These early Werk Fulpmes ice axes have a
Werkgenossenschaft Fulpmes logo
stamped on the top of the adze.

↑ 152: Werkgenossenschaft Fulpmes

• Made in Austria. [ca. 1900].
• 980x235 mm.
• Weight: 970 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 30x24 mm.
• Fixed Head.
• Straight adze with a curved edge and no arch.
• Adze: 60(l)x44(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Straight alpine pick with a pointed tip and with 7 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 115(l)x21(h)x9(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 77(l)x12(w)x12(t) mm.
• Glide ring and stop are missing. Stop was mounted on sace of shaft rather than the edge.
• This is a long ice axe whose length is consistent with the general practice of the first half of the 1900s. The adze is small, thick, and flat.

↑ 412: Werkgenossenschaft Fulpmes

• Made in Austria [ca. 1920].
• 905x270 mm.
• Weight: 1095 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 32x29 mm. (Grip: 31x28 mm.)
• Fixed Head.
• Straight adze with a curved edge and no arch.
• Adze: 70(l)x62(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Straight alpine pick with a pointed tip and with 7 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 135(l)x24(h)x9(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 41(l)x13(w)x13(t) mm.
• Heavy, nearly circular shaft with slight taper.
• A previous owner name "A Huber" is engraved on one side of the pick.
  The names "BORTIS" and "DIONYS" are stamped on the other side of the pick.
• The owner's name "A.Huber" also appears on my A. Hupfauf axe #247. That axe was made in 1921. I have not been able to find any information about A. Huber.

This is definitely an Aschenbrenner style axe but it has no markings. Stefan Romic found this axe in an antique fair in Osijek, Croatia. He provided the following comments about this unusual axe:

I realized that beside the absence of any markings, that specific Ice Axe had features I've never before, nor after of course, encountered on that ubiquitous model. It was definitely an original configuration, if it was remade, I would've noticed. It had an obscenely long shaft for an "Aschenbrenner", more in line with the 1910s-'20s Ice Axes.. and most importantly it had a forged one piece ferrule ! Features all encountered on considerably earlier Ice Axes.. All that led me to believe that I stumbled upon a rare, possibly prototype, workshop variant of the most iconic classic Ice Axe out there..

It actually makes perfect sense, since workshop specimens, test pieces etc. wouldn't carry a brand name of factory he (P. Aschenbrenner) later on made a deal with to mass produce his design. How it ended up in Croatia ? Well.. easily, in fact probably as my own, since the 7th SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division had it's plate full with "bandenkampf" and Tito's partisans all over the Balkans up until the very end of war.

And how did they get it.? Well it was almost identical to their official ice axe, and most likely picked up at the workshop/factory and delivered to an army inventory with all the other brand new official Aschenbrenners. Fascinating. It actually might be one of the oldest Aschenbrenners in existence!

This includes some reasonable speculation but we will never know (let alone prove) the complete history of this axe. For my part, I believe it highly likely that it was produced by one of the Werk Fulpmes shops along with other Aschenbrenners.

↑ 445: Werkgen Fulpmes (?) Achenbrenner

• Made in Austria (?) [1930s].
• 990x305 mm.
• Weight: 1000 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 35x23 mm. (Grip: 31x23 mm.)
• Fixed Head.
• Straight adze with a straight edge and no arch.
• Adze: 90(l)x62(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a diamond-point tip and with 20 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 160(l)x19h)x10(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 49(l)x10(w)x10(t) mm.
• Glide ring w/o strap.
• This long axe has an oval shaft that tapers below the glide ring collar.
• Large head has a flat adze with sharp corners and straight diamond–pointed "Aschenbrenner" pick are designed for step cutting.
• Single–piece spike and ferrule.

↑ 446: Werkgen Fulpmes Garantie

• Made in Austria [1920s].
• 825x235 mm.
• Weight: 805 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 30x22 mm.
• Fixed Head.
• Straight adze with a straight edge and no arch.
• Adze: 80(l)x46(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a rounded tip and with 6 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 105(l)x17h)x9(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 45(l)x10(w)x10(t) mm.
• Glide ring is missing.
• This is a small axe lies between full–size axes and lightweight walking–stick axes. It is intended for women or for occassional summer use.
• Single–piece spike and ferrule.

↑ 206: Werkgen Fulpmes Extra Garantie

• Made in Austria [1930s].
• 780x285 mm.
• Weight: 1065 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 35x24 mm. (Grip: 32x23 mm.)
• Fixed Head.
• Curved adze with a straight edge and no arch.
• Adze: 85(l)x62(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Straight alpine pick with a pointed tip and with 6 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 150(l)x21(h)x9(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 47(l)x13(w)x13(t) mm.
• Glide ring with canvas strap; brass collar retainer.
• The inscription is struck with EXTRA GARANTIE in French.
• Werkgen Fulpmes logo matches those used in the 1930s.

Ramón Montaner used a shortened 1920s Werk Fulpmes ice axe to clumsily murder Leon Trostsky in 1940. That most famous of all ice axes is now in the International Spy Museum in Washington DC.

↑ 444: Werkgen Fulpmes Prima Garantie

• Made in Austria [ca. 1920].
• 895x285 mm.
• Weight: 1045 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 35x24 mm. (Grip: 31x23 mm.)
• Fixed Head.
• Straight adze with a straight edge and no arch.
• Adze: 85(l)x57(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Straight alpine pick with a negative-clearance chisel tip and with 6 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 135(l)x21h)x9(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 49(l)x10(w)x10(t) mm.
• Glide ring w/o strap; brass collar retainer.
• This axe has an oval shaft that tapers below the glide ring collar.
• Flat adze with sharp corners and straight pointed pick are designed for step cutting.
• Single–piece spike and ferrule.
• This is the model that Ramón Montaner shortened and clumsily used to murder Leon Trostsky in 1940.

The Fran Senn axe is a copy of Ralling's Akademiker Pickel. It was named after Franz Xaverius Senn (1831–1884), an Austrian priest and mountaineer. Senn was among the first to promote alpinism and foster the early development of mountaineering in Tyrol. He was a founding member of the Austrian and German alpine associations.

↑ 359: Werkgen Fulpmes Franz Senn

• Made in Austria. [1930s].
• 830x290 mm.
• Weight: 1100 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 35x26 mm. (Grip: 32x25 mm.)
• Fixed Head.
• Straight adze with a straight edge and no arch.
• Adze: 80(l)x61(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Straight alpine pick with a pointed tip and with 6 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 145(l)x21(h)x8(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 52(l)x11(w)x11(t) mm.
• The tapered shaft that provides strength where it's needed most and gives the axe a solid swing when cutting steps.
• The Fran Senn axe is a copy of Ralling's Akademiker Pickel.