Pavel Bolf Katana: Quick Look
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- This is a sword made by Pavel Bolf and mounted up by other craftsmen.
If you are interested in Pavel Bolf’s work you can find information here. www.katana-kaji.com/en/
He is also somewhat active on facebook.
/ pavel.bolf
The sword has been used and has some imperfections. Minor scuffing on the saya, scratches on the sword as well as some spotting near the habaki. The blade has minor imperfections in forging as well, a few small dots on the surface of the blade. Also some handling signs on the ito and a bit of tsuba wiggle.
While there are imperfections, the sword is still beautiful and usable. At least in my opinion. The blade has lots of activity in the hamon and hada that are fun to look at. The kissaki swells a bit, the sori is deep and flows through the nakago, and the ricasso area has a little shoulder to it. The polish is not great but it brings out enough to see the details and all the lines are nice and clean. Personally I would make some different choices with the tsuka size and perhaps have another polish done. Still, the sword is usable and appreciable as it is.
The koshirae is a bit of a mix of places and craftsmen. All done at a professional level but not quite what Pavel would normally put on his blades. The Tsuba is from Fred Lohman, the Menuki are from Patrick Hastings (i think) and the fuchi/kashira are from Yamato. The man in black mounted them up and did the saya and tsuka. I think he also did the habaki and seppa.
I like the oni theme. That might not be the right word but the theme is ominous at least. The black and silver mix is tastefully done. No one part of the sword grabs my eye and the whole piece flows well. I think it does not look too obtrusive in the dojo but classy enough to hang on the wall.
Tsuba: (fred loahman) Steel moko shape with wood grain texture and silver shoki face
Fuchi/Kashira: (i think yamato budogu) Tensho Yasurime
Menuki: (i think Patrick Hastings) Gargoyle themed
Ito: Tsunami ito in black color
Samegawa: Full wrap large nodule with eporor node
Habaki: SIlver with scratch pattern
Seppa: Silver with file markings
Saya:Black ishime with gloss black and silver pearl striping:
Koiguchi, krukiata, kojiri: Horn
Blade: Folded differentially heat treated katana (likely Pavel’s orishagane)
Handle/Tsuka Length: 13.5”
Blade/Nagasa Length: 28.25” (without habaki)
Total: 42.75”
Sori: 1.05”
Moto-haba: 1.27”
Saki-haba: .984”
Motokasane: .265”
Sakikasane: .251”
Nakago: 7” (from Munemachi) 6.12” (from Habaki)
Weight: 2lb 12.6oz
POB: 5.83” from tsuba
MSRP: $2700 for the blade without koshirae, $4500-$5500 mounted.
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Always nice to see a project come together. If that tsuka were just a bit shorter, I'd be seriously interested.
Great video. Excellent kenjutsu form...once again
What a clean beautiful ito wrap, the transitions look perfect, no gaps, great detailing on hardware...What a fantastic Saya job..wow...I like a 12" handle 13" is a little too overbuilt...a huge struggle to find that type of finished quality on a sub 500.00 Katana but still searching...lol...A beautiful project Katana glad it all came together so nicely...cheers
I don't think you are going to find it for under $500. There are folks that do some of the same stuff for close but not quite. There are a lot of little subtle things on the sword too like the shoulders on the blade near the habaki. There are also problems you don't see on chinese production blades like the pits.
Great looking katana!!!
My apologies for the lapse, congratulations on your family addition!
You look great wielding that sword
I'd like to see some angled upward diagonal cuts or upward cutting motions.
awesome koshirae and blade
You should review some of the Steven Seagal swords that use to be sold by Cold steel.
That is a sexy sword. I like the sori, the fittings, and I actually don't mind the length of the tsuka
Fred Lohman was transitioning management of day to day operations of the company to his son. I learned this when I was trying to purchase some tsunami ito myself early in 2020. His son was friendly and easy to communicate with and in the end I had no problem buying batches of three different colors of tsunami ito as well as koshirae for various projects. Thought I would share since you seemed to be uncertain of the current Lohman company situation. Hopefully things continued to go well for them after my business with them early last year. Cheers!
Thanks for the update.
@@Matthew_Jensen No problem sword friend!
Mr Pavel thought some stuff about sword making to me and he was really at high skills and I hope you review the sword of Mr pierluigy priazo's sword he's from Spain
The signature says 狼 (Okami), wolf, which I believe is what Pavel Bolf's last name means but I'm not familiar with European names.
Have you ever reviewed a blade from Impact Cutlery? They make some nice blades. Lots of extra details.
I have not.
@@Matthew_Jensen have you heard of them before? I know it’s impossible to know all of them. Just found them few weeks ago.
OOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!! I want!!
Have you provided a ranking of your top awards by price point? Enjoy thoughts and reviews
ooo yessss
The tsuka looks almost right but it's a hair short but the blade is a few inches to short for me I like a 36 in blade
Fuchi & kashira are from seidoshop
Just curious what would having the tsuka shortened cost from your experience.
Generally that means making a new tsuka. $300-$400 would be a starting ballpark if you were using the same fittings.. Cariving a new core, new ito, new samegawa, and shipping all add up.
@@Matthew_Jensen yeah I figured it'd be that way but I've heard of some people being able to get away with shortening a core. Though I'm assuming that also requires axle handle.
Hmm if I wasn't for the long ass tsuka it'd be perfect as a gift for someone I know at least I think. Not entirely sure of their sword preferences but I know a bit. Plus she's tiny.
Who makes the best affordable authentic katana?
Authentic means different things to different people in the hobby.. If you mean nihonto (as in a Japanese sword made by an authorized smith in Japan), then I am not the one to tell you. Paul Martin may be able to connect you to a smith capable of making budget minded blades. I think you might have better luck buying shinsakuto from dealers but if you want one made, I think Paul is the best person to get you in contact with someone.
The Man in Black?
So are you referring to Wesley aka The Dread Pirate Roberts or the ghost of Johnny Cash?
Either way I had no idea either of them worked on Japanese swords!
Lmao jk
is this tamahagane ?
I don't believe so. I think it is his orashigane
To be honest Mr Pavel forge Japanese swords traditionally
How much??
not sure yet.. probably around 4500
If Vince Vaughn were a samurai..
I would much rather spend my money on a Edo Katana Koshirae with Tsunagi , than that thing
it hurts me to watch this video .. Pavel makes his own steel, follows the traditional practices of Japanese schools, puts a piece of himself in each sword… as the only white man in the world they invited him to make a sword in Japan… Some enthusiasts are waiting for his sword years, you've been blabbering on like you're going to get rid of the sword .. Unbelievable ..
Pavel is a very talented smith and I have had the pleasure of owning a few of his works. I wish I could keep em all but I prefer the verity.