Shinsakuto (?) on ebay

[drjoe]

this is not a nihonto, so a little off topic, but i was wondering if people would like to comment on this blade:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... ink:top:en

 

 

the seller is in china, making me automatically skeptical that this is a reproduction, and the hamon really baffles me. maybe it's an effect of san mai construction, but the "line" seems unusually thick and there's not a huge amount of activity in the hamon like you see in typical shinsakuto. at first i thought maybe it isn't even folded, but looking closer there is clearly a hada, albeit a somewhat sloppy one.

 

any opinions on what this is? real shinsakuto or chinese fake?

[sanjuro]

Well....... Where do we start? :D

Your first statement was definately correct. It isnt a nihonto!

Sloppy hada? .......Yes, what little of it can be seen.

Description says choji hamon....... which one? the narrow one at the ha is a sort of elongated sambonsugi, but not quite. What's the name for the Mt fuji shaped hamon? Never mind..... it isnt that either. The white area (I can't really call it a hamon) Is Gunome or gunomish. In any event, not a chogi in sight.

hamon, too ornate rather than complex even for the most 'out there' nihonto.

Shinsakuto? Methinks not, at least not one made by a Japanese smith. Its all 'wrong looking'.

A healthy skepticism is a goooooood thing in this case.

 

But hey, what do I know? Its just my humble opinion.

[Amon]

This is a seller that has offered Kiriha-zukuri Tachi, Osoraku-zukuri Tanto and several newly made katanas.

All newly made and all with the same type of mei.

Genuine?......

 

Kind regards,

[Jamie]

The Line closest to the edge -Kind of in the Hamon- is the The Lamination line. Where the Harder steel starts. Most San Mai Blades I have seen have that line.

I'd be skeptical too buying a Shinsakuto for well below market price from China.

 

 

This will probably get removed as it is not related to Nihonto, But I figured I'd answer anyway.

[drjoe]

yes, those were my thoughts, though the seller did vow that this was Japanese made and not "chinese junk!"

 

what's interesting to me is that this is clearly designed to be a reproduction of a shinsakuto. we've all seen the awful chinese copies of showa-to and the like, but this is the first deliberate copy of a shinsakuto i've seen.

[Brian]

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6846

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5839

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5416

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4834

 

I am pretty sure his (or someone similar) auctions have been discussed before. Sometimes the blades are very very good, other times not so good.

No idea what is really going on with these, but they are not Japanese.

 

Brian

 

Ps - Pity all those eBay auctions have expired. We should perhaps re-upload a single pic when discussing eBay swords if the topic should be preserved.

[drjoe]

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6846

Ps - Pity all those eBay auctions have expired. We should perhaps re-upload a single pic when discussing eBay swords if the topic should be preserved.

 

added a few pictures for posterity.

[JamesH]

Hi everyone,

 

I thought, if I may, I might throw in my 2 cents.

 

I have seen a few blades such as this (better quality of blade, but less deliberately carved mei) offered by a couple of chinese sellers on eBay.

 

Although each of them vows it is a gendaito (traditionally handforged of tamahagane), I have serious doubts about this.

 

I managed to catch out a tanto auction, where almost the exact blade, exact signature was auctioned about 1 month apart. Also, all the blades have approximately the same ko-itame hada, virtually identical shape, and poorly carved signature (with the exception of this one). While I have not tested this, I get the feeling the hamon is very soft, and only slightly harder than the rest of the blade.

 

Overall I get the feeling, that we may be seeing a new grade of China repro, but I could be wrong. The other thing that throws me in that direction, is that all blades are unmounted, even though one of the sellers offering these every now and then, sells many low grade brass casts of f/k and tsuba (the really cheap-CHEAP made stuff).

 

Anyhow thats my own conclusions.

 

 

James