. I don't know the quality of those axes.

Username "ipt" stated that he sold some of those 'from Bulgaria' axes and that they were legit. I've never examined one. I would never pay $80 for one. But I might try one for $40 or $50.

 

[littleknife]

ipt sells some older Russian, German and French heads too, but most of his stuff is made in Bulgaria.

I also received one of his hatchet & adze combos, it is a nice carving tool.
I haven't carved a handle with it, but based on the work I have done with it, I think it would handle it without any problem - but you have to remember that there will be always a sharp edge facing you when you use it.

Before that I bought from him a straight edged adze, Bulgarian made - good tool.
The hatchet and the adze are made of 4150 steel and have a good heat treatment.
According to ipt all of the new tools he sells are made in Bulgaria.
The handles are ash on the combo tool and European beech on the adze.

I have no experience with the other bearded ("Viking" style) hatchets and axes, but they are typical Bulgarian axes.
The smaller bearded hatchets might be just what you want, just make sure to read the dimensions - some of them are quite small, but maybe exactly what you want.

Overall I like them and highly recommend them.

 

[littleknife]

There's a guy whos been here on bladeforums who markets some of these axes. He has a website, axeandadze.com. He went by username "ipt" on these forums. I don't know for a fact where his stuff is made. But he sent me one of his axe/adze combo tools and I found it to be well made and durable.

I've seen axes with the same shape as many ebay "from Bulgaria" axes offered by Chinese manufacturers for as little a $3 apiece when ordered in bulk - 1000 pieces. I don't know the quality of those axes.

Username "ipt" stated that he sold some of those 'from Bulgaria' axes and that they were legit. I've never examined one. I would never pay $80 for one. But I might try one for $40 or $50.

Here is the thread about the axe/adze combo:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/axeandadze.1351298/

I looked up the Chinese big seller site for bearded axes resembling the Bulgarian ones.
They look exactly like the Bulgarian made ones, except they don't have the factory stamps.
E.g. the ones offered by ipt (Mr. Ivan Tasev) have the MF stamp.
Also, all those Chinese axes were made of stainless steel while the Bulgarian ones are tool steel or carbon steel.

There are not many threads on BladeForums about the Bulgarian bearded axes. It seems they are more frequently discussed on the BushcraftUSA forums.
I think bearded axes not only look exotic, if made properly, they can be great choppers and splitters as well, and of course they make excellent carving axes.
They are still widely used in Europe: in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria.
In Bulgaria until very recently the predominant axe patterns were all bearded ones. They might still be.

There are many sellers from Bulgaria, but the only one I have purchased from is Mr. Tasev (known as mapsyst on different selling sites, axessive, axeandadze, etc.). I highly recommend his products, it seems that other forumites were pleased with his wares as well.