Did I buy a real sword?

by Michael Schmidt
(Chicago, IL)

QUESTION: I was recently on vacation, and in a small gift shop, which specialized in weaponry, I saw it. A katana, with a blade made of clay tempered Damascus steel...

Well I had to have it, but I didn't buy it right there and then, I went back to my hotel room and did a bit of research online.

I found a few pertinent questions to ask the store owner, and went back to the shop the next day. He confirmed it was "battle ready" and it had a certificate of authenticity signed by none other than Sam Sung himself (whom I had never heard of). The grip was wrapped in real ray skin, and the Damascus technique was indeed used to forge the blade.

I bought it.

It says it's part of the Musashi series and the designer is Sam Sung, serial number 4913 (there are three other digits preceeding this which I can't make out)

I read your article about Sam Sung's sword which cost $2000+ and I realised that this is a real guy, so I'm hopeful.

Also, the box it came it looks very similar to the one you show in your article.

How could I independantly verify that this is the real thing?

ANSWER: Hi Michael,

It sounds right - but the only way to know is to either google the model number + the sword 'sword' or 'katana' (most of the certificates that come with it give the actual model number) or to simply visit some sites that stock Musashi swords and see if it compares to anything there.

Here's a good place to start:

http://www.sword-manufacturers-guide.com/musashi-swords.html

Hope this helps.

- Paul