Recommendation? Russian peasant ax

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doublepiedavid

Joined
Jun 1, 2017
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30
A while back I traded a modded paraknife to my grandpa and got three slightly rusty axheads out of it, one of which was from a Russian peasant ax. The axhead has a 4.5" long grind, the blade is a trapezoid shape and is riveted onto the eye with three rivets, all in good condition. the eye, with a very typical shape, is lightly bent, but I know a guy who can fix it. My question about these thousand words is "what shape should the shaft be?" any other info is helpful.
 
doublepiedavid said:
A while back I traded a modded paraknife to my grandpa and got three slightly rusty axheads out of it, one of which was from a Russian peasant ax. The axhead has a 4.5" long grind, the blade is a trapezoid shape and is riveted onto the eye with three rivets, all in good condition. the eye, with a very typical shape, is lightly bent, but I know a guy who can fix it. My question about these thousand words is "what shape should the shaft be?" any other info is helpful.
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I'm off to work but here are some threads that come to mind:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/russian-topor-pattern.1443957/

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/Из-России-с-любовью-from-russia-with-love.1552909/

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/new-project-im-back.1427921/

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/slovenia-ebay-axe-heads.1414390/

There is some interpretation and variation with handles but a picture would help quite a bit :thumbsup:
 
Just the word "topor" was enough, ran a google search and decided on a pattern similar to the first one on the list you gave me. By the way, is birch good for ax handles? or should I use oak? (everything else in my area is softwood)
 
David,i hate to be a debbie-downer,but among all the Mordor-axes this general kind is about the worst....

I imagine it looks like this(later ones had 3 rivets):https://imgur.com/a/WvqTS

It was produced for camping,and occasionally for some military contracts like GAZ69 with some abortion that goes by the code P118(didn't bother looking it up...if you decide to,P is Russian R).

By all accounts,the steel itself is entirely unacceptable,ranging from diamond-hard to un-hardenable,and those rivets will give out with any,iffen the most casual use.

There is no such designation as "peasant axe".During the last 100 years,the USSR axes all went by A,B.P,et c.+ a numeral.Before the USSR the axes carried designations specific to trades,cooper,joiner,et c.No one cared much about the peasants(they still don't:),and ever made Anything for them specifically.

But yes,they've all used birch,actually designed and sized for it,so it'd be authentic at least.

Again,sorry to be such a p..ick about thosebit really,for quality and all else,imagine China,and then take another step down from there...(maybe several).
 
jake pogg said:
David,i hate to be a debbie-downer,but among all the Mordor-axes this general kind is about the worst....

I imagine it looks like this(later ones had 3 rivets):https://imgur.com/a/WvqTS
Click to expand...

13JKu29.jpg


jake pogg said:
It was produced for camping,and occasionally for some military contracts like GAZ69 with some abortion that goes by the code P118(didn't bother looking it up...if you decide to,P is Russian R).
Click to expand...

Ah...Mordor is a rough place...
All voice has tone.
All writing has voice.

J jake pogg , this makes me want to venture to Galena and have a beer with you even more lol! I picture myself a secondary striker at best but you never know.

David, please post a picture of your axe and updates on the handle endeavor - keep it in the family.

New machines have no soul and I'm still convinced every axe deserves a handle!
 
Aw,Agent_H,if only i was exaggerating...Do you know that today over there not only i could get a real prison-term for saying that,but you also,for re-posting it in that quote?!
That's not a joke....:(

But,i'd absolutely love to have that beer with you!You'll be surprised at the selection of beer here,400 miles off the nearest road!....(well,wait till after the first barge,it's getting kinda skimpy now after the winter...:).
And if you've never drank beer during forging,you'll like it lots-it goes down better than usual,and you can really put it away without noticing...
We'll have to drink at least one toast to democracy and free enterprise,because it's quite obvious how the oppressive dictatorships affect axe manufacturing....:)

David,i second that,and forgive me for such harshness toward that unhappy birthplace of your axe...
 
It's a date then!:)

(Knob Creek...Never heard of it...figures!Of course,both you guys are from the PNW,and thoroughly spoiled by a microbrewery on every corner...:). I'll talk to the store owner and ask him if that's something he can get,he seems to be an IPA freak himself,and there's normally a good selection of those at least...
Your beer scene there must be simply unimaginable nowadays...Surely a far cry from my old days in Olympia oh so many moons ago...Rhinelander...Rainier...and Oly,of course...:)
 
Knob Creek is a fine bourbon, maybe my favorite.

We are terribly spoiled by uncountable microbrews. My local brew pub stocks over 700 varieties and I'm in a small suburb. I'm kinda tired of IPAs. I'm into porters and stouts now.
 
jake pogg said:
But,i'd absolutely love to have that beer with you!You'll be surprised at the selection of beer here,400 miles off the nearest road!....(well,wait till after the first barge,it's getting kinda skimpy now after the winter...:).
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You mean to tell it that you are getting supplies barged in? Unbelievable.

jake pogg said:
We'll have to drink at least one toast to democracy and free enterprise,because it's quite obvious how the oppressive dictatorships affect axe manufacturing....:)
Click to expand...
It's true of course but all for the good cause of stamping out bourgeois false consciousness.:)
 
Ernest DuBois said:
You mean to tell it that you are getting supplies barged in? Unbelievable.
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Well,the Cargo for the cargo-cult must come from afar,and flying it is often too expensive...And i've the dubious priviledge of living practically In the barge landing....
https://imgur.com/a/noA3a
The first photo is my trail down to the water...Right at the beginning of it is a buried deadman,which is their aft mooring point...
See,that time they were off-loading bow-on,but often they lay against the bank,and then their wheelhouse is directly abreast my yard,and rather close...(couldn't find a photo).

And see,then it is that their bourgeois f/c gets a workout,
Ernest DuBois said:
It's true of course but all for the good cause of stamping out bourgeois false consciousness.:)
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as,you see,i've still yet not bothered to put a door on my outhouse...

So,all's in balance in this great Universe!:)
 
those rivets will give out with any,iffen the most casual use.
Click to expand...
I found that the back of the ax get's deformed when hammering and batoning (both of which my grandpa does often), so it wouldn't have been used much, but now that I heard about the rivets it will limited to display.
Agent_H said:
David, please post a picture of your axe and updates on the handle endeavor - keep it in the family.
Click to expand...
by the way, how do you post pictures, I have one offline but can't get it on.
 
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