Authenticity ID help - Chinese dao

josh stout · 22nd October 2011, 02:43 AM

I have been wondering about these wire wrapped swords for a while. I think they are Republican pieces, though some may be very late Qing. What I am wondering about is the blade. I own a jian with a wire wrapped scabbard that appears about as modern as an antique can be. In some ways this is good. It is in good condition with a spotless blade in its original polish, but there are some things that can be less attractive about later Chinese swords. In particular, the blade on the jian I own appears to be mono-steel, and there is a nut on the pommel. I am not completely sure about the steel because I haven't wanted to etch the blade in case it is nickel-plated. Still it rings when you draw it in a way that none of my sanmei blades do.

So I would guess that the one you missed was of roughly the same era and quality as my jian. It may well have had a nickel-plated mono-steel blade of good quality, but not as nice as Qing inserted edge pieces. There is another possibility; apparently there was also a weird transition period where they were nickel-plating pattern welded blades. Unfortunately you can’t find out without ruining the plating.

Josh

BerberDagger · 22nd October 2011, 03:09 AM

in my opinion a boxer period dao

Neil · 22nd October 2011, 04:39 PM

I agree with Josh, seeing it as a Republican era piece. Examples like these with the highly polished blades/potential plated blades can sometimes be seen with characters etched on them as well. Their numbers, material composition and style suggest to me some measure of mass production. Of course that is a relative statement in the realm of Chinese swords. That being said, I think they are rather recent.

As always, dating Chinese swords is an imperfect science. I did see a sword of this type in some old World War Two related footage. Clearly more evidence with time points associated with them would give us a better view of the age of these weapons.

Here is a link with an interesting photo that suggests a possible date for the picture shown. There is a lot of good photos on the rest of the site too.

http://www.virtualshanghai.net/Image.php?ID=19458

22nd October 2011, 02:43 AM	#1
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	I have been wondering about these wire wrapped swords for a while. I think they are Republican pieces, though some may be very late Qing. What I am wondering about is the blade. I own a jian with a wire wrapped scabbard that appears about as modern as an antique can be. In some ways this is good. It is in good condition with a spotless blade in its original polish, but there are some things that can be less attractive about later Chinese swords. In particular, the blade on the jian I own appears to be mono-steel, and there is a nut on the pommel. I am not completely sure about the steel because I haven't wanted to etch the blade in case it is nickel-plated. Still it rings when you draw it in a way that none of my sanmei blades do. So I would guess that the one you missed was of roughly the same era and quality as my jian. It may well have had a nickel-plated mono-steel blade of good quality, but not as nice as Qing inserted edge pieces. There is another possibility; apparently there was also a weird transition period where they were nickel-plating pattern welded blades. Unfortunately you can’t find out without ruining the plating. Josh

22nd October 2011, 03:09 AM	#2
BerberDagger Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 247	in my opinion a boxer period dao

22nd October 2011, 04:39 PM	#3
Neil Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 114	I agree with Josh, seeing it as a Republican era piece. Examples like these with the highly polished blades/potential plated blades can sometimes be seen with characters etched on them as well. Their numbers, material composition and style suggest to me some measure of mass production. Of course that is a relative statement in the realm of Chinese swords. That being said, I think they are rather recent. As always, dating Chinese swords is an imperfect science. I did see a sword of this type in some old World War Two related footage. Clearly more evidence with time points associated with them would give us a better view of the age of these weapons. Here is a link with an interesting photo that suggests a possible date for the picture shown. There is a lot of good photos on the rest of the site too. http://www.virtualshanghai.net/Image.php?ID=19458