AUTHENTIC JAPANESE SWORD WITH FAKE SIGNATURE / MEI.

Authentic Japanese swords with a fake signature, aka. gemei (ge-mei) blades, have been around almost since the beginning of the entire Japanese sword history. An authentic Japanese swords with fake signatures are of course still classified as real Japanese swords, but what made them less desirable is their association with a dishonest claim of what they are not, such as their false claim of quality workmanship in association with a handful of nationally famous swordsmiths throughout history.

The original purpose of these fake signatures was solely to increase the trade value of these swords when the were first made, so that they could be sold as brand name items or even as antiques at the time. There are two major differences between purchasing a fake brand name item and purchasing a gemei blade today: you would be more likely to pay much less for a fake brand name item with very little detectable differences in quality today, but you could be paying top price for a gemei blade without any quality workmanship to back up the signature's claim at all. In other words, purchasing a blade by assuming that the signature is authentic could be fatal, and in some cases getting hurt twice by a gemei blade purchase is an understatement.

AUTHENTIC JAPANESE SWORD WITH FAKE AUTHENTICATION PAPER.

Japanese sword authentication papers are recorded written documents issued to those swords that an expert(s) would agree the sword in question is genuine in everyway. Please note that Japanese sword registration papers issued by the Japanese government (about 4" x 3" in size) are NOT to be considered as a form of authentication in anyway. There are a few organizations today that can issue these authentication papers for a fee, and there are a few different grades of authentication paper being issued in each of these organizations depending on the quality and the condition of the blade in question. However, some fake authentication papers are known to exist.

Fake authentication papers happened in a few ways: it could have been issued by an expert who was paid off prior to the end of Showa era, it could have been issued with a higher grade authentication paper with a similar paid off situation, it could have been issued by a dealer or a nobody who claimed to be an expert in the field of Japanese sword, it could have been issued by a crook with the help of new technology and printing equipments today. There are also rumors about some Japanese dealers traded the bad Japanese swords attached with a fake papers for the good ones that the Japanese surrendered at the end of the war.

The best way to avoid purchasing a Japanese sword with a fake authentication paper is to avoid any paper that was not issued by top organizations such as NBTHK and NTHK as your first step, then examine the year the paper was issued (best to avoid papers issued prior to 1980's), and at last, authenticate the authentication paper itself.

THE BEST METHOD TO AVOID FAKE SIGNATURES AND FAKE PAPERS.

The fool proof way to go about purchasing a Japanese sword with a high price tag base on the signature on the blade or the authentication paper, is to obtain a return policy and agreement from the seller on the return of the sword within a reasonable amount of time depending on the authenticity of the signature and the paper, then obtain a new authentication paper yourself from NBTHK and / or NTHK only for your own proof. If you purchase a very expensive diamond with a GIA certificate from a not so well known jewelry store, you should do the same.

AUTHENTIC JAPANESE SWORD BUYING GAME AND TRAPS.

It is extremely important to purchase any high price tag item from someone with a physical presence (in person) who could be located physically and who is also known to be extremely honest with an excellent long term reputation. eBay feedback rating doesn't count as a form of reputation as it lacks the physical element in the equation. If you must purchase from a high price tag Japanese sword from a seller online, it is always best to meet the seller physically for at least once, perhaps at a Japanese sword show where hundreds of dealers and collectors meet annually at various locations all over the world, where you can get to find out everyone's business conduct over the years, good or bad.

A good Japanese sword show in USA is an event that is educational in nature and would unconditionally promote "other shows" at other locations run by other sword clubs or organizations nationwide. It is a known fact that there are sword clubs and organizations keeping their members / students in the dark and feeding them all kind of nonsense because of their profit motives, such as the San Francisco Japanese Sword Society aka. San Francisco Ninja Society aka. San Francisco Nipponto Society, which is a business trap, and it is NOT to be confused with the Northern California Japanese Sword Club (NCJSC) which is a non-profit organisation located in San Francisco also. Please visit the NCJSC website at ncjsc.org for the complete listing of all major authentic Japanese sword events nationwide.

Please don't forget to drop me a good VOTE as it would motivate me to update this guide with more educational information in the future. I will add more to this guide as soon as I can find time.