TFK company Tanev Family Knives BULGARIA Simply Great

  Tanev Family Knives (TFK) BULGARIA

PREVIEW!!

Showcasing the TFK T8

Briefly:

TFK T8 is made with  Böhler N690 stainless steel (Cryogenically treated by TFK) 

and G10 scales and comes with a quality stitched cowhide leather scabbard/sheath.

My immediate reaction to this knife:

Just go and buy one, don't even bother reading any further!

But seriously:

This is my third blog in showcasing Bulgarian quality made knives. 

Like I said before, Bulgaria has some outstanding craftsmen, especially when it comes to making quality knives. The brothers, Yancho and Venelin Tanev have taken their childhood passion and creativity as a hobby during their youth to a full blown commercial knife making business (Tanev Family Knives) as adults, for the past 6 years.

Using state of the art computer controlled equipment such as: furnaces/kilns for steel heat treatment and cryogenic tempering methods; to bring the likes of:  N690,  D2 and AEB-L (plus others) into forming beautiful, yet functional knives for EDC, hunting, and the pursuit of adventure in the outdoors.

Crafted in their Burgas (That's on the coast of Bulgaria for a quick geography lesson) factory, essentially by hand operated equipment, the blanks are LASER cut and all milling processes are conducted in house.

Let's look at the TFK T8 in detail:

This model is made from Böhler's N690 martensitic Cobalt enhanced stainless high speed tool steel. If you know my channel BushCampingTools, you will know I'm a big fan of this stainless steel for use in outdoor products. 

If you are coming here for the first time, then N690 is a high carbon stainless tool steel originally developed for high speed/high tool temperature milling applications. N690, made a very good transition into the knife world some years ago and has been adopted (primarily but not exclusively) by numerous European knife manufacturers as a sort of premium knife steel. N690 is made in Austria. Böhler have technical people on the ground in most countries within Europe, including Bulgaria.

The Tanev brothers make it their business to consult with these technical staff in order to achieve the best possible results for heat treatment of this alloy.

Tanev Family Knives (TFK), cryogenically treat the N690 at approximately -84C via solid CO2. Cryogenic treatment has been shown scientifically to aid the conversion of any austenite phase post hardening.

About Quality Control (QC)

ALL knives are Rockwell hardness tested, not just random batch testing. This is a real fastidious approach, not the cheapest way of doing things but certainly thorough quality control.

The stated HRC for this model is 58-60.

The tang is partially skeletonized in order to provide correct balance and feel of the knife.

The tang measures 4mm and is full width for most of the spine, excepting (obviously) the tip region. The geometry is that of high shallow angled sabre/almost full flat. The TFV T8 features an excellent point.

The blade is satin with an excellent surface finish.

How about the edge bevel?

My knife came with a deadly sharp edge and the bevel was placed perfectly on both sides! The TFK T8 Sliced though vegetables and meat with ease and that was after the preparation of a crude cutting board on a fallen Birch species.

About to prepare a makeshift food preparation cutting surface on this leaning tree (it isn't dead, so I need to be careful not to cut into the inner bark!).

Vegetables, no problems!

TFK T8 Slicing meat perfectly.

Food preparation no problems for the TFK T8 in Böhler N690, as it can easily be kept hygienically clean.

The TFK T8 has a very good tip, more than sturdy enough for hiking/camping tasks.

Gathering wild food, no problems at high HRC and excellent heat treatment, no edge chipping after cutting through ground debris and some dirt to obtain wild mushrooms!

Company logo, model type and steel alloy are LASER engraved upon one side of the blade at the hilt.

Stainless and oxidized fixing bolts used throughout.

Anti-slip milled G10 scales, the grip slightly widens towards the back end. (note:There is no lanyard hole on this model).

The sheaths are professionally stitched (last construction) and made using quality cowhide from Turkey and Italy (Both countries are famous for leather production).

The carry is semi-deep, in that the knife fit is very firm but not overly tight and one can easily grasp the 5.5cm of handle extending from the top of the sheath; to remove the knife. I spent most of the day hoping across rocks and the knife stayed put in it's sheath.

The T8 has a very solid feel to it. The shallow angled geometry is good for hunting and food preparation along with the sturdiness of 4mm thick blade for most camp duties along with hiking. 

One happy camper LOL! (after slogging a 10kg pack up a mountain side in 30C heat LOL)

The TFK T8 is perfect companion for camping and hiking and hunting.

How about the carry system?

This scabbard features a regular belt carry and or use of a dangler loop (via a chunky steel D ring), also constructed from excellent cow hide leather (as mentioned).

Excellent stitching of full grain cow hide with a last construction.

