Is this what I think it is?

[josh stout]

Some members here have assured me that the late Chinese pieces that look like fakes can indeed be genuine. So I have been keeping a lookout for likely candidates.

Hear is a chang jian that I take to be Republican. The fittings have been artificially aged, but there is also genuine age. The fake patina is being worn off and replaced with the look of true age It has a 69 cm blade and 17 cm handle and weighs about 900g.

Apart from the evidence that it is an antique reproduction of an older antique, there are some strange things. The suspension fittings are not of a type that I have seen before.

When the blade arrived it was all red rust. Now that I am cleaning it, a pattern that seems like horse teeth is showing at the edges. It is not very obvious though, the pattern is not very strong, and is maybe only on one side. The blade itself is similar to some village things. The ridge down the middle is not perfectly straight, and the fullers wander a bit. This is not due to age, but was the original shape of the blade. There is also a small thin line near the tip that looks like a small forge flaw.

Did village smiths make such nice pattern welds for the tourist trade?
Josh

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...DSC_0690-1.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0691.jpg


http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0692.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0693.jpg



http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0695.jpg


http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0699.jpg


http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0700.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0701.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0704.jpg


http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...i/DSC_0705.jpg