eBay View About Me for greyguy0

FRAUD

As I write this, in November of 2004, the amount of fraudulent auctioneering and fake eBay email scams is scary; it’s hard to know who you can trust anymore. I hope the following tips prove useful.

Fake auctions

The seller posts pictures and description of a sword but he doesn’t have the sword. It is very easy to copy pictures and descriptions off the internet, or from other ebay auctions. The thief then starts the sale, either with his own ebay identity (brand new, low feedback #) or with someone else’s, which he has stolen because he has learned that seller’s password. Usually he will invite bidders to contact him directly to buy the sword before auction’s end (he gives us an email address and says something like, “I will consider any reasonable offer over $1,000.”). He does this because he knows that if the real owner of the ebay identity or of the sword discovers his scam he will be shut down, and this also allows him to scam multiple victims.

What can you do? If the seller invites bidders to contact him at his email, not through Ebay, and buy the sword directly, it's a scam. Scroll to the bottom of the sale page and click on "Report This Item". Click "Listing policy violations", "Circumvention of ebay fees", and "Offering merchandise for sale outside of ebay". On the next page click on email and then click send.

Report the jerk to his ISP

If the crook lists an email address you can report him to his internet service provider. For instance, if the address is skunkboy@anyisp.com you can rat him out by sending a message to abuse@anyisp.com. Make sure you include his email address in your message to the ISP.

REAL FROM FAKE

If you want to know real Japanese swords from the fakes, and quality from just stuff, you should: buy books and study, join sword societies that publish and study, and go to Japanese sword shows and study. Once you’ve done all that it wouldn’t hurt to study some more. This is an incredibly complex subject; you aren’t going to learn everything in an afternoon.

That said, here are a few side by side comparisons between recently made fakes and the real thing. I can’t cover all of the variations found out there but the following should help you with many of them.

Tsuka: the sword handle. Fakes are often painted wood or crudely wrapped imitations of the real thing. In the pictures below the fake on top is done sloppily while even the lowly but real WWII era handle below it is done properly and with skill. Real handle wraps never are the criss cross double back seen on this fake.

The picture below shows a handle with an auxiliary knife that fits into the butt of the handle. These are always fake.

Hada: the sword’s grain. The fake on top below is a mix of 2 different metals. When treated with an acid bath they erode differently and produce the pattern you see. The real sword below it has real hada, which is the crystalline structure of the sword’s steel.

Hamon: the temper line. The fake is on the left; it was done with sand paper or acid to etch a cosmetic tempered area. A real Japanese sword is on the right and shows how the hamon, again a crystalline structure in the steel itself, can appear in an online photo. Note: real Japanese WWII parade sabres, with non-sharp nickel plated blades, have a cosmetic hamon that looks something like the fake.

Here is another example of what the real thing can look like in a picture.

Nakago: the sword's tang. Nakagos on the fakes are often crude, like the one on the left below. The real sword, on the right, has a nakago with the proper geometry.

Signature. Real sword signatures (on the left) are cut with a chisel, which leaves a V-shaped impression that moves, rather than removes, the steel. Signatures on fakes (on the right) are usually cut with a Dremel tool (rotating grinding bit) that leaves a U-shaped impression where the steel was ground away. Another thing to notice about the fake: see how the steel at the bottom of the characters is dark but the steel around the characters is bright? This is because the faker applied an aging solution/color and wiped off any excess, leaving the solution behind inside the characters but removing it from the slightly raised borders of the characters. Real nakagos and signatures age uniformly over time; the patina builds up both inside and outside the characters. By the way, this orientation of the nakago is proper for reading the signature. If you are posting pictures of a sword on ebay or sending pictures to me for an appraisal, the characters are read vertically from top to bottom.

Kissaki: the sword’s point. Kissakis on fakes often have nearly straight cutting edges. Contrast that with the graceful curve of the real thing below. Note also the short line in the point area above the edge (red dot). It is straight on the fake and nicely curved on the real sword.

The habaki is a collar that fits around the blade in front of the handguard and wedges the sword inside the scabbard. The one below is on a fake sword. To my knowledge real Japanese swords of any era never had a serial # stamped on the habaki; fake WWII Japanese swords often have a serial # here.

Mountings: There are a zillion variations of fake Japanese sword mounts; I can't show you everything but here are a couple points to watch for. The fakes often come with auxiliary knives tucked in pockets in the sides of the scabbard. Real swords do also. Here is a picture of a typical fake.