The TFK T8 comes with a dangler loop if one prefers to carry the knife a little lower on their belt.

The scabbard easily fits a standard tactical belt such as a 5.11

 At first glance it is clear this is a quality made product using premium materials.

Specifications at a glance:

4mm thick tang

HRC 58-60

N690

Cutting edge length: 130mm

Knife length: 135mm

knife weight:

212 grams/7.4Oz.

Knife and Scabbard weight: 313 grams/11.0 Oz.

Full grain cowhide used in the scabbard.

Color: Black G10, polished blade and black scabbard.

Feathering, no problems as the blade grind along with the edge bevel allows for smooth shaving of timber.

The TFK T8 is perfect for hiking and camping.

As they say on their website:

"Powered by Passion and Caffeine "

That got my attention!

You can see more of their great products here:

BCT

Stick around for the full field review coming soon on BushCampingTools

EGO Knives Preview!

 EGO Knives

Made in Bulgaria

This model is called the City Rat, made with D2 tool steel and G10 scales (out with me for a spot of fishing!)

I'm always on the look out for new and interesting, quality made knives to get, so I can let everyone who follows BushCampingTools know about them and also the public in general. 

To that end, about two weeks ago in my travels, late one night after dinner during a walk I came across something nice in a shop front window, a bunch of all good looking medium sized fixed blades! All looking like they belonged in my place LOL!

 But alas the shop was closed, so I had to salivate until the next day when I met the owner of the shop and found out some details of this knife brand called EGO. To be honest, I had never come across this brand before.

An under 3 inch EDC blade length of the Ego Knives City Rat will appeal to many.

Some background:

Bulgaria has a rich culture of hunting, so it is no surprise that one should be able to find quality made hunting and camping knives there.

After some quick intel I arranged to meet up with the owner of the company, Mr Tihomir Miloshevski. 

He invited me to come and see his factory which is about 230 m2 (about 2500 square feet).

On the  factory walls were some very nice professional photographs of some of his hunting knife models. When I inquired as to who arranged these photographs, he smiled and said he did! I needn't ask any more as this simply told me a lot about Mr Miloshevski's eye for composition and design!

The City Rat is a total EDC knife, at home out and about fishing and hiking and general stuff around camp

The razor sharp edge had no problems even carving into seasoned mulberry wood and still deadly sharp afterwards! A small but ergonomic handle on the Ego Knives City Rat.

Food preparation (wild succulents, onions and sausages and potatoes-alas no fish!) for the evening camp meal wasn't a problem. The D2 edge was deadly hair shaving sharp and the profile of the G10 composite scales made a sure grip with wet hands!

A stone wash finish is seen here. The logo is electrolytically etched into the blade surface.

Was there edge dulling after about 1 hour of cutting stuff on a hardwood board? NO!

How about after carving hardwoods?

NO- clearly to me they have their heat treatment dialled in!

That's seasoned mulberry wood (last years cut), the edge was still razor sharp about about 20-25mins of carving (not just on this piece obviously! Even for a small handle it was very comfortable to apply great pressure (Mulberry is very very hard wood-like many fruit tree woods and any knife can carve green wood, the test is seasoned hardwoods!)

One of the many tasks a EDC knife gets used on, no good pulling out some great big chopper to do this, you'll look like a fool or Jason from Friday the 13th!

Day 2 of fishing and hunting

Zero birds (missed 3!)

one fish and a handful of wild mushrooms!

Small river fish but very tasty, would have been better if I caught more LOL!

Gutting scaling, cutting up more wild vegetables and homegrown spuds from farm #2 LOL, the EGO Knives City Rat, still has a deadly edge. That's more than enough after two days of trialing this small EDC to convince me of it's worth.

The Kydex scabbard

The EDC City Rat features a Kydex and leather scabbard. The Kydex has a fibre plate reinforcing and stiffening the scabbard. (see below). A small lanyard loop of paracord is attached internally and enables the knife to be secured to a longer lanyard to prevent loss, for example, when working over snow or deep water. The slot at the base of the scabbard could be used to affix a tape lanyard and the knife could be worn around the neck (me personally, I don't like wearing knives around my neck, I just think it's asking for trouble).

A fibre insert acting as both reinforcing plate and spacer for the construction of the scabbard.

Underside view showing some finger gimping detail

This leather strap enables rapid fixing and removal from one's tactical belt (see below). I was really impressed with the quality of the leather products being made for hunters in this workshop/factory and they are fully kitted out for such quality production.

Horizontal carry of my Ego Knives City Rat as seen on a standard tactical belt (5.11), there is no need to remove your belt in order to carry this small EDC knife.

