Brian

I have created this section (on a trial basis) to archive all swords (we will look at fittings at a later date) that turn out to be fakes, from the worst kind of junk to the more modern and clever fakes. This is NOT a place for people to ask about their swords. Swords that are posted elsewhere that turn out to be verified fakes/clones/reproductions will be moved here. This accomplishes 2 things. 1) Fakes won't take up discussion space in the Nihonto/Military sections, and 2) People who are newcomers to this will have a place to learn from by browsing the posts, and seeing pictures of what to look out for. People may post external links and discuss fakes from elsewhere here, but only for educational purposes, advising what to look out for and the pitfalls. There are a few pages on the net briefly discussing fakes, but with such a wide variety of things to look out for, a comprehensive section advising on the things to watch out for is needed, and would be valuable to those who are starting out. I would like this section to only contain verified fake swords that are not disputed. This can range across the board, from "Damascus" serial numbered junk that is blindly obvious, to the suspected modern made Thai or Chinese swords with gimei signatures intended to deceive. It is NOT intended for gimei or poor condition Nihonto, or anything that may have fake mounts but a genuine blade. It is purely for swords crafted to fool buyers at any level. As mentioned, I am trialing this section to see if it is useful. Please follow the usual rules and remain respectful. If people purchase fake swords, after verifying they are fake, they will be moved here to assist others in future. As always, buyer beware and it is far better to ask before purchasing than find out you made a mistake after. - admin -

Brilliant news.

It's incredible to see the shape of the sword that goes into the water, and what comes out. That is the real amazing part of the making of these swords.

Mild hand soap and a soft toothbrush is the most I would do.

Don't know enough, but that's what came to mind for me too.

Definite improvement. Someone put a lot of effort into cobbling those parts together. Seems there is no end to the trickery used by sellers. But at least they are genuine parts, and maybe you can eventually put it back into the correct ones.

Nice ones, and as Piers said, the wear isn't a terrible thing on old ones like this. Also, unless you are the high end of quality and minty ones, even the small crack wouldn't be too serious. These are lovely depictions of the Japanese art, and both can be enjoyed. Hope you enjoy your studies in this hobby.

Brought back a koshirae from San Francisco to SA. Also was frustrated that no matter how I tried, it would not fit in the luggage. So had to go buy one of those shipping cardboard tubes from a stationary store and some bubble wrap. Then had to declare it as a separate item of luggage and pay about $100 for it. Second airline (was a multi stop trip) I explained to the lady what it was, and she checked it in without the charge. So depends on the person at the desk, but this is the way. It arrived with no damage. Except there was the panic when we arrived that it didn't come through with the luggage...and after an hour we thought it was missing. At the missing luggage station, someone asked if we had checked the separate pile of luggage where they unload oversized packages and luggage. After finding this unknown area, there it was.

Bravo Manuel, well deserved. What a stunning tsuba. Congrats and all the best going forward.

Condolences to all. RIP, sounds like a big loss for the community

Was watching old episodes of Antiques Roadshow from a few years back, and someone brought in the most gorgeous snake jizai okimono. So well done, the expert commented on how it felt alive. Was sighned, Nobu something. Anyways, it was one of the top works from my humble opinion. I had a good chuckle when the expert commented on how good it was, and then said it has an auction estimate of between GBP1200 and 1500. Lol. Imagine you could pick them up for that price. Even 5-8 years ago.

Originated as a genuine tanto, maybe repurposed by someone or some group. I still suspect some or other more primitive group.

Welcome, glad to have you aboard

@Peter Bleed

Here's what you tend to do Dan. You throw out some vague theory on a random tsuba, you make some unwarranted claim. Then when people dispute it and don't agree, you go "Well, prove I'm wrong. Unless we send it for testing, I guess we'll never know" and claim the "mystery" is unsolved. Except there is no mystery, aside from your throwing out a theory on that particular tsuba. No-one sees a cast tsuba there. But because you make a claim, it's up to us to prove it wrong? Simple fact...anything that can be done, will have been done at some point by someone. That's why you find swords with bizarre shapes and styles sometimes. There are always smiths who want to play with something new. No doubt there is someone or some small group out there that wanted to see if they could cast tsuba way back. However, using that as proof that cast tsuba were routinely done way back hundreds of years, and that the Japanese just mysteriously forgot to document it in their thousands of books is naive at best. We have books and manuscripts and documents from hundreds of years ago. You think they all got together to invent a conspiracy and hide the info? But you've gone beyond simply trying to find proof of cast tsuba. Now you just take random items posted by people, see what you want, and start a discussion around how that proves your theory. Forgetting that the item itself hasn't been determined to be cast, you act like it has been, and then proceed to use it as proof of your theory. The West isn't going to make some brand new discovery around Nihonto that the Japanese themselves haven't already investigated decades ago. But I think you're determined to somehow "leave your mark" and make some revelation that no-one else thought of. Throwing out theories about posted pics isn't going to do that. And it confuses the heck out of newcomers who come here to learn established facts.

Has the nakago been cleaned?

Check it now, should be sorted?

Agree with everything Ray said. Odd and consistent how they get these flat, lifeless hamon (acid enhanced) with zero activity or anything else showing.

Soren, gratefully received, along with Justyn's generous donation/purchase. Soren, that really is kind of you. Thanks again to the 3 of you. Thanks for this Marius. Have also extended your Gold membership

Welcome. I think you'll find the NYTK has some great and advanced members, and they would welcome the chance to assist the new generation coming into this hobby. We have quite a few NY members, and you are lucky to have Markus at the Met, as well as some awesome collections. Enjoy the ride!

Yeah, you are completely wrong. It's very obvious. Also, you need to learn the difference between hammer marks and "casting pits" which are not present on this tsuba. You also seem to think that designs of tsuba weren't spread across multiple traditions, schools and eras. How are you going to compare a tsuba with a completely different one, like they are supposed to be the same? You also don't seem to know much about tagane and semigane.

Just go with it....the usual throwing out some wild theory and then saying "prove it isn't"

Thank you both Marius and Jesta! Greatly appreciated. And a nice tsuba to boot.

Nihontomessageboard.com redirects to militaria.co.za There were some dns changes last week, Monday is a public holiday so I'll get it sorted on Tuesday and see why the redirect stopped working.

Think this could easily be Ainu. In fact, based on your link https://www.proantic.com/en/994063-rare-japanese-ainu-sword.html I think it is highly likely.