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Ian, I saw those whips being sold on yahoo Japan and a few days later at least 2 were re-sold on Ebay for rather high prices..obvious fakes and not even replicas as I do not think these iron whips were ever used in the past, but that did not stop people from buying them and passing them along to someone else...but its the work that someone is putting into rather mundane low cost items that surprises me, now each one is different looking and not exact copies of each other..a lot of work and thought for something that will not sell for a lot of money.

here are a couple of examples..a fire starter kit..a leather pouch with a place to put a flint and an iron striker attached for starting fires..it looks real but I just saw 2 other ones for sale within a few days each from a different person.....whats the chance of that?..they all look different and could fool you easily>>> http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n90004768 and I just saw an old looking Japanese pocket knife for sale on yahoo Japan>> http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b110253760 now I see 2 others for sale from someone else, they could fool you also>>> http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r67517753 http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r67517625 if you saw these items by them selves they could pass, but when you see them together you can compare and see how much alike they are constructed yet they are all completely different on the surface...whats the chance of 3 items of this type being sold in the same week and not being replicas?

Keith, you make a good point, there was a time when you could trust certain dealers to weed out the suspect items and paying a higher price for a vetted item was worth the money but I recently have seen several dealers who previously seemed to be able to sell authentic items carry an item or 2 which was very suspect to me and other people as we have seen here..it is not a good trend at all...the question is..are the dealers being fooled or have they just given in to the times?

I did not think of an older jutte with new pieces added...the dragons etc do not appear to have any wear at all and the workmanship is not of the level you expect to see. I saw a series of riding crops that were sold recently with the same look and motif and no wear..you would not expect to see 3 such unusual items being sold at one time and they sold for a lot of money..sort of like the 2 little hand cannons I posted in the Edo period section.

You can imaging having to fight in 60 lbs of armor etc in the heat and humidity of Japan.

Ron, considering the examples of pretty good replicas or fakes, etc that I have seen recently I can see how someone with experience can be fooled. The arrow you posted and tsuba's are an example, look at the jutte example I posted in the Ebay auction section..it is at $500.00 and I have serious doubts as to its authenticity.

I have seen several different items in this style being sold as antiques recently, I have my doubts...any comments? http://cgi.ebay.com/2772-J-P-Samurai-An ... 1997wt_932

I was in fact wondering about the sights...I just do not think they are hand cannon.

Ron, here is the info provided.." A Wonderful Antique Edo Period (1603-1867) Japanese Hand Cannon, circa. 18th century ? 3 5/8" .45 cal. octagon barrel w/Silver inlay/overlay in decorative designs and touch hole located in the top flat at breech. Unknown maker's mark, (researching). Original 7" stock w/light scratches and dings from years of handling. In fantastic condition..." and "A Wonderful Antique Edo Period (1603-1867) Japanese Hand Cannon, circa. 18th century ? 2 3/8" .577 cal. octagon barrel w/Silver inlay/overlay in decorative designs and touch hole located in the top flat at breech. Original 5 5/8" stock w/brass re-enforcement band at breech, stress crack on the right side of fore-end, light scratches and dings from years of handling. In fantastic condition..." from>> http://www.tortugatrading.com/data/resu ... mor&Page=6

I ran into these interesting looking items, they are being called...hand cannons.... but I was thinking that they looked like the gunpowder testers poster earlier......any thoughts?

Here is an example of whats available on yahoo Japan..no telling what the final price will be. from>>. http://www.japanauctioncenter.com/view2 ... /f93995717

Unfortunately unless you want to buy from yahoo Japan there is not much choice on the internet besides damyou for low priced items available immediately unless you are willing to wait and see what comes along, and any armor purchase can be difficult without seeing the piece first hand. If you find something of interest post a link and I am sure you will get some help evaluating what you find.

This one also: http://cgi.ebay.com/SAMURAI-Katana-swor ... 5193a28333 Bruno, I did not see a stamp on this one...did I miss it?

If you can figure out how to post some pictures I would really like to see them, thanks for the info...

Any idea what type of steel was used in the making of this blade?

He wears his armor better than the Japanese guys!

Ford, would you consider doing a pay per inspection of someones possible purchase? I would be interested in a service like that...just a personal opinion of your thoughts on a perspective purchase...considering the money I have seen spent recently on questionable items it would be worth it to have a professional opinion of an item before buying it rather than finding out after it arrives.

If you are talking about machine made blades then the answer is no, there would be no hamon except if it were artificially produced ( acid etched etc) If the sword pictured is a nco ww2 Japanese sword it is not a true nihonto....but it still has a value as a ww2 collectors item.

Thomas, unfortunately there is not much information available that I know of that helps date chain armor and non traditional armor in general, it is generally accepted that the portable type, folding types and chain armor are Edo period mostly from what I have read but its a vastly under researched area. This picture while staged is the only one I have ever seen with this type of armor actually being worn at all. Those shoulder armors "sode" being worn on the one guys waist are rather strange seeing that on the other armors the sode are in the right places? The #3 guy is wearing as Ian pointed out a very interesting armor...if you look closely you will see that it is made up of large "kikko" armored plates....hexagon iron or hardened leather...the chest armor "dou" and the thigh armor "haidate" are matching ( he really is low riding those around his feet!!) and this is a very rare type of armor to see being worn also along with the collapsible helmet "chochin kabuto" Pictures of samurai wearing chain armor are very rare probably due the traditional armor being much more interesting looking and colorful.

I found this info..Samurai with bow and arrow, helmets, swords, spears and coats of mail. Photo from series of 42 hand coloured albumine prints at Spaarnestad Photo by Felice Beato, Kusakabe Kimbei or Raimund baron von Stillfried. Japan, around 1880. From the National Archive of the Netherlands..http://www.flickr.com/photos/29998366@N02/3774080165/

Thomas, a really great collection that you posted..is that your site? Everyone should take a look as I dont know of a place were you can see more old Japanese photos.

Ron, no idea of who took it or when...and that is a great photo also on the Tanegashima thread...posed or not those old photos are loaded with great information.

That is not firefighting equipment, the forehead protectors #2 and #4 have on are hachi gane with chain neck guards and #4 is wearing a chain jacket or kusari katabira...chain armor was not used for firefighting....fire fighting clothing was made from heavy cloth which could be soaked in water and the helmets worn resembled traditional helmets..here is a picture of a firefighters helmet and cloak, thick cloth or leather hoods were also worn...

I just saw this really incredible picture, its quite rare and interesting.

After a several years of not selling to the public, the owner of toraba.com as started to list new samurai items again on his home page. I have purchased several items from toraba in the past and you get what you pay for with no problems about authenticity. If you have wanted to purchase ( or just see ) a real samurai item but do not know enough to be sure that it is real and unaltered etc, Trevor lives in Japan and is very knowledgeable about the different eras that armor and related items are from and is very good at telling if an item has been restored or altered in the past or recently. There is also an armor forum with some great learning info.