Kyoei Golf, the well respected forging house in Hyogo Prefecture Japan has long been forging Vega irons and wedges. Like Miura Giken and Miura though Kyoei has branded some of their models slightly differently in Japan from the international line. Today I’m going to take a look at Kyoei Golf’s V-Wedge RAFW line. I received about 12 heads featuring different lofts from the RAFW-01, 02, 05 and 08 models and each have their own styling and target audience. These are not new models by any means, but always cool to check out some nice forged wedges. So while this is not really a review, its more of a quick look or preview at these wedges as they aren’t shafted yet.
The RAFW-01, 02 and 08 were all finished in Kyoei’s raw black finish. Keep in mind that all Kyoei irons and wedges are available for custom finish from raw black to satin and the interesting light copper/brass like look you see on the RAFW-05. All V-Wedges are premium forged from top Japan Industry Standard S25C steel while the RAFW-05 uses a material from Kyoei called EES which contains a concentration of Brass for soft feel.
The RAFW-01 and 02 are aimed at the Japanese market, higher handicap player or anyone really looking for a forgiving but strong spinning wedge. Both are rounded shaped heads, probably considered mid to larger size wedges with a semi goose to goose neck as they call it in Japan. In other words, these two heads do have offset. The RAFW-01 is the biggest of the two models and has and the longest heel to toe face of all the RAFW models. The 01 has 14 grooves that are more spaced out compared to the other models. The RAFW-02 has 15 grooves placed closer to one another but actually has slightly more offset. All V-Wedges are hand grinded to finish which you can clearly see from the sole and heel area of each wedge. (For more on the Vega forging, grinding and finishing process please see my previous post with Video from Kyoei).
The RAFW-08 features a teardrop shaped head with a smaller head size and minimal offset. This is amed at the better player as is the RAFW-05 which has a very deep grooves and a milled face thanks to CNC Milling. The 05 EES like the 08 model has a compact teardrop head and probably the least offset of all the heads.
These heads are soft, give wonderful feel and spin the ball like crazy. They are pretty much everything you want in a wedge. Add the fact that custom grinds and finishes are now available directly from Kyoei and come as heads only or custom shafted at very attractive prices make these must have wedges! Look for these in the pro shop later this week!
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brilliant wedges. defy anything tio spin more ,anything ,anywhere.. the 08s are simply the best for good players look at at knocking over pins. must get some more!