Fleebay seller piddling multiple fakes, but is his type 19 fake?

[Bridges]

Hey all, I’m interested in bidding on this type 19 that has a habaki and what appears to be a machined made blade, rare stuff to say the least. HOWEVER, this seller is piddling multiple fake types. He has fake type 95, 98,  fake alleged saber and so on. This is an alleged type 19 but look at where the nut is supposed to be cold peened, ITS A FLAT HEAD SCREW! I’m dying internally because this is what I search eBay every day for. Can y’all give guidance on the Tokyo proof marks? I’m not too worried about the scabbard not being chromed due to other guntos having a similar scabbard but, it would make it easier to throw a non-chromed scabbard on this piece. All this to say, the seller popped up with all these fake swords. All I need to know is, is this one fake too? Does anyone know this seller? 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125692973813?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=9iYfDj0YS4y&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=5b5Igx0HQ7e&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[ROKUJURO]

This is probably a good question for the militaria experts in the respective section.

[Bridges]

Hey Jean, I wasn’t sure if the eBay link put it in this section or not? I was on the fence about this, if @Brian can move it to the appropriate section thatd be great.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Attempting to be a Zohei-To, total crap.

[Bridges]

Hey John, what gave it away for you? For me, it’s the flat head screw. The cherry blossom isn’t terrible but the screw is a red flag I can’t ignore.

[Bruce Pennington]

Wow, what an odd-ball.  The blade is much nicer that a "normal" fake, if this is a fake, and the bohi is much better than a fake.  The Chinese fakers really like to number the habaki, but that Kokura stamps sure looks right, though I can't say I've ever seen one on a habaki before.   The matching numbers on habaki and drag are standard for Type 32s not 19s.  Also the metal of the handguard, looking at the edge, seems like steel? or is that just paint?  There's something odd about the floral pattern on the backstrap, too, and there is no dimpling on the backstrap.

 

But, again, I don't study these, so please disregard all the above.

 

Posting pics for the future.  That sale post will go dead some day.

 

[Michael T]

Hello –

I agree with John - a copy. My pictures are from an ExxY - auction 2017. Here you can see the differences to an original a little clearer.

A healthy 2023 to you and your families!

Michael

[Bridges]

I’m struggling here Michael, I sat down and did a side by side of the original and the eBay one. They are very similar. Bruce is right, if this is a fake, they took their time with it. I’m on the fence, seller wants 225 to start the bid  and he accepts returns. I’ve asked for better pics in the light. Bruce pointed out the hilt looks like it may be steel. I’ll attach the pics of what I think he’s referring to. (Correct me if I’m wrong Bruce) I’m not sure if the light is hitting it the wrong way and casting an illusion or if it’s steel. The numbered font on the saya is nearly identical. Bo-hi starts and stops in similiar area. I’ve noticed with fakes sometimes the bohi starts very far away from the hilt. The thought of this being original is enticing. I’m wondering if I should buy it and return it if the natural pics come back better….I appreciate the input. Seems like the common consensus is China isn’t churning out true, parade type 19s (not gunto) due to low cost but I have seen, albeit very few, fakes hit eBay. Very, very few but they are present. Everyone is making great points. If the seller gets back with better pics I’ll keep y’all posted.

[Bridges]

@Bruce Pennington. @Michael T

seller got back within minutes of my request, here are MUCH clearer pics. Bruce, is that dimples on the backstrap or poor casting marks?!? Look where the mon typically is. Also, the type Michael posted has a dimple where the hilt meets the grip. Similar dimple on this type.

[Kiipu]

This is a reproduction and the blade is probably the same as used on the reproduction Type 95s.  I would be interested in what @Shamsy thinks of the blade.

[Shamsy]

  On 1/1/2023 at 2:33 PM, Bruce Pennington said:

Wow, what an odd-ball.  The blade is much nicer that a "normal" fake, if this is a fake, and the bohi is much better than a fake. 

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I agree with Bruce here, Thomas. The bohi is 'good' compared to some repros and fakes. Neat and rounded at the top, scooping up at the bottom (though this can also be more of a kissaki shape too). A lot of fake blades in 95s are scooped at both ends. Looks cheap and presumably is.

 

If all fake 95s had blades like this, it'd be a -slightly- harder game to pick them.

 

Having said that, the BUT. There is not a definitive style behind the bohi found on 95s. I've illustrated this in the fake thread (page 6) with example pictures, which I'll copy here. They are the two with multiple blades shown. The fake thread also has a lot of different styles of bohi on fake examples, some are scooped, some neat like this. So I can't really say anything more than this bohi is better than worse examples. It's better than some but not unusual. Quite underwhelming for such a long post I'm afraid.

 

 

[Bridges]

Shamsy, I wish I could be as smart as you some day, casually roast me at the end in such an elegant way 😂

[Shamsy]

  On 1/2/2023 at 1:17 PM, Bridges said:

Shamsy, I wish I could be as smart as you some day, casually roast me at the end in such an elegant way 😂

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Sorry, that was not aimed at you. I was saying that my long reply really boils down to 'blade is better than most fake/repro but not unusual'. However, I managed to somehow make that several paragraphs. 

[Bridges]

All in good fun!