Chinese Sabre

[josh stout]

Chinese fakes can be very convincing, but -I think- the top one is a typical late 19th C. niuweidao/proto-niuweidao. The scabbard may be new wood. The best way to tell is to look at the mouth of the scabbard to see the condition of the wood. Otherwise it appears to be a nice piece.

The second one is so clean it makes me very suspicious. I have been wrong about these things before, but I see several reasons to be doubtful. Beware of antiques that look brand new.

Usually it is possible to tell if a blade is pattern welded with an inserted edge plate, and usually if you see the edge plate then you know at least the blade is real. Many old blades are then matched with reproduction fittings and sold as mint condition antiques. I am seeing more of this lately including items from western eBay sellers. That said, the price of Chinese swords/dao has lead the counterfeiters to begin producing pattern welded blades with inserted edges. The rumor is that some of them can even fool the professionals.

Be very careful.
Josh