Been agonizing over this one for months, but finally committed to letting it go and following through on my plan to stick to a small, core group of pieces made for me by smiths with whom I have developed a personal relationship.
Radovan Štofčíc is not a maker you see come up on the forums very often and certainly not in the BST section. He, first and foremost, a swordsmith making blades in the Japanese tradition in Europe. His chef knives, like his swords, are made with steel he makes himself with imported Japanese iron sands. His orishigane (the term for smith-manipulated tamahagane) is very, very good - the best steel in this category I have tried. I won’t claim its some magical super steel, but his retention performs on par with the best simple carbon (shirogami class) steels I’ve used. A little glassy on some stones, but very crisp to deburr, wonderful edge taking, and much better than expected retention. Radovan has exceptional control over his steel and pushes it to the absolute limits. Based on stone feel I think hardness is likely in the mid-low 60s (63-65). For those without extended exposure to tamahagne blades, anything over 60 is quite the feat and hitting mid 60s is almost unheard of. In the process of making this blade he crack 4 others, such was his dedication to taking the orishigane to its peak.
The real reason to choose tamahagane isn’t for its metallurgical properties, however, but rather the change for artistic expression it provides the smith. I must say that Radovan delivered in spades here. The sake-choji hamon and mokume-hada are bewitching to behold. Even as an amateur tamahagane appreciator, the quality of the hamon and strong character of the steel are apparent. There is an energy and tension in their presentation that I’ve not seen replicated outside of swords. The blade was polished by Damian Kordic, a talented full time togishi. His posts below are of this blade and his sword-appreciation lighting showcases the blade far better than I ever could.* This polish took in excess of 100 hours over 3 weeks to complete.
The blade is a thin ambidextrous convex grind. As the choil shot shows, this is no art piece that isn’t suitable to use as a kitchen knife. Unlike many of his swordsmith peers, Radovan understands that kitchen knives can use sword geometry. It is HIGHLY unusual to get something in tamahagane that balances artistry and performance like this - the only other example I can think of is the Tatsuto/Ivan customs you can get through Tosho (with a $3k+ price tag and multi-year wait).
The knife is used, though very sparingly. Unlike every other knife I own, this one I always hesitated to grab from the drawer and use. Certainly not used more than 10 times. However, that is enough to lessen the presentable nature of the polish. I have removed the patina as gently as I could and preserved the nature of the professional polish best I can. However modest, some degree of the clarity and purity of expression has been lost. Given the artistic nature of the blade, even this modest compromise is significant and I’ve discounted the blade commiserate with having the final stages of polish re-done (even though 95% of the polish magic is still there) and I don’t think it needs it.
All in, I have in excess of $2k in this blade. I’m asking $1750 shipped in the U.S. (+$50 intl). I will also ship with a good qty of my homemade “uchi” powder which can be used to reset patina in an unobtrusive way.
SPECS
Wood / horn takedown handle
270x56
273g
*Note, this style of lighting is designed to showcase contrast and detail on screen. In normal interior lighting conditions, the finish isn’t this obviously dramatic. Excellent lighting and photography makes this type of polish seem very different than it is in person. Though, with soft natural light and some time to appreciate the blade, every single detail is just as apparent.
Radovan Štofčíc is not a maker you see come up on the forums very often and certainly not in the BST section. He, first and foremost, a swordsmith making blades in the Japanese tradition in Europe. His chef knives, like his swords, are made with steel he makes himself with imported Japanese iron sands. His orishigane (the term for smith-manipulated tamahagane) is very, very good - the best steel in this category I have tried. I won’t claim its some magical super steel, but his retention performs on par with the best simple carbon (shirogami class) steels I’ve used. A little glassy on some stones, but very crisp to deburr, wonderful edge taking, and much better than expected retention. Radovan has exceptional control over his steel and pushes it to the absolute limits. Based on stone feel I think hardness is likely in the mid-low 60s (63-65). For those without extended exposure to tamahagne blades, anything over 60 is quite the feat and hitting mid 60s is almost unheard of. In the process of making this blade he crack 4 others, such was his dedication to taking the orishigane to its peak.
The real reason to choose tamahagane isn’t for its metallurgical properties, however, but rather the change for artistic expression it provides the smith. I must say that Radovan delivered in spades here. The sake-choji hamon and mokume-hada are bewitching to behold. Even as an amateur tamahagane appreciator, the quality of the hamon and strong character of the steel are apparent. There is an energy and tension in their presentation that I’ve not seen replicated outside of swords. The blade was polished by Damian Kordic, a talented full time togishi. His posts below are of this blade and his sword-appreciation lighting showcases the blade far better than I ever could.* This polish took in excess of 100 hours over 3 weeks to complete.
The blade is a thin ambidextrous convex grind. As the choil shot shows, this is no art piece that isn’t suitable to use as a kitchen knife. Unlike many of his swordsmith peers, Radovan understands that kitchen knives can use sword geometry. It is HIGHLY unusual to get something in tamahagane that balances artistry and performance like this - the only other example I can think of is the Tatsuto/Ivan customs you can get through Tosho (with a $3k+ price tag and multi-year wait).

The knife is used, though very sparingly. Unlike every other knife I own, this one I always hesitated to grab from the drawer and use. Certainly not used more than 10 times. However, that is enough to lessen the presentable nature of the polish. I have removed the patina as gently as I could and preserved the nature of the professional polish best I can. However modest, some degree of the clarity and purity of expression has been lost. Given the artistic nature of the blade, even this modest compromise is significant and I’ve discounted the blade commiserate with having the final stages of polish re-done (even though 95% of the polish magic is still there) and I don’t think it needs it.
All in, I have in excess of $2k in this blade. I’m asking $1750 shipped in the U.S. (+$50 intl). I will also ship with a good qty of my homemade “uchi” powder which can be used to reset patina in an unobtrusive way.
SPECS
Wood / horn takedown handle
270x56
273g
*Note, this style of lighting is designed to showcase contrast and detail on screen. In normal interior lighting conditions, the finish isn’t this obviously dramatic. Excellent lighting and photography makes this type of polish seem very different than it is in person. Though, with soft natural light and some time to appreciate the blade, every single detail is just as apparent.