yeah the real deal is very pricy.
my father owned several antique patu, mere and other maori weapons ... he purchase them in the 1960s during a time when collectors didnt value them as much and many Maoris considered them items of an "uncivilized" past unless they were specifically important to their own family.
back then quality ones could be found in antique shops all over the country... sadly he sold them all many years ago.
yeah the club you go looks like a modern made patu somebody was making after seeing the original and then deciding they wanted a weapon like it. i remember meeting a maori guy in a pub once who had a homemade patu with the grip wrapped in electrical tape stuck in the back of his shorts..
seems like that sort of item not a tourist item but not old more like a weapon somebody has made.
mostly the tourist ones will have the correct pommel shape and grip dimensions and be of rather soft stained wood ..
the green stone mere looks very recent. 35 or so years.
greenstone is rather soft and as it is used over time it wll take a very glossy smooth finish lanyar hole will become very smooth if they are originals that have been used with their lanyard as historically these were always used with their lanyard. nothign like dropping your stone club and seeing it broken on the ground if the thing cost you 10 slaves youd be mighty pissed
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