Fake Japanese Swords on the Market

(1) Type 19 Army Kyu-gunto: I saw another one at the SOS being advertised as an original for $1600. You had to look carefully. Blades are poor quality. Gold plating appears a bit too light; originals are a rich deep yellow gold. The biggest tip-off I can see is the leather grip. Originals had ray skin grips or, rarely, polished shark skin.

(2) Type 32 Army Swords: Evidence of hand work, ricasso too long, poorly formed groove in blade. (The green painted swords with plastic grips and two “D” ring suspension mounts are not fake Japanese swords. They are legitimate Chinese army swords.) The general style of the Type 32 can be found in European sword maker catalogs from earlier in the 19th century.

(3) Type 98 Shin-gunto: Hundreds on eBay, often “‘buy it now” for less than $150. They haven’t yet mastered the brown finish on the fittings. Often there is a serial number on the habaki, a practice never used by the Japanese and certainly never on officer swords which were private purchase. Email photos of a fake in your collection, and I will post them. I would be in copyright violation to take photos from an auction site.

(4) Aluminum Handled Variation #1 Type 95 Army NCO Swords: Again, some have serial numbers on some habaki. Only two arsenal stamps on most of them. Poorly formed and incorrectly shaped drags. Compare carefully with photos in the book. These are getting better every day!

(5) Navy Kai-gunto: Everything wrong, especially the finish on metal parts.

(6) Manchukuo Grade 1 Swords: Artificial aging is the biggest tip-off.

Report fakes and we will post the information!

If in doubt, email photos or an auction number for a second opinion.


	Fake Japanese Swords on the Market (1) Type 19 Army Kyu-gunto: I saw another one at the SOS being advertised as an original for $1600. You had to look carefully. Blades are poor quality. Gold plating appears a bit too light; originals are a rich deep yellow gold. The biggest tip-off I can see is the leather grip. Originals had ray skin grips or, rarely, polished shark skin. (2) Type 32 Army Swords: Evidence of hand work, ricasso too long, poorly formed groove in blade. (The green painted swords with plastic grips and two “D” ring suspension mounts are not fake Japanese swords. They are legitimate Chinese army swords.) The general style of the Type 32 can be found in European sword maker catalogs from earlier in the 19th century. (3) Type 98 Shin-gunto: Hundreds on eBay, often “‘buy it now” for less than $150. They haven’t yet mastered the brown finish on the fittings. Often there is a serial number on the habaki, a practice never used by the Japanese and certainly never on officer swords which were private purchase. Email photos of a fake in your collection, and I will post them. I would be in copyright violation to take photos from an auction site. (4) Aluminum Handled Variation #1 Type 95 Army NCO Swords: Again, some have serial numbers on some habaki. Only two arsenal stamps on most of them. Poorly formed and incorrectly shaped drags. Compare carefully with photos in the book. These are getting better every day! (5) Navy Kai-gunto: Everything wrong, especially the finish on metal parts. (6) Manchukuo Grade 1 Swords: Artificial aging is the biggest tip-off. Report fakes and we will post the information! If in doubt, email photos or an auction number for a second opinion.

		Fake and fraud update May 25, 2009: I had previously stated that to the best of my knowledge, aluminum handled variation #1 was the only Type 95 army sword being faked. The very next week I saw a fake copper handled Type 95 on eBay. (The Copper Handled Type 95 sword is referenced in My new book, Swords of Imperial Japan Cyclopedia Edition, Chapter 15, pp. 190-191.)They did a good job of the arsenal markings on the fuchi and the hilt does appear to be copper, but thankfully everything else is wrong. To start, the handle has a machine screw, the scabbard has a drag, the handle and tsuba are artificially acid aged, and the serial number is out of the copper handle range.