Chinese sabre

[josh stout]

I agree that it is difficult to say for sure on this one. There is no single element that looks wrong, but the overall look, particularly the blade shape, seems a bit off. If you find an inserted edge, you know for sure you have a good one, but short of that I don't know how to tell. Good distal taper and taper from the back to the edge are indicators of a genuine item because they take more skill to form. Nevertheless, not every antique made in a hurry by village smiths will taper the same way, or at all. Fullers can also be quite shallow. Dadao made more or less to regulations are easy to spot, but examples such as this one could have been made in a hurry by a village smith a hundred years ago, or last year.

I see what are likely fakes on eBay all the time, and there was a fake dadao at the Timonium show. If the blade shape makes me doubt, I wait for the next one.

Josh