Notice how the pocket is surrounded by a metal band with a rectangular notch around the pocket opening. I can't recall ever seeing a real Japanese sword where the pocket for the kotsuka/kogatana (the proper name for these knives) was surrounded by metal just this way. Notice also the quality of the work on this metal; it's not very good. The fakes often have 2 knives in pockets on either side of the scabbard. Real Japanese swords sometimes have pockets on either side; one side holds the knife and the other holds a piece called kogai. They never have 2 knives. Here's a picture of a real kogai.

You see variants of the sword pictured below quite often on ebay, with patterned brass scabbards and acid etched panels on the blades. They are often listed as having been made by Chinese slaves of the occupying Japanese army. These are all fakes. Does anyone know when and why these things were made? It doesn't make sense to go to all that trouble to make something that looks nothing like the real thing.

If you want to get a better idea of the various fakes available do an advanced search for Japanese sword on ebay and specify the items be located in China. Anything for sale there is almost certainly a fake.

One very easy way to spot a fake is with an unusually low buy it now price. Any listing titled "Handmade Japanese Samurai Officer's Katana Sword" with a buy it now price of $150. is probably a fake. Real parade sabres are worth about that much, and real NCO Officer's swords with machine made blades (serial number stamped on the blade)are worth a few hundred more on ebay, but all sharp blades in higher ranking officer's mounts would be expected to fetch at least $600 or $700 if they are real. If you're wondering about a particular sword on Ebay you can check the seller's other items and completed sales. Chances are if someone is selling or has sold a dozen swords that all look similar, they're all fakes (the real ones usually don't look like each other).

Here's something else you need to know. Japanese swords on ebay often come with a certificate, or papers. If the papers come from a real Japanese sword authority and they aren't forged, they can indicate a good sword or true signature. There is one certificate, however, that all swords in Japan have to have: the government issued license.

Some sellers would have you believe that this is a guarantee of the signature or a mark of quality; it is nothing of the sort. It tells you only that the sword is Japanese and that it has been registered with the Japanese government, nothing more.

JAPANESE SWORD POLISHING

The polish on a Japanese sword, when done properly by a trained polisher (togishi), allows you to see all the crystalline activity of the temper line and grain, and the true shape of the blade and color of the steel. When done wrong, by a well meaning amateur or phony expert, it can severely damage or even destroy the sword. I've heard many horror stories of once valuable Japanese swords, now valueless because of botched polishes.

On Ebay you will find sword polishing stones for sale. Don't buy them; they are worthless without the proper training. Occasionally I see polishing creams being offered; I wouldn't use them. Also on Ebay, you'll find how-to videos and books; don't buy these either. Proper training can take many years in Japan. You can't possibly learn all that from watching a video. Online and elsewhere you will find polishers who claim to do the work for a couple hundred dollars, not the couple thousand it normally costs. Don't let them touch your sword. If you have a sword that you want polished, give it only to a polisher who has been recommended by a knowledgeable collector you trust.

INFORMATION I NEED IF YOU CONTACT ME

Quite a few of you have been writing or calling with questions about swords you own. Here are a few things you can check beforehand. First and most important, don't try to clean or fix the sword in any way; anything you try is likely to do damage. It helps to know the length of the sword. The picture below shows how to measure properly, from the tip to the notch at the back in a straight line.

Take a look at the blade and check for defects: pits, openings, bends, blisters, chips, and hairline cracks. Take a look at the collar (habaki) that fits on the blade in front of the handguard (tsuba) if there is one, and handle. Can you tell which metal it is made of? If you call, please have the sword beside you so I can ask questions.

It's ebay's nickle; guess I can go on.

Everyone with a Japanese sword needs to know how to properly care for and handle the sword. The American Branch of the NBTHK has a comprehensive guide on their web site, which you will find here: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm

If you are looking for a Japanese sword to use for cutting (Tameshigiri), be very careful who you buy from. Poorly made swords can break and the broken tip of the sword can come flying back at you (happened to a friend; took him a year to heal).

Again, please don’t mistake this quick lesson for an education; much more study is necessary. In over 20 years of collecting I’ve bought dozens of swords I shouldn’t have. I’ve never regretted buying a book.

Hope this helps. Take care, Grey

gdoffin@cpinternet.com

The above page is maintained by: greyguy0( 490)

Where would you like to go next?

Create or edit my About Me page

View Reviews & Guides by this member

View the Member Profile

Feedback Forum | Discussion Boards | Groups | Answer Center | Chat Rooms | Community Values

Copyright © 1995-2009 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

eBay official time