billygoat78
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
- Messages
- 769
Hello, fellow bladeforums member,
I've never posted here before, but being an long-time BF member and fellow knife user, maker, lover, I felt it absolutely necessary to chime in on one of Todor Hristov's recent-ish knives that I commissioned. Suffice it to say, I payed very much less than would be expected for this kind of craftsmanship and materials, and I very highly recommend this maker for various reasons.
The post of the knife in question (stacked birch handle , super blue steel, relatively traditional puukko) is here: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/carbon-steel-puukko.1594074/#post-18207164
It really fit my requests EXACTLY.
honestly, it couldn't be better. I'm not one to wave flags, (check my postings, I don't "chat" much) but since I was unable to leave feedback on this knife (it wasn't posted in a sales forum) I do feel obligated to point out what an incredibly well-crafted knife this is here. And I did want to point out Todor as an absolutely outstanding maker. That's no lightly taken statement.
I've owned many knives similar, including Malanika's work, which is also unbelievable. I frankly believe these are the two best puukko makers alive (at least on this site) at the moment. I've no doubt there are others, but from what I've experienced, there simply is not a better bang-for-the-buck puukko maker on bladeforums (or elsewhere) than Hristrov himself. period. I just wanted to accentuate that. I'm quite blown away. I was saving this review for when I was able to sufficiently use this knife in proper ways and settings. I've now done that, via several backpacking and camping trips. honestly I couldn't speak more highly of it.
People seem to love overbuilt, heavy, indestructible blades, (and I'm one of them). They have their time and place, sure, but when you want true function at minimal weight, this is it. This knife is light, efficient, and quite perfectly suited to everything you might throw at it. It's 1/2 - 1/4 the weight of others (go look it up), yet just as capable. And FAR more comfortable to hold and use on a cold morning. Stacked birch honestly can't be beat. If you've never tried it, you should. As long as you're not batoning through telephone poles, In terms of grip (wet or dry), weight, natural contours, feel, warmth, etc. it simply can't be beat. No wonder they've used it for centuries.
The traditional leather sheath is spot-on perfect as well. Perfect retention, perfect left-over grip length for retrieval, perfect wood insert and fitting and blah blah. The knife I received was beyond outstanding. You really can't get a better puukko (barring perhaps Malanika's work (2-3 times the cost (and also awesome)). It's simply wonderful!
Quite honestly Todor should, and likely will, charge more for his work in the future. And for good reason.
So Todor, huge thumbs up. For those looking, I can't honestly recommend a better bang-for-the-buck maker in all of bladeforums or the known (to me) world. He's very easy and pleasant to communicate with as well.
Cheers to you and yours. His books (I think?) are open, and having handled many thousands of knives myself, honestly 10-100,000$ knives over many decades, I really can't point to much better. Cheers and thanks!
I've never posted here before, but being an long-time BF member and fellow knife user, maker, lover, I felt it absolutely necessary to chime in on one of Todor Hristov's recent-ish knives that I commissioned. Suffice it to say, I payed very much less than would be expected for this kind of craftsmanship and materials, and I very highly recommend this maker for various reasons.
The post of the knife in question (stacked birch handle , super blue steel, relatively traditional puukko) is here: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/carbon-steel-puukko.1594074/#post-18207164
It really fit my requests EXACTLY.
honestly, it couldn't be better. I'm not one to wave flags, (check my postings, I don't "chat" much) but since I was unable to leave feedback on this knife (it wasn't posted in a sales forum) I do feel obligated to point out what an incredibly well-crafted knife this is here. And I did want to point out Todor as an absolutely outstanding maker. That's no lightly taken statement.
I've owned many knives similar, including Malanika's work, which is also unbelievable. I frankly believe these are the two best puukko makers alive (at least on this site) at the moment. I've no doubt there are others, but from what I've experienced, there simply is not a better bang-for-the-buck puukko maker on bladeforums (or elsewhere) than Hristrov himself. period. I just wanted to accentuate that. I'm quite blown away. I was saving this review for when I was able to sufficiently use this knife in proper ways and settings. I've now done that, via several backpacking and camping trips. honestly I couldn't speak more highly of it.
People seem to love overbuilt, heavy, indestructible blades, (and I'm one of them). They have their time and place, sure, but when you want true function at minimal weight, this is it. This knife is light, efficient, and quite perfectly suited to everything you might throw at it. It's 1/2 - 1/4 the weight of others (go look it up), yet just as capable. And FAR more comfortable to hold and use on a cold morning. Stacked birch honestly can't be beat. If you've never tried it, you should. As long as you're not batoning through telephone poles, In terms of grip (wet or dry), weight, natural contours, feel, warmth, etc. it simply can't be beat. No wonder they've used it for centuries.
The traditional leather sheath is spot-on perfect as well. Perfect retention, perfect left-over grip length for retrieval, perfect wood insert and fitting and blah blah. The knife I received was beyond outstanding. You really can't get a better puukko (barring perhaps Malanika's work (2-3 times the cost (and also awesome)). It's simply wonderful!
Quite honestly Todor should, and likely will, charge more for his work in the future. And for good reason.
So Todor, huge thumbs up. For those looking, I can't honestly recommend a better bang-for-the-buck maker in all of bladeforums or the known (to me) world. He's very easy and pleasant to communicate with as well.
Cheers to you and yours. His books (I think?) are open, and having handled many thousands of knives myself, honestly 10-100,000$ knives over many decades, I really can't point to much better. Cheers and thanks!
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