What do you think?

[sanjuro]

Alas Eric, I cannot help but feel the greater majority of the dealers on ebay would be candidates for such a list. For every decent and honest dealer there appears to be a host of sellers that have little or no conscience and even less honesty.

[estcrh]

So be it then, if someone who should know better sells obvious fakes without regard to their reputation then they deserve to have a spotlight pointed on them...and the same goes for people who care about what they sell, people should know about them also. The few people that do not make the list will benefit from their own honesty.

[moss]

Hello Eric and all,

 

A list......why bother.

Better off to spend the time reading and researching.

A list of spurious Ebay sellers would take up too much valuable time.

If people out in the big bad world want to gamble on Ebay with a distinct lack of Knowledge,let them go for it!

Sorts the sheep from the goats IMHO.

 

The members on this board have always given the advice to newbies to read books,visit dealers and go to shows.

After they have a feel then go ahead and buy from a reputable seller.

If you try to circumvent the process you run the risk of becoming a member of the 'tough luck club'.

 

Even if you have done the research Ebay is still a minefield.

Much better to buy off fellow members.

The nihonto I have ,all bar two ,came from NHMB members and I am not unhappy with a single piece.

And yes there were some bargains amongst them!

 

 

Cheers

Moss

[IanB]

Moss, Whilst I agree with your sentiments, reading, looking at illustrations and visiting museums will only half prepare you. I'm afraid it really is a question of actually handling as many of the real and the fakes as possible - only them do you develop a kind of sixth sense. Often you cannot put your finger on the reason you suspect something is not what it seems and it might take a long time to work out why something is fake but alarm bells will ring. Some years ago the Royal Armouries bought a highly decorated 16th C. mace. It was covered in two colours of gold and silver damascening with tiny siege scenes on the flanges and the usual foliage elsewhere. The work was superb, rubbed in places and well patinated. I spent some time looking at it in real detail and gradually came to the conclusion that it cannot have been a copy - it was just too good. I couldn't fault it in any way and genuinely felt we had bought a masterpiece. My colleagues however insisted it was fake and were proved correct when an X-ray showed an internal 1/4" screw thread. I was wrong - I hadn't handled enough of this kind of material to know that it was too heavy and just didn't handle like a real mace should.

Ian Bottomley

[moss]

Gidday Ian,

 

I imagine the mace you mention was not purchased on Ebay.

I agree to hold both real and fake items will help with the 'feel'and sixth sense.

With reputable dealers there will be no problem inspecting any given item.

 

They may even have a knockoff or fake kicking around,purely as an educational piece one would hope.

 

It does seem that a few more Ebay dealers are flogging off repro's of late than in the past,perhaps this is just a symptom of how tight fisted the commmunity is.

Everyone searches for a bargain without doubt but don't forget the old adage....If it seems too good to be true,it probably is!

Particularily Ebay,it is scoured and trawled by a cast of thousands.

A RARE AND VALUABLE ANTIQUE with few bids and minutes to run would be reason enough to walk away,so many eyes surely could not miss a deal and if they had ,how much junk would you buy to skew the odds in your favour.

 

It is interesting to note that even knowledgable people such as yourself can be tricked by the forgers art, that puts the spotlight on how good the fakers have become.

 

The point I get at with the Ebay list ,is that if a newbie is too lazy or impatient to read some books and spend the time to hold and feel then they will probably be too lazy or in too much of a hurry to even read the list.

It is not a race and even if it were,a race team puts in massive ammounts of research and prep before the day.

 

Thanks for your interesting highlight on forgeries.

 

Cheers

Moss

[estcrh]

Another metal whip...how many of these need to pop up before people become suspicious...at this point I have to believe that this dealer knows what he is doing. http://cgi.ebay.com/2846-JP-Samurai-Ant ... 2188wt_932

[moss]

Hello Eric,

 

These obviously sell like hotcakes,maybe to Ebayers for self flagellation purposes after their most recent purchase.

 

 

Cheers

Moss

[Kevin]

These obviously sell like hotcakes,maybe to Ebayers for self flagellation purposes after their most recent purchase.

 

Well, you may have identified the market there :-) - and perhaps also for the flagellation of others. :-)

 

Kevin

[IanB]

Clearly this guy has access to a pile of Meiji period pressed brass 'menuki' of the type they used to cover boxes and the like with. We can only hope his supply runs out. I note in this one he has used three running boar and a long furniture or similar mount with the inome shaped ends. He's good at working disparate old bits into his concoctions to lend an air of antiquity.

Ian Bottomley

[estcrh]

I remember several months ago 3 really nice looking jutte were sold on Yahoo Japan for rather high prices...the fact that there were 3 similar looking jutte being sold at the same time did not keep them from being sold...they had handles that were wrapped much like a sword handle with menuki and tsuba...each one was completely different but much the same also....it made you think that they came from the same collection possibly..eventually I saw at least 2 being re-sold on ebay for even higher prices...now that I think about it they appear to be made by the same people making these current whips and jutte and possible some of the other small items being sold recently also...I have to give them credit for not making to many copies at the same time and making each piece completely different from the next. Maybe they are same people who made the series of fake hand cannon that appeared suddenly and now have disappeared again...very ingenious..pick a certain type of item...make a few fairly decent copies and move on..I wonder whats next?

[estcrh]

Any comments on this? Looks fake to me...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/2863-J-P-Samurai-sw ... 2155wt_932

[sanjuro]

Not real old.. Not real good.... The latter could also be used as a general description of the seller IMHO.