Help identify this sword

kauai Marc

kauai Marc

Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
1,183
Looking for help to identify this sword,itis 30" overall the blade being 19"
thank you
Marc
 

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It looks like a Chinese copy of a Japanese Sword. Just put the words 'Japanese Sword' into ebay to see similar examples.
 
Not so sure its a cheapo....those look like leather wraps and the hamon doesnt look like a fake one....
 
Hard to tell with those pictures. Try to get in-focus pictures of the hamon and fittings. I don't think it's a japanese original but it doesn't seem like some cheapo either. Maybe a high quality chinese blade that's been refitted or a domestic maker.
 
Andrew Taylor said:
On a real sword the leather would be braided Japanese silk.

Hamon looks to be too far up the blade and very uneven.
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The fitings look to be a mixture. As if someone has put a tanto tsuba on a Hanwei (Paul Chen) wakizashi. The menuki look like those of yhe Musashi model and that would fit the leather(ette) wrap. It might even be the tanto tsuka.

It would be perfectly a symmetrical hamon that would be the real calling card of a cheap sword. The Hanwei blades are still clayed by hand before heat treatment and the resulting polished blade is acid etched to enhance (bring out) the appearance. the kissaki looks rather Hanwei as well.

The original poster might be well served to post the pictures on a board where there are production katana enthusiasts and not a knife board with little sword traffic. Japanese style swords are not my forte but this one adds up to someones project to me. Probably some years old but they definitely look like off the shelf Hanwei components.

Cheers

GC
 
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So at last you agree it is a copy of an old sword? :) It is not an authentic 12th century to 19th century swords like the ones I have?
 
Everything about it is consistent withthe Paul Chen Hanwei Musashi series, to include the scabbard. These are good quality blades from what I have learned. You can order their catalog on line.
 
gkitch said:
Everything about it is consistent withthe Paul Chen Hanwei Musashi series, to include the scabbard. These are good quality blades from what I have learned. You can order their catalog on line.
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Good might be a little bit subjective. :)
 
Andrew Taylor said:
So at last you agree it is a copy of an old sword? :) It is not an authentic 12th century to 19th century swords like the ones I have?
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Hi Andrew,

The thing is that (old or new) identifying swords is more than saying that's modern crap and blowing people off. I don't think anyone did imply it was anything but a modern sword.

I never dissagreed that it was a modern sword. I did disagree that an uneven hamon was an absolute indicator of a cheap modern sword. Maybe you would like to put up examples of all the Nihon-to you can find (your's even) with even hamon. Maybe I am misreading your use of the term but even to me means symmetrical. Uneven would be somewhat expected in a hand clayed (or even stenciled to a pattern) hamon.

I generally go with the philosophy of too much information being better than not enough but your methodology probably does suit the shallow level of interest many have in actually learning a subject.

Cheers

GC

Cheers

GC
 
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Triton said:
Good might be a little bit subjective. :)
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Good golly, you have gotten a bit jaded over the years. Although, Hugh still gets the curmudgeon of the year award. I think you may have to run your cultural polls again, just to reaffirm what most of us know but it is always entertaining. I'll offer to run naked while swinging my leaf blade about again.:) I don't recall that you ever did include this venue in those profiling efforts. It might be fun. This time you could ask for donations from the winner instead of contributing prizes. As a previous recipient, I am ineligible anyway. I passed it on to someone that can cut mats with it better than I.


Not to forget that Hanwei and KC are probably still the lowest end and somewhat trustworthy "bang for the buck" katanaesque swords available out there. Lots of folk would probably give the edge to KC but Hanwei still has some street cred (despite my Godfred and other failures). That Practical Katana I bought years ago has managed reliable service as a loaner at cutting events and still get favorable "gee, that's really not bad" from Iaidoka that handle it. Japanese swords? WhaduIknowanyway? Mine just hangs in its bag most of the year.

Cheers

GC
 
horseclover said:
Good golly, you have gotten a bit jaded over the years. Although, Hugh still gets the curmudgeon of the year award. I think you may have to run your cultural polls again, just to reaffirm what most of us know but it is always entertaining. I'll offer to run naked while swinging my leaf blade about again.:) I don't recall that you ever did include this venue in those profiling efforts. It might be fun. This time you could ask for donations from the winner instead of contributing prizes. As a previous recipient, I am ineligible anyway. I passed it on to someone that can cut mats with it better than I.


Not to forget that Hanwei and KC are probably still the lowest end and somewhat trustworthy "bang for the buck" katanaesque swords available out there. Lots of folk would probably give the edge to KC but Hanwei still has some street cred (despite my Godfred and other failures). That Practical Katana I bought years ago has managed reliable service as a loaner at cutting events and still get favorable "gee, that's really not bad" from Iaidoka that handle it. Japanese swords? WhaduIknowanyway? Mine just hangs in its bag most of the year.

Cheers

GC
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Wow someone remembered! I really do need to do some sort of contest, just to give back a little... and yeah I've developed a bit of an attitude over the years about the katana, mostly I guess because I see actual experts on that subject get pushed out of places by a bunch of so called experts whose expertise mostly consists of touting the superlative qualities of the latest ubiquitous chitana (it's only a matter of time before they become vietanas or indiatanas) that they got for only 19.95. Or maybe I'm just getting older and grumpier... :)
 
FWIW, I am a moderator over at the Nihonto Forum and I assure you, the process of deternmining what the sword is, would be best aided with some better, in focus pictures.

That would be a great start.

CAB
 
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