Help Identify This Sword, was sold to me as a Paul Chen

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xounlistedxox

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After closer examination I cannot find any Paul Chen Swords that look like this one. Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Brandon
 
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Hey Brandon,

It is not a Hanwei katana, at least not one that I've ever seen and I've been working for CAS ~8 years.

Hanwei katana have never been offered with that style of packaging (either in a cloth bag and suspended by foam or in a cut-out foam pack inserted into a cardboard sleeve).

There are some other tip-offs (black habaki, no shinogi that I can see, not a Hanwei tsuba).

Blake
 
bpogue said:
Hey Brandon,

It is not a Hanwei katana, at least not one that I've ever seen and I've been working for CAS ~8 years.

Hanwei katana have never been offered with that style of packaging (either in a cloth bag and suspended by foam or in a cut-out foam pack inserted into a cardboard sleeve).

There are some other tip-offs (black habaki, no shinogi that I can see, not a Hanwei tsuba).

Blake
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I was afraid of this. I am new to swords, & don't know much about them. I paid $105 for this sword from a local pawn shop. Everything on the paperwork claimed it was genuine Paul Chen. My next question is, do you think this sword is worth keeping at the $105 price point, or should I bring it back and attempt a refund?

Thanks Again,
Brandon
 
horseclover said:
Don't forget that there is a Paul Chen of Cheness as well.

Cheers

GC
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Yeah, while searching to find out what this sword actually was I also found this out. It is neither of the Paul Chens. It is just a cheap ebay sword and is exactly the same as the one in the link above. Looks like I got taken for a ride. This sword is worth about $10 & I paid $105. The manager at the pawn shop refused to do anything about it.
 
Well, was PT Barnum right?

Sword n Armory is a fairly stand up seller and company but even then, pumping fodder onto the market.

You didn't show a picture of the paperwork, so if it did not list Hanwei, it was not Hanwei paperwork. If it does, it would be interesting to see the paperwork.

A firsst flag is always just the fancy boxes, which cost pennies and add to allure. Fast talking salesmen? I wasn't there but you were evidently convinced enough to take a gamble. The only goods I have ever been disappointed with for the money were bought for some of the same reasoning. As seen on TV has got me a couple opf times, despite better judgment.

For any blades though, only when pretty much expecting the worst and only confirmed once in hand. Never for more than $20. At the low end, cool and quality rarely walk hand in hand. Write it off as experience. I watched the sword market for a long long time before spending more than $200 and I still own that sword, with fairly fond regard. Some years before that, declining the expenditure of a couple of grand for a fully fitted American smithed katana. I will regret not doing so for the rest of my life but at the same time, learned something about what to appreciate and expectations vs cost.

Cheers

GC
 
I would get a police report of him selling fakes and sue him in small claim court but I would sue for more than I paid for the sword.
 
horseclover said:
Well, was PT Barnum right?

Sword n Armory is a fairly stand up seller and company but even then, pumping fodder onto the market.

You didn't show a picture of the paperwork, so if it did not list Hanwei, it was not Hanwei paperwork. If it does, it would be interesting to see the paperwork.

A firsst flag is always just the fancy boxes, which cost pennies and add to allure. Fast talking salesmen? I wasn't there but you were evidently convinced enough to take a gamble. The only goods I have ever been disappointed with for the money were bought for some of the same reasoning. As seen on TV has got me a couple opf times, despite better judgment.

For any blades though, only when pretty much expecting the worst and only confirmed once in hand. Never for more than $20. At the low end, cool and quality rarely walk hand in hand. Write it off as experience. I watched the sword market for a long long time before spending more than $200 and I still own that sword, with fairly fond regard. Some years before that, declining the expenditure of a couple of grand for a fully fitted American smithed katana. I will regret not doing so for the rest of my life but at the same time, learned something about what to appreciate and expectations vs cost.

Cheers

GC
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I purchased this from a local pawn shop. The ebay link was only for reference showing that my sword is not Paul Chen, but merely a cheap ebay special. I have shopped with this pawn company for years and spent many hundreds of dollars there. I expected them to be reputable and sell me what they claim, not falsely advertise this sword as a Paul Chen without verifying that it is in fact a Paul Chen sword.

I have edited the original post to include a clear picture of the receipt showing it was sold to me as an Authentic Paul Chen. As mentioned above I am new to swords, so I didn't know a great deal at the time. I took them for their word as a business. Imagine if this were a Rolex or something of that nature.
 
Oh, ok. A receipt, not a certificate of any kind. You might want to take it up with your local district of attorney. That will usually make a business stand right up and recognize that a return might be in order.

Cheers

GC
 
horseclover said:
Oh, ok. A receipt, not a certificate of any kind. You might want to take it up with your local district of attorney. That will usually make a business stand right up and recognize that a return might be in order.

Cheers

GC
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So, it is your opinion that shops can basically sell whatever they want & advertise it as whatever they want, & it's up to the buyer to tell if it's authentic and as advertised?
The sticker that was on the product also states:

SWORD, OTHER
PAUL CHEN
AUTHENTIC PAUL CHEN KATANA IN DECORATIVE RED SILK
KATANA
 
I contacted the DA, they said to file a police report, then take them to small claims court. I have filed the report. I've also filed a complaint to the better business bureau which they are not accredited, and the department of consumer affairs. I Submitted a poor review on yelp, sent an email to their corporate, as well as posting on their facebook page.
 
att screwed me over so I got a folding chair and sat 2 feet away from there door. I was passing out the va discount list that I have. you might want to try that. two weeks latter he didn't work there.
 
Did the spellin of Chin/Chen two ways on the receipt not send up some alarms?--KV
 
Before causing a shitstorm, did you CONTACT the shop from which you purchased the sword? Maybe give them a chance to rectify the situation?

Sure, there's a chance they knew better and marked it as a Chen just to get it sold to some dumb schmuck who'd never question it. On the other hand, pawnshop employees are people, and people are stupid. ESPECIALLY when it comes to swords. Hell, the average person doesn't know their ass from the elbow when it comes to swords.

I'd bet they did a Google search for "katana", Paul Chen swords came up, they thought, "Jee, this looks one of them. Mark it authentic."

If you haven't, contact the store. Give them a chance. If they're out to shaft you, it'll be obvious and you can threaten a lawsuit.

Most pawnshops have a no returns policy, but they sold something falsely advertized as something else.
 
HolyRoller said:
Before causing a shitstorm, did you CONTACT the shop from which you purchased the sword? Maybe give them a chance to rectify the situation?

Sure, there's a chance they knew better and marked it as a Chen just to get it sold to some dumb schmuck who'd never question it. On the other hand, pawnshop employees are people, and people are stupid. ESPECIALLY when it comes to swords. Hell, the average person doesn't know their ass from the elbow when it comes to swords.

I'd bet they did a Google search for "katana", Paul Chen swords came up, they thought, "Jee, this looks one of them. Mark it authentic."

If you haven't, contact the store. Give them a chance. If they're out to shaft you, it'll be obvious and you can threaten a lawsuit.

Most pawnshops have a no returns policy, but they sold something falsely advertized as something else.
Click to expand...

Did you read post #6?
 
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