I have seen a lot of warnings regarding China made swords and copies.
I have lived in Taiwan over 20 years, and in China 2 years, and have stumbled across many so-called Japanese swords.
Whereas in Taiwan we still can find real Japanese swords (and some outstanding collector pieces) left by Japanese after the war -- and most time hidden carefully because Japanese swords were totally forbidden in Taiwan -- they are very rare pieces and quite expensive.
In China, a lot of copies were (and are still) made. However it is still possible to find some nice swords that were made in China during the Japanese occupation, and mainly used as parade or gift objects. Although these are a far cry from real Japanese fine smithing, they still can be nice to start a collection, as they are extremely cheap.
While in China, I have examined hundreds of swords, both old and recent, and most were rubbish. However I still found two nice pieces that look good on a shelf after a bit of restauration work.
If I ever happen to find one real good item, I will post it here, as I probably won't be able to afford it...
Cheers,
In budo,
Godfrey.
