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Old 12th June 2007, 01:17 PM   #20
Nick Wardigo
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 54
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Tatyana--
A very nice blade with what appears to be the original handle fittings and wrap. Or, at least, they have a good amount of age. I usually associate this style of wrap to the early-to-mid 19th century...a little earlier than Josh's educated guess, but Josh could easily be correct as well. The blade COULD be older, but barring further evidence (like viewing the corrosion on the tang), I would guess not. The style of the blade is keeping with that date. Definitely looks like an inserted edge to me, and as Josh pointed out, an unusual "horse tooth" weld between the soft and hard steels.

The scabbard looks later...I would guess early 20th century. I mean, it wasn't made last week, but it isn't original. On almost all Chinese swords, the scabbard fittings match the hilt fittings. As you can see, the hilt fittings are rather ornately decorated, and the scabbard fittings are very plain. However, it seems like the scabbard is a good fit, and I would expect that this scabbard was made for this blade (rather than recycling another scabbard).

Josh--
I'm a little perplexed by your assertion that horse-tooth patterning cannot be replicated by modern smiths. It's true that I haven't seen any dating later than the early 20th century, but I have seen a lot of very beautiful modern pattern welding, including some very sophisticated twist-core. I'd be surprised if a smith couldn't replicate this. Whether it would be cost-effective is another matter entirely.
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