Marius

Jussi, excellent idea... if you want to study Chinese copies. I'd rather spend my time studying nihonto. Believe me, I'll know the difference, even if sometimes I may confuse a low-end shinsakuto made in Japan with a high-end Japanese style sword made in China. In the lowest segment the boundaries are blurred by definition, but the Chinese high-end is equal to the Japanese low-end, at least for the time being. Then again, I am in the comfortable position of focusing on early koto. And when the time has come that Mr Cheng from Longquan will be able to produce a good copy of a ko-Aoe, Ichimonnji or Hosho, or whatever is old and venerable, I'll give up. I hope, though, that this will never happen. Then again, how do I really know that my Tegai masterpiece hasn't been already made by Mr Cheng from Longquan?

Kam, Apologies, that was not political of me to dismiss the OP's sword without going into any detail. I am just too lazy for that, sorry. I love your assessment of my posts, BTW. "Regurgatated retoric and nothijng insightful"... hm... I have to say, this sounds really colourful. I will add this to my signature with your permission. I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread, thank you

Kam, I am sorry but there is nothing to be learned from Chinese "nihonto". A picture is worth more than a thousand words, so here are two pics to enjoy

Greg, we have been through this many times before. People posting blades of...hm... doubtful quality. They usually expect us here to be in raptures over their great purchase. When we politely point out that their swords are... hm... mediocre at best, they haughtily dismiss the opinion they have asked for, and promise to consult some unspecified experts. They usually don't come back. I wonder why? You may want to put your money where your mouth is and send this sword to an NBTHK or NTHK shinsa. Be kind enough to tell us the results. Personally, I would be exceedingly happy to be wrong. Good luck.

Mauro, Thank you for your kind words. I might be dead wrong and the carving might as well be original to the plate. With the enlarged hitsu ana encroaching on the design it looks old enough. But the carving is clean on the inside, no traces of lacquer... So it looks like a later addition (I say "looks" which is not equal to "is") My opinion is... just an opinion, not very educated, too. It is a very nice ko-kinko guard in any case

Steve, Your attitude to nihonto deserves the greatest respect. Very encouraging to hear

Steve, Only better photographs of the hada and nioiguchi (the latter against a light source). But your current pictures are already quite good, and there is a limit of what you can tell even with better ones. Unless you produce something as good as Darcy's pics (www.nihonto.ca) One friendly remark - please do not handle the nakago with cotton gloves. The grip is not firm enough and the sword might slip from your hand. Beside, the patina on the nakago benefits from the touch of a bare hand.

Steve, That doesn't look like shinto. I'd say koto, Yamato, Tegai or sue-Tegai. Just an opinion

Mauro, Your tsuba may be ko-kinko. But the karakusa carving seems to be later than the plate. It is too rigid and too controlled to be earlier than Edo. Also, I cannot see any wear in it. Just my opinion. Please compare this with one of my tsuba...

Kam, you don't need to be impressed. My eyes hurt when I look at the sword in this thread. No offence meant to the owner. Here is how they make these swords. Mind you, the sword we are talking about is a high end piece, according to their nomenclature:

At the risk of sounding elitist... Why are we discussing a Chinese sword here. The Sword Forum is a better place, I think.

I have a deja vu.. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/11791-how-to-uncollect/?hl=uncollect

This is not a tanto. It is just some tool.

Pissibles? :)

What a blunder.

This organisation would paper just about everything, so I wouldn't bother reading what they have to say. You have a nice, signed tsuba. Time to hit the books and other avaliable resources to see if the mei is legit.

The placement is awkward. Most likely carved to hide flaws.

Damn! Kam, you are right! Although the picture is high-rez, there is not a single nie to be seen in this blade. Once again, this emphasising the imporatnce of anlyzing nie and not only the folding pattern. I think you are spot on. This might really be a Chinese fake.

I concur. I see no ji-nie here, that one would expect from Ikkansai Yoshihiro, though...

Ray, that me be just the picture, but indeed, the hada seems too uniform and contrived to be koto. Also, the kissaki mune is pretty thick. Bob, will you show us the nakago, please?

Christopher, I think you are quite safe with melons

Grev, Thank you. Naokatsu was of the Naotane lineage. They have indeed made Nobuie utsushi, although the one you have posted strikes me as... quite bland. Interesting - signature on omote and ura differ in style.

Hm, the first site to go to to learn a bit about fakes: http://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html And don't cut anything with it:

Bruno, my conclusion comes from the style in which the mushrooms have been rendered. It is so... late Edo I am sorry, I am not being helpful here. Earlier work would be slightly more... crude? relaxed? naive? simple? I cannot find the word for it. More simple and naive with less attention to detail, I think.. I have seen identical mushrooms on a late Edo koshirae I used to own, BTW.

Still, not a ko-kinko. Late Edo.