Only buy from reputable Chinese dealers who are members of major Japanese sword collecting societies as only these are dealers accountable for their integrity!

Do not bid on any private auctions where the bidders names are kept secret!

The words ... made in 19 or 20th century ... can (and probably does) mean 1999!

Do not bid on any auctions from Canada or Great Britain where the swords are shipped from China or Hong Kong!

OK enough Email ... there are dozens Chinese merchants that are selling swords on Ebay that are fakes. The scam falls into three general categories on Ebay.

The first relates swords that are presented as old or antique Japanese Samurai swords, when they really are modern products. It takes alot of practice, reading, and training to identify real Japanese swords, and most collectors cannot tell the difference between a real sword from a well faked sword, but I (and the rest of the Nihonto collecting world) can .. and these are really a major fraud. They do not have the key features that identify a real Japanese sword but they look very good to the non-expert. The Chinese are producing bad fakes as well as very very good fakes. They are making blades with folded metal, they apply acid to create fake temper lines, they also stain the metal to simulate temper lines and give them an antique look. They are casting tsuba and other koshirae in brass, bronze and silver and selling them as old on Ebay. The scabbards are well made, some with sanded rayskin or Mother of pearl, etc.. They are faking swords in the thousands, and presenting them on Ebay as both old and Japanese when they are new and Chinese. Thousands and thousands of dollars are being spent on these swords by buyers who think that they are real Japanese items. Don't get taken now, and don't get taken later when these show up in droves in the reasale market. One group of Hong Kong dealers lists their swords in groups of five. If you look back at their previous auctions, you begin to see that the shapes and styles of the furniture on the swords is similar -sometimes identical - ... probably worked from a basic pattern with each sword having variations enough to look different. If you track these auctions you would see the same pattern sword sold multiple times (I did). And the dealers want to keep all of this secret from the new bidders, and they do this by keeping the auctions private.

IF THE BIDDERS NAMES ARE HIDDEN / KEPT PRIVATE, THEN THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT... PROBABLY SO THAT NOONE CAN WARN THEM BEFORE THEY GET RIPPED OFF!!! DO NOT BID ON PRIVATE AUCTIONS ON ANY SWORDS!!!

The Hong Kong swords are also being sold through Canada and Britain where they are quoted in GBP but shipped from Hong Kong. Same stuff, same con game. Buyer beware!

There are, however, a number of reputable dealers in Hong Kong and other areas in China from whom you can get reliable good quality and verified old Japoanese swords and sword furniture. These dealers are members of one or more international Japanese sword collecting organizations. They will advertize these associations in their ads on Ebay. Look for it! Beware of buying from others.

The second issue is a problem with swords produced in China and the southeast asia (Indonesia, etc.) which are also sold as old Japanese Samurai swords or as WW II Japanese Parade swords. I saw thousands of these for sale in Bali indonesia and Seoul Korea in the late 1990's. The katana swords usually try and crudely mimic the Japanese 1928 Military Katana patterns. They are REALLY crap. The parade swords will often have rayskin grips (really crude) and will have metal scabbards etched with chinese characters. These scabbards are usually brass with a brown etching or coloration. Please don't buy this junk. Alot of these come from Shanghai dealers.

The third fraud is from the same Chinese and Korean companies, and this deals with bronze daggers and swords. I saw hundreds of the fake antiques in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Indonesia presented to the toursits as old Ming Dynastry Warrior swords, Warring states swords, and other crap. These are produced by the TON in China and Korea for sale to torusits. In Seoul they ask for $500 USD from the tourists, but when you look at one flea market you see dozens of these all (curiously) with the same molding patterns and imperfections. You can get them for $10 in most booths after you tell the seller that you know he is lying. These companies are also faking non-asian swords, and fakes have been seen of middle easteran and Biblical period bronze weaponry as well. (i.e. Lurustan daggers, Masada Roman short swords, etc.) It is all junk and the people selling it are criminals.

So the guidance from this group of collectors is...

Do not purchase any swords from sellers in mainland China or Hong Kong unless they are members of internationally recognized Japanese sword collecting organizations!

That is unless (of course) you want a repro sword. The unethical sellers are located in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Canada, and Great Britain, etc. and will usually have numerous swords up for auction. Please check all of their current auctions, and then look at their completed auctions and see if the same sword is sold more than once. That is a sure sign of mass production. If you are hot for a Japanese sword, please purchase a few books first, read them. Here are three books you should own!!!! I am an AMAZON.COM associate so the links go directly to AMAZON.COM.

The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords by Kokan Nagayama, Kenji Mishina (translator)

The Craft of the Japanese Sword by Leon and Hiroko Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara

Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks by Richard Fuller and Ron Gregory

Pictures of fakes from Nihon-To message board.

Copyright 1999 Internet Sword Collectors Association

(The information contained in this website is the property of the Internet Sword Collectors Association and reproduction, copying and reuse is prohibited without prior written consent from the Association)

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