A good buy? Or a fake?

[USMC-LCPL]

It was recommended to me that I purchase a new tsuba for an o-wakizashi that I purchased from another NMB member. Something with a bamboo pattern to go with the bamboo leaf menuki.

 

I've found one at a price that's too good to be true... please tell me if this is a great buy, or a great scam...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/073-Japanese-Copper ... dZViewItem

 

:?

[Deron Douglas]

Hi,

the auction hasn't ended yet, so it's hard to say what the final price will be. Could go for around $100-150... but I'm usually wrong on these things :-)

 

Deron

[Grey Doffin]

Doesn't seem right to me. Any one else think this might be a fake?

Grey

[Stephen]

the fake feeling

[sencho]

... just this one...?? what about the rest of his stuff? Some are papered... or appear to be..

 

Cheers

[USMC-LCPL]

It's just that they all look so detailed... the closeup shots are amazing!

 

Which is what makes them seem so fake to me... they almost look like they were freshly minted and then aged to look older than they are...

 

I hope that they're real though... if they are, there's some good buys to be had off of this guy...

[Mike]

At first look his items looks OK. But the price is too good to be true, so I wouldn't take a risk. Mike

[USMC-LCPL]

That's my dilemma though... his prices are so low that it really isn't a risk at all...

 

Good replicas go for double what this guy is asking. And with no reserve? I'm so very very tempted...

[Deron Douglas]

I took a closer look. The patina seems kind of funny to me. I like red copper tsuba, so I have a couple myself. I've never seen a patina like this before. It almost looks brushed on. But the detail looks ok... I thought the punch holes didn't look "crisp" so it's hard to say unless it's in hand.

 

Mind you, as you said a repo tsuba from Fred Lohman or other will cost you about $100-$125, so taking a chance on this one with a max in that range... won't turn out badly.

 

Just my worthless 2 cents taken from my limited experience.

 

Deron