All too often knife manufacturers do not give enough attention to scabbard production, not so within the EGO knives factory.

Underside detail of the City Rat.

Out and about during a bit of fishing

Mushroom gathering (young puff balls)

Cutting wild mint to make a brew

Tihomir has been designing and making knives for a bit over ten years and just recently they have released some very new models for 2020 (as seen here, the City Rat being one of them). He has a Degree in Arts and has worked as a jeweller for many years before embarking into knife making and this came as no surprise to me regarding his skill in design from prototyping to the finished products and as I alluded to earlier on, he has a great eye for composition; all important to be capable of designing something with not only function but aesthetics.

All grinding processes are done by hand, there is no CNC milling. I examined several of the same model randomly taken from the production line an amazingly (well not really since the staff are highly skilled) the tolerances (I measured them, they handed me a digital vernier calliper) were within less than 1mm deviation, for example of the hand ground G10 scales (yes that's right not milled out with a CNC mill!), highly skilled staff.

EGO Knives models

There are many knife models available from EGO Knives and way too many to mention here, so I will concentrate upon the factory and this particular knife the EGO knives EDC City Rat, because there will be more to follow as I'm pretty impressed with his products.

Here are some facts about what goes on in the factory.

There are 5 staff members including Tihomir.

Firstly, EGO knives are made in Bulgaria.

The blanks are cut by a factory in Sofia (Capital of Bulgaria) specialised in CNC LASER cutting, then travel up north to the EGO Knives factory.

Every process that follows is done within the factory. There are key staff who specialise in particular aspects of production, such as grinding, profiling, sharpening, handle profiling and assembly and heat treatments.

Heat Treatment

EGO Knives are using a German made D2. D2 in case you've forgotten is a high chromium content tool steel with excellent edge retention and toughness for the industrial manufacture of cutting blades and tooling equipment. The composition of D2 is one of Carbides in a soft ferritic matrix with secondary carbide formation in the form of Chromium and Vanadium carbides.

Heat treatment is done in house using an Argon gas (inert gas) protective atmosphere furnace to prevent oxidation and or decarburization of surfaces, at 1030C°. The D2 blanks are air cooled/hardened under a hydraulic press to ensure total dimensional stability of the heat treated blanks. Double tempering is conducted in an adjacent oven at 190C°.

Castings (for their mainstay hunting lines)

Brass bolsters and guards are all designed by Tihomir and they have a special lost wax casting area and furnace system to manufacture various the designs. He hand carves all of these wax models! They crucible facilities up to 1kg of metal and can perform up to 20 castings at a time.

The scabbards/sheaths

Most of the factory's heavy equipment is made in Germany and this also includes the industrial sewing machines, which have also been modified with special speed controllers to enable custom fine tuning for their particular applications.

The factory also has a millimetre accurate German made Fortuna machine for cutting the various hide thicknesses for scabbards and various leather parts. It was very impressive to see in operation and works by a large rotary cutting band with a deadly sharp edge (sharpened within the machine itself). 

Dedicated staff also sew the scabbards. The cow leather is top quality grade, locally sourced and the sewing is all double stitched, last construction with heavy gauge thread. In fact the scabbard quality was excellent.

Another area was dedicated to leather surface finishing.

They also have a custom made (in house design) Kydex press and forming area for all Kydex sheath manufacture. 

Most sheaths I saw were multipurpose in terms of carry positions and some even had well made pouches for sharpening stones, danglers and the included option of tradition belt carry and or horizontal carry.

There are various custom designed heated hydraulic presses for leather craft as the factory also produces several (soft) product lines for the hunter, such as cartridge holders to take the popular sporting rounds such as .30-06 (7.62X63mm) but they make pouches for other calibre's. They also make quality leather rifle straps as well!

As for knife production, there were several custom designed grinding stations using in house designed magnetic bevel jigs to obtain perfect edge bevels whilst hand grinding the edges, along with polishing stations, large hydraulic presses,  a (mandatory) Rockwell testing rig and other grinding machinery along with abrasive stone  surface finishing, sandblasting equipment, and specialist magnetic polishing machinery. Have I left anything out? Yes, plenty but that will have to wait for the production of the video factory tour of EGO Knives!

There are about a dozen new models for 2020 featuring G10 scales, D2 blades heat treated to 58-60. As to the other knife models, they feature beautiful handcrafted hardwoods such as American walnut, European oak, decorated brass guards and handcrafted 925 silver fittings. These blades were hunting orientated and are very popular within the Bulgarian hunting fraternity. There is too much to mention. I just want to whet your appetite by introducing you to this quality brand.

Pending the factory tour, you can register your interests here:

as a new website is in the making.

BCT