[RobT]

Hi All,

It was a scene with all the earmarks of disaster. The flea market seller's table was replete with fake Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan edged weapons. Fresh from my faux klewang/faux pas, I was looking them over with a jaundiced eye when I spotted a rust covered da dao. It was at the very back of the table, buried under a pile of dubious (to say the least) Japanese katana. I idly picked it up, fully expecting to see an obvious fake. Dang, the thing looked good! From what could be seen under the rust, the lines and proportions looked good. The fullers looked reasonably well cut. I asked the seller about about it and, with heavily accented English, he said that it was "from the north". I asked if he thought it could be from WWII and he looked at me blankly but his significant other said "Japanese Invasion". I thanked them both and walked away. I was still smarting from my recent "educational experience" and didn't want another so soon (or, if I could help it, ever). After all, what are the odds that a table like that could have a genuine item? I continued walking through the market but the look of the blade kept bugging me so I went back and really started to give it a thorough going over. Ok blade, here's your chance to prove to me that you are what you purport to be. What sold me was the smooth distal taper of the spine from 11/32" (8.73125 mm) at the guard to 1/8" (3.175mm). I paid very little for the blade, took it home, and spent four days removing the rust. The cleaned blade revealed a mechanical damascus pattern of longitudinal stripes running from guard to tip. The stripes follow the curve of the blade. (They are hard to photograph and partially to fully obliterated in areas of corrosion.) The blade is 22.5" (57.1cm) long, 3.5" (8.9cm) at the widest point, and 1.75" (4.5cm) where it meets the guard. The guard is a two part brass casting with Chinese characters stamped inside a rectangle. The characters on one side differ from those on the other. I know it's a long shot, but could anybody provide a translation? I would also be grateful for any other information anybody has.