how to spot real vs fake

[markeo]

are there any tell tale signs that would scream fake about a sword

 

this morning i posted for the first time on this forum a pencil drawing of the etching underneath the handle and was told it was shinkai inoue, and by the looks of it, from 1675

 

after going from excited to somewhat discouraged about the possibility of it being a fake, i was looking for some insight of what to look for

 

here are a few more pictures:

 

one thing i will say is that in the fourth picture, at the very top of the sheath (terminology?) there appear to be screws holding something in place

[stekemest]

It's not so easy to distinguish between gimei and real. Keep in mind that gimei does not mean that the sword is a modern fake, but a true Nihonto - just not by the smith pretending to be.

Best way to find out would probably be to compare known mei by this smith with your piece.

[pcfarrar]

The sword and its fittings are genuine but the signature on the blade is probably gimei (fake).

[markeo]

then given all of this, is there a way to find out who the actual smith was and possibly a timeframe of when it is from?

[markeo]

It's not so easy to distinguish between gimei and real. Keep in mind that gimei does not mean that the sword is a modern fake, but a true Nihonto - just not by the smith pretending to be.

Best way to find out would probably be to compare known mei by this smith with your piece.

 

 

modern meaning what? i know it was in Japan in 1944-45

[pcfarrar]

timeframe of when it is from?

 

Impossible to say from your pictures but its likely to be from the the 19th century or older.

[markeo]

very cool

 

thank you both very much for your help

[Brian]

mark,

Just to clarify..

False signatures (gimei) have been done for hundreds of years. A gimei signature doesn't mean a sword is fake, or even bad quality. There are some very good swords with false signatures.

In your case, the signature does look a bit crude, and might be a gimei. However it looks to have some age on it. Could be an earlier family sword taken to war, or a wartime manufactured one.

What is certain is that it is genuine, and served in the war. The question is...pre-war or not?

One hole in the tang indicates it is possibly wartime manufacture, but not sure if the other features point to this.

Those screws hold that collar in place on the scabbard. The mounts are all typical WW2 Shin-Gunto fittings.

 

Brian

[stekemest]

Judging from the rust on the nakago and the clearness of the mei, I'd guess that it's not too old. Maybe (very) late Edo to Gendai, between 1850 and 1940 or something.

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

This blade is gimei at 99.99%. Wrong location, lack of skill in the engraving, lack of atari. Wrong yasurime. An absence of kiku-mon will confirm it.