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Post by jeff190 on Jun 14, 2018 5:36:50 GMT
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Post by randomnobody on Jun 14, 2018 8:57:02 GMT
Seems like the real deal to me. Can't really say how old it might be, though; the nakago seems rather light brown so not very old?
It's an unpapered bare blade, and the current bid isn't bad at $475, but it's still got almost three days left. It'll get a lot higher, I think.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Jun 14, 2018 9:47:16 GMT
I would be very cautious of swords sold by changtian-sword or wblwbl12 on eBay. Some quite recent discussion about them: www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/25497-okay-now-this-is-getting-scary/ And your can find other discussion too from various places. Based on the pictures I think these are pretty well done swords from China, better than your average production swords. But the problem is they are trying to be passed as Japanese made swords. I would think it would be more profit to have these fitted in koshirae and sold to martial artists as Chinese made katana. But I guess they make more money by trying to pass these off as Japanese swords because they'll do what gets most money to them...
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Post by randomnobody on Jun 14, 2018 10:18:59 GMT
I defer to Jussi.
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Post by RufusScorpius on Jun 14, 2018 10:33:49 GMT
"No paperwork for verification". I thank them for being honest and up front with that, BUT- they know somebody is going to ask and they can't prove origin. So no paper= never happened. They can say anything they like, they just can't prove it and probably neither can you unless you have the metal of the blade lab tested.
I would pass on these. No paper= no sale.
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Post by randomnobody on Jun 14, 2018 11:00:05 GMT
Neither of mine are papered.
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pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Jun 14, 2018 13:02:57 GMT
I would pass on these. No paper= no sale. I’d go further and say: No papers + no returns = no sale
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stormmaster
Member
I like viking/migration era swords
Posts: 7,649
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Post by stormmaster on Jun 14, 2018 14:09:55 GMT
Blade looks real enough but without identification it would be hard to resell
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Post by jeff190 on Jun 14, 2018 19:17:17 GMT
I would be very cautious of swords sold by changtian-sword or wblwbl12 on eBay. Some quite recent discussion about them: www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/25497-okay-now-this-is-getting-scary/ And your can find other discussion too from various places. Based on the pictures I think these are pretty well done swords from China, better than your average production swords. But the problem is they are trying to be passed as Japanese made swords. I would think it would be more profit to have these fitted in koshirae and sold to martial artists as Chinese made katana. But I guess they make more money by trying to pass these off as Japanese swords because they'll do what gets most money to them... Thanks, I was not even paying attention to the seller. This is really helpful. It they try to fool the buyer with Chinese katana they almost got me, at least for this case it's so hard for me to tell. The no fitting and koshirae thing can be a very good trick which makes me hope this can be a real mishandled Japanese piece.
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Post by jeff190 on Jun 14, 2018 19:21:41 GMT
I also agree on not buying nihonto without paper and return, though even with paper it's just hard to resell at the same price....
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Post by RufusScorpius on Jun 14, 2018 21:48:47 GMT
A close look a the photos and I can swear the blades are pattern welded (Damascus).
No. I think these blades are modern Chinese forge. Add the cost of fitting them out and you are looking at $1000 per blade for a janky lineage from an Ebay dealer that doesn't offer returns on a blade from "second hand market" that mentions no forge or name or contact of previous owner. I would pass. And if I turn out to be wrong- oh well. There will always be other deals down the road.
I would also like to add that when buying a random sword for collecting or practicing, then it's not very important other than purchasing from a known name brand forge. But when it comes to actual nihonto- I would never, EVER, buy one that did not have authenticating papers with it. There are just too many fakes out there, and too many people willing to capitalize on the mystique of "authentic Japanese" samurai swords. It's very easy to spend a thousand dollars on a "authentic nihonto" - trusting only the seller's word and not having documentation to show origin- only to find out 10 years later when you got to sell it that it's a fake worth $150. I would rather pass on the sale and wait for something more substantiated.
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