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Originally Posted by freebooter
Stu,
I think this phrase should be taken in context and case by case.
A little while back I had a unique and prize jian fully restored for a client.
It was in pieces and lacked the correct guard. Now it has replaced hilt timbers, antiqued ray skin and new aged guard with the same patina as the rest of the sword and is one of the most stunning Jian I have laid eyes on.
Without this process of NEW parts, to sum it up, it would be a pig and unusable or appreciated.
Gav
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Agreed and that is why I used the word UNNECESSARILY.
There is one other aspect to this and that is that we all like to try to collect GENUINE items, and with the very excellent restoration done by some, there COULD be danger in future years for somebody unwittingly buying what APPEARS to be a genuine piece in excellent condition, at a very high price, when in fact it is not original.
We do not all have the expertise to identify replaced parts when the antiquing and aging has been carried out in a way which has MAYBE been designed to deceive.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NO INTENTION HERE TO SUGGEST THAT THIS PRACTICE IS BEING CARRIED OUT BY MEMBERS, BUT AS WE KNOW THERE ARE SOME VERY CLEAVER COPIES COMING OUT OF ASIA THESE DAYS!!