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Post by nick48 on Jul 30, 2017 19:58:52 GMT
Thanks in advance, glad to be a new member
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jul 30, 2017 20:24:55 GMT
Modern-made Chinese replica of a Japanese sword (tachi, rather than katana). A translation might be interesting, but won't tell you anything more about the actual origin of the sword.
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Post by Verity on Jul 30, 2017 21:10:04 GMT
Modern-made Chinese replica of a Japanese sword (tachi, rather than katana). A translation might be interesting, but won't tell you anything more about the actual origin of the sword. Likely agree on Chinese copy... however this appears to be a Korean blade not a Japanese tachi (the differences are slight, but present). I'd say this is a replica Korean sword, not a Japanese tachi
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jul 30, 2017 22:08:58 GMT
The hilt is attached Japanese-style, pin near the guard. Korean katana-ish do are almost always peened at the pommel, and with a tubular rivet through the grip near the pommel. The blade just looks like a typical Chinese fake katana blade. I think you're giving the makers far too much credit by implying they know the difference between Japanese tachi, katana, and gunto blades, and Korean blades. They usually just stick blades like this (or fake gunto blades) into all sorts of mounts. I've never seen a Korean blade with this kind of inscription. Hanja/Chinese characters are very rare on Korean do blades - I can count the number of examples I've seen on the thumbs of one hand: www.koreanartandantiques.com/items/1247933/Korean-Sword-Insignia-on-Blade/enlargement5Siddham inscriptions are much more common - most of the inscription on the sword above is siddham (don't know what siddham is called in Korean - in Japanese, it's bonji). Of course, that wouldn't stop these makers/fakers from puttings whatever kind of inscription on something that's supposed to be a Korean sword.
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Post by Verity on Jul 30, 2017 22:12:03 GMT
The hilt is attached Japanese-style, pin near the guard. Korean katana-ish do are almost always peened at the pommel, and with a tubular rivet through the grip near the pommel. The blade just looks like a typical Chinese fake katana blade. I think you're giving the makers far too much credit by implying they know the difference between Japanese tachi, katana, and gunto blades, and Korean blades. They usually just stick blades like this (or fake gunto blades) into all sorts of mounts. I've never seen a Korean blade with this kind of inscription. Hanja/Chinese characters are very rare on Korean do blades - I can count the number of examples I've seen on the thumbs of one hand: www.koreanartandantiques.com/items/1247933/Korean-Sword-Insignia-on-Blade/enlargement5Siddham inscriptions are much more common - most of the inscription on the sword above is siddham (don't know what siddham is called in Korean - in Japanese, it's bonji). Of course, that wouldn't stop these makers/fakers from puttings whatever kind of inscription on something that's supposed to be a Korean sword. Ok fair point. I may very likely be giving them WAY too much credit to know what they are doing with the mounts vs just throwing gaudy stuff together and engraving every flat surface lol.
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Post by treeslicer on Jul 31, 2017 4:50:57 GMT
Considering what subforum we're on, where do you put the rounds in that thing? I've got 4 of these fake relics, not at all identical, but similar, and before you despair of your sword as worthless, I'll say a few words about them. BTW, not all of the swords like this are gaudy, some have very tasteful and authentic-looking tachi (or passable gunto) koshirae These first caught my attention through the seller's habit of illustrating their ads with numerous well-shot photos of each exact sword as sold, rather than "stock" photos. Examining these closely in Photoshop revealed a lot of structure in the blades (suggesting lamination, more comments below), and suggested that the fittings were solid copper alloys rather than the zinc-aluminum crap Longquan is famous for. The saya and tsuka were formed of enameled sheet copper, brazed at the seams. The sugata on the katana (which have horimono chiseled in like yours) looked Muromachi, while the tachi had a nearly Kamakura sugata. As I was looking for "beaters" sufficiently durable to hack brush in tropical and coastal conditions, as well as something to drag to SCA events as part of a Kamakura/Nanbokucho garb ("impression" to any buckskinners reading), I got one of the katana (slightly cheaper) to test, fully intending to raise hell through eBay/Paypal Buyer Protection if at all dissatisfied. That didn't happen. When the sword arrived, I promptly disassembled it. The blade was full tang with one mekugi-ana, the saya and tsuka were around 20 ga. copper over wood, and the other fittings cast from some kind of red bronze. The blade, a flamboyant, over-etched damascus matching the ad photos like a fingerprint, and having a surprising amount of niku, wasn't sharpened, so I grabbed a 16" Nicholson file to get to work. It skidded right off the edge with an ungodly screech, but when I applied it to the mune, it cut freely............... After semi-traditionally sharpening the blade, and putting an ito wrap over same on the tsuka, I attacked various brush on my property, trying to break or chip the bleeping thing. That didn't happen either. I then went rooting through photos, and picked a very nice tachi that gave some hint of having a hamon. Turned out that that was a sanmai line! The thing was damascus over some harder core steel, which also showed at the mune. After the same routine as applied to the katana, I got one more of each. I'm doing my best to polish them to a more Japanese appearance, but that's an ongoing project. I paid between $140-$160 each for them, including EMS shipping. You just can't get swords like these from the "usual suspects", and certainly not at that price. I'm still trying to find out where they come from, but have not had much luck, except some rumors that someone may be using upscale factory reject blades for making "relics". If you have one like any of mine, you may have one outstanding "beater". It looks to me like you have one of the "katana" blades in tachi koshirae. The tachi blades I got are longer and wider, without horimono, and having koshi-sori with ko-kissaki. EDIT-- Before doing anything serious with it, you need to remove the decorative thumbtacks from the mekugi, remove the mekugi, drill through the tsuka to admit a regular size bamboo mekugi (and deburr the copper edges), replace the mekugi with a new one, and do a wrap on the tsuka. Paracord or leather lace over coarse sandpaper (secured to the tsuka at the inner edge of the wrap-and-a-half with duct tape) works well for those who don't have same and ito to hand.
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slav
Member
Senior Forumite
Katsujin No Ken
Posts: 4,457
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Post by slav on Aug 1, 2017 0:43:52 GMT
I would think twice before using this thing for cutting at all. Being crappy Damascus, there's no telling how well this thing is forged or heat-treated (if at all). The last thing you want is to catapult a veritable lawnmower blade into the neighbor's yard, or kid...or into your own foot or shin on a downstroke. With plenty of very affordable cutters on the market today, don't "swing it" with this one. If you happen to like the design, by all means put it up on display and leave it there. Cheers!
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Post by treeslicer on Aug 1, 2017 1:08:21 GMT
Yup. Be careful and don't injure yourselves out there.
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