Post by Alfonia on Nov 15, 2004 1:49:18 GMT -5
A bit of info on how to avoid fake ebay katanas
Some fakes, like the ones the chinese ebay sellers are selling, are easy to spot, and easily avoided. (If you do not know what I am talking about, do an ebay search for "katana" and you'll end up with lots of "Rare wonderful exquisite Japanese Katana". So how do you know it's a fake? well here are some things that should make you run:
a) if the dealer is located in China or Hong Kong, the katana will be a fake in 99% of the cases.
b) bad kissaki shape. An easy way to spot a fake is to look at the tip of the sword, it's almost never properly made.
c) etched designs on the blade, if a katana has this, it's most likely a fake
d) bad tang shape, bad tsuka or saya shape. Crude painted designs on the saya.
e) is the description written in a strange language that could only be described as Chinglish? Common words include "wonderful, exquisite, Infrequent, Japonic (they tend to say this instead of Japanese)"
f) does the text contradict itself? A seller talking about an "antique ww2 sword" does not know what he's talking about. A military sword from ww2 (known as Gunto) is not an antique.
g) Bad looks. Does the tsuba and other metal parts look poorly cast? is the handle wrap not proper, or is the sword just plain ugly? Remember that a real japanese sword the work of several artists, who all have several months of experience, also a blade takes several months to make. A chinese fake is often made by a peasant with no swordmaking experience, and perhaps several of these swords are made each day. It's not hard to see which sword is the real one and which is the fake.
Some fakes, like the ones the chinese ebay sellers are selling, are easy to spot, and easily avoided. (If you do not know what I am talking about, do an ebay search for "katana" and you'll end up with lots of "Rare wonderful exquisite Japanese Katana". So how do you know it's a fake? well here are some things that should make you run:
a) if the dealer is located in China or Hong Kong, the katana will be a fake in 99% of the cases.
b) bad kissaki shape. An easy way to spot a fake is to look at the tip of the sword, it's almost never properly made.
c) etched designs on the blade, if a katana has this, it's most likely a fake
d) bad tang shape, bad tsuka or saya shape. Crude painted designs on the saya.
e) is the description written in a strange language that could only be described as Chinglish? Common words include "wonderful, exquisite, Infrequent, Japonic (they tend to say this instead of Japanese)"
f) does the text contradict itself? A seller talking about an "antique ww2 sword" does not know what he's talking about. A military sword from ww2 (known as Gunto) is not an antique.
g) Bad looks. Does the tsuba and other metal parts look poorly cast? is the handle wrap not proper, or is the sword just plain ugly? Remember that a real japanese sword the work of several artists, who all have several months of experience, also a blade takes several months to make. A chinese fake is often made by a peasant with no swordmaking experience, and perhaps several of these swords are made each day. It's not hard to see which sword is the real one and which is the fake.