Caligula

Roku I understand that feeling since I am at the forefront of this particular deception. Hopefully in 40 some years I will be at your stage of collection expertise, looking back on this incident. We will see if the buy was a total loss, I am going to have a few words with the seller. He will likely offer some/if not all of my money back, so I don't cause a huge scene at his booth; which is tempting. In the meantime it will be a nice reminder, plus now I have a blade I can practice with. -Phil

I appreciate the encouragement Jean, truly. I have been brought to antique fairs since I was a kid, but my Dad's the real expert, a Museum Director, which makes the deceptive blade a bit more brutal. Thankfully Geraint was able to ID my other sword as a Sudanese Kaskara. I can't imagine how many people you all have had to break this type of news to, but I thank you for the truth. Most people in our hobby line get fooled at some stage, better it happened now so I can be more perceptive in the future. Are there any other fake swords/weapons that are so commonly represented as authentic? -Phil F

Thanks Geraint, appreciate the information and humor lol. Just found out from my mom that the sword my Grandfather brought back from Philippines has a family inscription in the mei; but apparently if even mentioned to my Grandma she would throw it away. Sadly age takes its toll, and we can't allow something like that to end up in a landfill. With the right approach I may be lucky enough to have it passed on to me at some point; at that time someone here may translate it and hopefully reignite my passion for artistic weaponry that this fake has presently robbed me of. Thanks again, Phil

I appreciate the positive intent of your post Brian. I of course wish I had known about this site prior to purchase as well, but at least I learned about the spirit and craftsmanship that goes into making a traditional nihonto. If I ever own a real one, I will appreciate it that much more. My Grandfather was in the front lines in the Philippines, so unless a merchant smuggled himself on the islands to sell Marines fake swords in the midst of combat, his sword could be something special. I hope I have the opportunity to post that one here someday as well. Thanks Again Brian, -Phil

I am guessing this is a shot in the dark. But in an attempt to recover my wounded pride over this fake, I wanted to post my other blade. I am just curious about any possible information including, type of steel used, date of usage, any special forging method, etc. I read that the Saracen soldiers would take crusader swords, and began modeling after/customizing these weapons themselves. Thank you all for taking the time to help answer my questions, especially regarding the Chinese fake. -Phil

I guess it is possible the seller lied, but my Grandfather brought back a sword after fighting in the Philippines that is still in my Grandmother's house to this day. So I wouldn't over presume on that front. Maine is a friendly state and my family knows the seller quite well, it was more likely sold to him as authentic; and being an older Mainer, he never bothered to put in the research I did. And in response to your question, obviously I didn't go to the fair knowing I would buy this item, thus I looked for a forum with experienced moderators/members to discover the truth. -Phil

There is more than 20$ of fraudulent work and materials in this item Jean. Way to add salt to the wound.

I purchased this blade for 200$ at an antique fair. The seller is a well known person at these events, and claimed to have bought it from a marine from WWII. I have been around antiques for most of life, and the forge lines made it appear to be made by hand and generally authentic. Later, as I read more about traditional sword making, I discovered the mei on the tang. I was able to translate the first two characters as Tokyo. The third as maybe kore, but I don't speak a word of Japanese. Hopefully the pictures below will provide enough information. The hamon is incredibly slight and only visible at a certain angle, which made me start to question if the blade is truly Japanese. It has all the imperial dressings of WWII (in the hilt etc). Secondly I read about acid etching and have been fearing my great prize isn't so great. And if it is acid etched and thus fake, why the machine stamped piece where the blade meets the hilt; seems redundant. Anyways, I would like to know either way, and what the tang/mei translates to. Thanks for any time and effort spent helping me with this. -Phil