Quote:
Originally Posted by Copycat
@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,
Indeed, there are Korean swords with pins, I also shared one in within the three images to add further context.
Jim's sword does have a pin. It is not at all Japanese in appearance though, that is evidenced when considering its dimensions, fittings, relevance of blade type to the period of the sword itself, the differences in grip wrapping, the scabbard suspension.
You reference my example being Chinese in appearance... are you referring to one or all three of them?
Jim has provided a good discourse on the influences above, yet throughout time, Korean swords have a very particular visual essence of their own.
Below is another I sold many years ago, it is a rather standard arsenal type of which I've seen dozens over the years. It is with a peened tang and lanyard hole. No hole in the guard. I think the hole is a feature in the swords of rank and the guard becomes more decorative as the ranks go higher.
Although I have not handled Jim's sword, I suspect from the images that is likely an NCO or low-ranking officer's sword, potentially one helping with or presiding over such an arsenal that the below sword came from. I do not say this with absolute certainty, simply what I feel when I look at defining characteristics and the little I have learnt about the rank system.