Someone knows PAVEL SKRYJA,is an unbelievably good ccustom makers of BRNO,you can see beautiful,per museum custom ARMS in general,includin,not only swords,but guns,armour,ecc,i suggest to all to look at it.
Do not fallin love with is stuff,cayse,i do not know prices yet,but,must be at least BARTA level,might be more,and i guess must besuperbusy.

pavelskryja.cz contact at info@pavelskryja.cz


Take care
Andrea Scattolin

Some really nice looking pieces there. Unfortunately my Czech is somewhat spotty (as in non-existent and my ancestors are undoubtedly rolling in their graves right now) so I can't make out a lot of detail from the site.

I did find this:

Quote:

The soul of Pavel Skryja, a native of Brno (CZ) and one of Europe's best sword makers, is ill. This illness is very rare nowadays and unlike all other known illnesses it is also very romantic and beautiful. Skryja is obsessed, namely by the Middle Ages. What began in his early youth with historical fencing was later developed by studying medieval production technologies, ways of life, the art of cooking and the chivalrous etiquette; in recent decades it has narrowed into the obsession of reaching perfection in an ancient craft - in the art of sword-cutting. For Skryja, sword-cutting is his life. From once imperfect efforts to the production of exact replicas of historical arms to works of perfect craftsmanship and professional restoration works for castle exhibitions we come to his current works, which are worth the highest evluation in the field of artistic smithery. Skryja's replicas can be found in numerous private collections not only in the Czech Republic but also in Austria, Germany, England and the USA. An important characteristic of his works is his tenacious observance of production procedures and technologies of the particular time that are exceptionally rare nowadays. Skryja's replicas can be found in numerous private collections not only in the Czech Republic but also in Austria, Germany, England and the USA. An important characteristic of his works is his tenacious observance of production procedures and technologies of the particular time that are exceptionally rare nowadays. In recent years, Skryja has attracted the interest of the professional world by reviving one of the oldest and the most dangerous techniques of metal gilding. This technique, which the world's artistic smiths hardly ever use nowadays originated in the time before Christ. 24-carat gold is melted in mercury, the solution is applied to the metal and after the evaporation of mercury only pure gold remains on the weapon. Due to the amount of mercury vapour produced during this kind of gilding this technique became known in the history due to the high death rate of smithery journeymen. Maybe that's why we only find fragmentary and incomplete information on it in modern books on restoration. Thus, this technique became the alchemistical highlight of Skryja's works of Damascene steel coated by a patina that corresponds to the actual era of the historical originals. This is the current view on the workshop of a skilled master of sword-cutting, Pavel Skryja, representing the artist's craft, long forgotten over merciless time - sword-cutting in its classical, beautiful, pure form.

Very impressive about the guilding.

Dear Russ,i am glad,tha someone with your experience,looked into it.
I then found another great lookin maker,of ART ARMS,is name is LUDEK KALNY(ludekkalny.cz).
He is less glamourousthen PAVEL SKIRYJA,but you could check lots of pics of his works,that seems to be on high level.
What ilike it about,is,that he has lots of RAPIERS and SABRES od 17th cent.
I am waiting for quotations and del. times from both.
You should really check it out.
I also do not understand cech,but after hours browsing,the basic names are clea.
KALNY site is in English as well.
Last,i wonder how thet both never been covered,and seems noone knows them.
At "HISTORICKE FIRMY.CZ,there are pratically,all cech arms & armour makers,it is very helpful as interesting.
Most of these makers,are not known by the public,cause i ealise,they are selling to the biger on-line shops of Europe.
Andrea

Yes, unfortunately when a maker doesn't put up an English page they are unlikely to get a ton of air time on this board, not because people aren't interested, I'm sure they are, but they have to have something to work with to understand what the maker is doing, his pricing structure, turn around times and they like. If you find out any of the above about either of these makers you reference please by all means post them. Again, thanks for bringing these to light! I know sometimes I tend to think that on these boards is all there is in the world of modern arms and armor, it's good to be reminded that there are piles of makers and enthusiasts out there that never show up here.