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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 10:40:19 GMT
This came into my hands via a friend of my wife's, she knew I was in to swords and gave it to her to give to me. Before you jump all over me for the condition it's in that's how I got it. Now I'm wondering what it is and if it's worth using maybe for cutting. The sword and scabbard  Close up of the hilt  Some of the detail on the scabbard  You can't see it too well because of the flash but the blade has these round dots of some other metal, maybe copper? Inlaid along the length of it in a pattern, Looks like it would be tricky to do,  The blade has distal taper to it and is tempered, I tried flexing it and it springs back true, Although it's not sharpened the edge is close to sharp, it's never been sharpened but it wouldn't take much to put an edge on it. In some ways it looks like crap for selling off to tourists and in some ways it looks like a pretty nice piece, I'd appreciate anyone who could give me some idea what I've got here, and if it might be safe to clean it up, sharpen it, and use it for cutting. Thanks for looking. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 10:55:03 GMT
Are you able to take apart the pommel, grip, and hilt without damage to the sword to see the tang?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 11:02:44 GMT
Are you able to take apart the pommel, grip, and hilt without damage to the sword to see the tang? The pommel has a threadded nut on top, I was able to remove it and the tang is part of the blade, it's not welded on or anything, no rat tail tang. |
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Post by sicheah on Oct 30, 2009 12:34:22 GMT
By the looks of it, I doubt the sword is designed to cut. But you could use it to practice Tai chi or use it as a display. But I am no expert.
The inlaid pattern may represent the "little dipper" constellation.
By the way, what is the point of balance and weight of this sword?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 13:14:27 GMT
Sharpen the edge, it'll probably be a semi-decent cutting jian; that one has a nice aged look to it; wonder where/how they got it?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 14:25:40 GMT
The little dipper inlay tells you where it was made. It represents the seven wells area in china. Nice sword.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 14:38:06 GMT
Odd question: Do you smell zinc anywhere on it?
M.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 15:07:23 GMT
Sounds to me more like rust. It Can take on a coppery appearance. Try wiping the blade down with some rubbing alcohol (this will remove the damaging rust without polishing it up to look brand new). I'd be interested to hear what that does to those dots.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 20:49:57 GMT
Sounds to me more like rust. It Can take on a coppery appearance. Try wiping the blade down with some rubbing alcohol (this will remove the damaging rust without polishing it up to look brand new). I'd be interested to hear what that does to those dots. i have seen this before. the one that i seen had holes that had not been filled. there was 5 or 7 of them |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 21:08:11 GMT
Wouldn't that be something if it were antique? The pommel nut sorta precludes it I would think...but I'm only really familiar with Euro swords, who knows, the Chinese could've figured that out hundreds of years ago.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 22:37:12 GMT
With the little dipper inlay and the pomel nut, I'm thinking Qing? possibly. Anyway, it looks like an older Long Quan, but I'm am far from the expert here.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2009 23:54:26 GMT
To answer some questions, the point of balance is pretty much exactly four inches out from the cross guard, the weight is two pounds, five ounces. I don't know if I'd know the smell of zinc but there's a metallic smell to it that became much more obvious when I started cleaning the blade with rubbing alcohol which, by the way, confirmed that those dots are an inlaid pattern, present on both sides of the blade. Much as I'd love to think I've stumbled onto an expensive antique the pommel is a hollow cast piece which I'm pretty sure precludes that. Still, the sword has pretty nice balance for all of that and is pretty solid. I'm thinking I've lucked into something decent, at least.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2009 2:17:17 GMT
I wouldn't say that a hollow-cast pommel precludes it being an antique...
But I Would say the pommel-nut does.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2009 3:19:15 GMT
I'm guessing 40-50 years old tops, but that's just a guess. Garrett or Gundoggy would have better ideas on how to place it.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2009 3:49:33 GMT
Fake. The reddish rust on the blade is a dead giveaway. The type of fittings aren't really historical. However a retaining nut sometimes is found on antiques especially late Qing Jian, however it is rare. If you can take handle apart, if the tang is at least 50% of the width of the blade, then that should be safe. Test the hardness with testing files. If blade is above HRC 50 then it'll be ok for cutting. Lots of fakes are made. However, many of those fakes often contain high quality well forged blades that are more than ok for a user!!!! Some other fake swords... www.jianjue.de/index-Dateien/Page1226.htm |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2009 10:15:44 GMT
Fake. The reddish rust on the blade is a dead giveaway. The type of fittings aren't really historical. However a retaining nut sometimes is found on antiques especially late Qing Jian, however it is rare. If you can take handle apart, if the tang is at least 50% of the width of the blade, then that should be safe. Test the hardness with testing files. If blade is above HRC 50 then it'll be ok for cutting. Lots of fakes are made. However, many of those fakes often contain high quality well forged blades that are more than ok for a user!!!! Some other fake swords... www.jianjue.de/index-Dateien/Page1226.htmThanks. The only concern I have is that a rather long portion of the tang is threaded before it ever gets to the pommel nut so it's (obviously) kind of thin there. I don't have files to check the hardness with but the blade sure seems well tempered, I can't bend it too far and I'm a pretty big, strong guy and when I do bend it it springs right back true. It "feels" solid and reliable, if that makes any sense. Actually, knowing it's a fake antique is kind of cool, I just figured it was crap turned out for the tourists but might be suitable for cutting. My gut tells me it's OK to cut with, it seems solid enough and there's no rattling or looseness to it at all. I might just have to clear the area (standard procedure anyway) and give it a go. Unless that's just the ultimate in stupid? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2009 14:59:28 GMT
See about getting it rehilted.
M.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2009 14:36:59 GMT
Anyone else besides me thinking the hilt looks a lot like the ones you see on those collapsible "tai chi" swords you seen in a dime a dozen martial arts equipment ads? I'm not saying that's what this one is, but still, the design seems similar.
Other than that, I really can't say. I will admit I don't think it's an antique at all, but I'm no expert in that field. I'm sure Garrett or the other more knowledgeable guys around here would know.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2009 14:51:11 GMT
That being a sword for Tai Chi would make sense. If you look on the pommel, there is a yin-yang and the eight trigrams.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2009 16:15:33 GMT
Anyone else besides me thinking the hilt looks a lot like the ones you see on those collapsible "tai chi" swords you seen in a dime a dozen martial arts equipment ads? I'm not saying that's what this one is, but still, the design seems similar. Other than that, I really can't say. I will admit I don't think it's an antique at all, but I'm no expert in that field. I'm sure Garrett or the other more knowledgeable guys around here would know. I think you'll find that most, if not all Tai Chi swords look similar. That this one looks like a cheaper version doesn't make it cheap- if anything, the cheapies aspire to look like this one. |
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