Quote:
Originally Posted by Copycat
@jim
Thank you for your pictures. You saber is no doubt a handsome Korean saber.
@gavin
Maybe the knife was a wrong example. The other link has Korean swords With pins too.
Jim also posted a lovely example with a pin. This saber is also Japanese in appearance. However, it's absolutely not Japanese or Japanese influenced.
Your example looks more Chinese in appearance, but this does not mean it's Chinese or Chinese influenced.
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Copycat, thank you so much for recognizing my post and the kind words on my Korean saber. As I mentioned this was confirmed Korean when I got it from Scott Rodell over 20 years ago, and Philip Tom agreed. I consider these guys to be the highest authorities on the swords of China, Korea,and Asia,in the 30+ years I have known them.
There is a certain and notable friction between the Japanese and Koreans, however the influences of Japan (and clearly China) cannot be disputed in the Korean weapon forms. I recall meeting a Japanese gentleman once who was traveling the US to purchase and repatriate Japanese swords taken as souvenirs in WWII. This is a prevalent circumstance in Japan with the families who are charged with the identification and preservation of the famed swords of the Samurai.
In talking with him (through interpreter) he showed me the astounding examples he had acquired that day, some over 600 years old, and looking almost new in some cases.
I showed him a photo of my Korean sword, but his face almost twisted as he looked away and handed the picture back disdainfully. The mood and character of the meeting quickly changed, the interpreter said, 'he has no idea what THIS is', and the exchange ended.
As I understand the Japanese destroyed countless numbers of Korean swords during the occupation in WWII. This is apparently the reason for the rarity of examples. When I was beginning my search for a Korean sword nearly 40 years ago, there was virtually zero information on them in the west.
Japanese sword influences traveled widely through the Orient, as often did the blades. Even the Ainu people known in Siberian regions into the northern Japanese islands used Japanese blades in their edged weapons. I have discovered even examples of Japanese katana in Indian regions in the east, and of course they existed through SE Asian countries.
The same conundrums in specifying whether a sword is from one provenance or another when these influences are present presents difficulty, but that distinctive hole in the 'tsuba' (?) seems characteristic in Korean examples as does the octagonal shape.