Is this a Real or FAKE hamon!? (PLEASE HURRY IMMA BUY IT SOON)

I have to ask. Do people HONESTLY expect to get a working, hamon baring katana for $113.? Really?
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Exactly what I thought when originally reading the post. Thanks for saying it.

The Chinese companies who mass produce this kind of junk base their success on the words of Confucius: "A fool and his money are soon parted"
 
All the fake and low-quality knockoff products out there have spread mass confusion. You should see the $20 "titanium" ebay swords that are sometimes brought to my attention.

I walk through the tool store thinking, "That thing looks like a drill, and it sort of acts like a drill, but it can't even do the job of a real drill, so it must be fake!"
 
SouthernComfort said:
Exactly what I thought when originally reading the post. Thanks for saying it.

The Chinese companies who mass produce this kind of junk base their success on the words of Confucius: "A fool and his money are soon parted"
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I thought that was PT Barnum. But then, Confucius said so much...:confused:
 
I sense a certain amount of nationalism here..if the OP had said he was buying a tai chi sword for $113, would we be as quick to dismiss that?
 
kaotikross said:
I sense a certain amount of nationalism here..if the OP had said he was buying a tai chi sword for $113, would we be as quick to dismiss that?
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If he thought it was a new jian with a real hamon at that price, then yes.

Most baffling or banal sword questions in here seem to get answered accurately and seriously by people who know a lot about swords, but for some reason this one was just asking for a good jeering.
 
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There is so much to consider with modern made swords that a newcomer really needs to do some homework before taking the plunge. Unfortunately, inexpensive swords flood the market and a lot of buyers never vist forums.

There have been assemble your own katana kits for about $50. When one breaks down export costs and profit margin, the pieces cost to produce is likely less than $10. Wire brushed and faux etch hamon swords really fall into that same bracket of appealing to a low budget buyer.


Another case in point though was a purchase I made in 2003 for $135. That Hanwei Practical does have a hamon and does have decent ito maki but beyond that lacks a lot of refinement that one may find on swords costing many times that. These types of refinements require learning the differences. Reasons across the board for all sword types. When the older stainless steel wallhangers were largely replaced with "battle ready" "high carbon" swords, a fresh market of "gimmes" jumped.

You get what you pay for means different things for some but really, there is a sucker born every minute.

Cheers

Glen
 
Yes, but is this thing's hamon battle-ready.

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Sorry Lycosa, I'll stop! :D
 
LOL, easy guys, ya'll are too literal. I just used Confucius since we were focused on Chinese junk. Wasn't meant to historically accurate. :)
 
Mecha said:
Most baffling or banal sword questions in here seem to get answered accurately and seriously by people who know a lot about swords, but for some reason this one was just asking for a good jeering.
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....because sometimes you lose patience with the abject stupidity/lack of experience/lack of common sense that people can demonstrate.

Everyone has their limits, mine are pretty low...others more accepting......but sometimes, as in this case, hilarity ensues.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
That looks a bit too regularly wavy and distinct to be a real hamon. I got suckered by one or two of these 10-15 years ago when i first started becoming interested and this looks exactly like the etching on a blade i bought back then. Looked good in the pics but the blade (and sword as a whole) was awful when i received it. Turned out to be a mass produced blade made in China. based on my previous experience i would just assume was a fake without further inquiry and pass. There are some pretty good (and interesting) articles on hamons, heat treating, differential hardening, etc to be found on the interwebs. If you don't have the time, at least take a quick look a wikipedia which has a very short page on it and also addresses how modern makes are made. hope that is helpful.
 
Wilsonhome said:
That looks a bit too regularly wavy and distinct to be a real hamon. I got suckered by one or two of these 10-15 years ago when i first started becoming interested and this looks exactly like the etching on a blade i bought back then. Looked good in the pics but the blade (and sword as a whole) was awful when i received it. Turned out to be a mass produced blade made in China. based on my previous experience i would just assume was a fake without further inquiry and pass. There are some pretty good (and interesting) articles on hamons, heat treating, differential hardening, etc to be found on the interwebs. If you don't have the time, at least take a quick look a wikipedia which has a very short page on it and also addresses how modern makes are made. hope that is helpful.
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Being a mass produced blade in China does not mean the hamon is not real.

The hamon in the op is not real.

A sword blade that has hamon is not an indicator of quality or value...it just means that it was differentially hardened.

There are some excellent mass produced Chinese katana-like-object blades with hamon, and there are some crappy ones.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
Being a mass produced blade in China does not mean the hamon is not real.

The hamon in the op is not real.

A sword blade that has hamon is not an indicator of quality or value...it just means that it was differentially hardened.

There are some excellent mass produced Chinese katana-like-object blades with hamon, and there are some crappy ones.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Thanks STeven. True, a good distinction, and i appreciate your clarifying my ambiguous statement as my point was really meant to state that the hamon did not look real to me in comparison to real hamons that i have seen and actually looked like a cheap knockoff that i bought when i was younger. I guess what i should have said was "it turned out to be a mass produced blade made in China very cheaply and with a faked hamon". I didn't know what a real hamon should look like at the time because i was young and overly enthusiastic. I am sure there are excellent mass produced chinese blades.
 
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