There's a story in the antique trade about an antique dealer who went to the countryside to collect items. He took a fancy to a small hexagonal sandalwood table in a villager's house, so he bought it for a high price of 20,000 yuan, intending to take it away the next day.
To my surprise, when I arrived at the villager's house the next day, the square table, which had originally been covered in a thick patina and was simple and elegant, looked brand new, with the smell of undried paint still on it.
The antique dealer was immediately taken aback. When he asked what had happened, it turned out that the fellow villager felt bad that the other party had bought the old table for 20,000 yuan. So that night, he found some sandpaper, sanded the entire square table, and then painted it again, feeling that he had done justice to the 20,000 yuan.
However, this caused the antique dealer to beat his chest in frustration. In the end, he left without paying and turned away. This is the consequence of improper antique preservation.
Chapter 611 Cutting Iron Like Mud (Part 2)
The preservation of antique swords and knives is also very particular, even more so than that of calligraphy and paintings.
Generally speaking, many sword collectors like to use rust remover. However, for weapons from before the Song Dynasty, especially swords inlaid with gold and silver, rust remover will expand once it gets into the crevices, which will damage the original structure.
According to Huangfu Yun's experience, after the swords have been polished, it is best to wipe them frequently and avoid applying any chemicals. Ideally, when not handling them, use a vacuum packaging machine to coat the swords with a layer of protective material.
After listening to Huangfu Yun's explanation, Zhuang Rui learned a lot. However, of the two swords, the ring-pommel sword was not very valuable, while the other one did not need to be polished.
"Brother Zhuang, you still haven't told us where those samurai swords are fake?"
Although Huangfu Yun was fairly certain that the samurai swords were fake, they did look exactly like the real ones. He couldn't shake the unease until he figured it out.
Zhuang Rui smiled and said, "Brother Huangfu, let me ask you, if these swords from more than 500 years ago are in such good condition, do they need to be wiped clean frequently?"
Huangfu Yun replied, "Of course. Before vacuum packaging, we had to wipe it down at least every three to five days. I noticed the wear marks on the scabbard; they looked like they were caused by excessive wiping..."
"Hmm, wiping them every three to five days for 500 years shows that the master must have valued these samurai swords very much. Brother Huangfu, think about it, would the master not understand the value of these swords? Would he have let that shop owner buy them so easily?"
Zhuang Rui laughed loudly upon hearing this, and said, "Brother Huangfu, we can make a bet. You can have the two knives you've already bought tested for carbon-14. If they're genuine, then it's not too late to buy the others..."
Japan has many connections with Europe and America, and the collection of antique swords originated in Europe and America. If a Japanese family wanted to sell this batch of samurai swords, their first choice would definitely be European and American auction houses, without a doubt. Therefore, from this point of view, it is almost possible to deduce the authenticity of this batch of samurai swords.
Huangfu Yun pondered Zhuang Rui's words carefully, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable they seemed. Finally, he stood up, bowed to Zhuang Rui, and said, "Brother Zhuang, hearing your words is worth more than ten years of study. Huangfu is ashamed..."
It is true that Huangfu Yun has a deep understanding of swords and antiques, but his research is more from a technical perspective. However, the counterfeiters of antiques nowadays can make them so realistic that they are almost impeccable in terms of technique.
This is also why Huangfuyun has not systematically studied antique appreciation. To appreciate antiques, one must not only look at them from a professional perspective, but also look for flaws in the words of collectors and sellers, because the current counterfeiting technology is too realistic, and many high-quality imitations are really very difficult to distinguish.
Zhuang Rui's words guided Huangfu to deduce from the most basic common sense, and the shop owner's story fell apart on its own.
"Damn it, they don't scam foreigners, but they scam their own people..."
After figuring out the situation, Huangfu Yun cursed angrily, but then his eyes lit up and he said, "The two I bought are pretty high-quality replicas. I'll take them abroad in a few days and see if I can get them auctioned in London..."
"This will work?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned by Huangfu Yun's words, but he wholeheartedly supported selling counterfeit goods overseas. He had had this idea before, and if it weren't for his poor hands-on skills, he would have liked to make a few Mona Lisa paintings to sell. Of course, it was just a thought in his mind.
"Hehe, those foreign appraisers don't really care about cultural background; they just trust their instruments and their own eyes. These two items should have a starting bid of around $50,000. I doubt they'll do carbon-14 dating. They'll just take them and try to fool people; maybe they'll be able to get away with it..."
Huangfu Yun chuckled. Over the past few years, he had been searching for antique swords and knives at auction houses in various countries. Sometimes he would sell some of his collections. He was also familiar with some appraisers, so he was quite confident in his abilities.
Zhuang Rui laughed and said, "That's great! If you have the connections, there are tons of fake stuff in China. You can just export them all to foreigners..."
"This is just a one-off thing; whether it will work out or not is still uncertain..."
Huangfu Yun dared not make any guarantees.
"Well, let's not talk about that anymore, Brother Huangfu. Why don't you take a look at the other sword..."
Zhuang Rui also knew that this matter was not so simple; otherwise, domestic counterfeiters would have already extended their reach overseas.
In fact, Zhuang Rui didn't know that even abroad, there are a lot of fake Chinese antiques. The root cause is that in recent years, more people have gone abroad to buy things, and counterfeiters have also exported a lot of "modern handicrafts" to Europe and the United States.
Many people in China believe that cultural relics from abroad must be genuine. Based on this mentality, many people buy antiques in large quantities and bring them back to China. In fact, what they end up buying are still fakes.
"Okay, let me take a look at this sword first..."
There are very few people in China who collect antique swords and knives. Huangfu Yun felt that he had met a kindred spirit today, and immediately picked up the bronze sword to look at it again.
"This should be a bronze sword from before the Qin or Han dynasties, but I don't understand why it's covered in iron rust instead of copper rust..."
After observing it for a long time, Huangfu Yun handed the bronze sword, which was about two feet long, to Zhuang Rui with a puzzled look on his face.
Upon hearing Huangfu Yun's words, Zhuang Rui secretly admired him. He hadn't noticed this before, but he was slightly puzzled as to why the patterns on the bronze sword were so clear under the rust. After hearing Huangfu Yun's explanation, Zhuang Rui understood.
"Hehe, Brother Huangfu, today I'll show you an unparalleled sword..."
Zhuang Rui had a better idea of what to do, so he asked Zhao Hanxuan to bring him a file and a roll of gauze.
"Brother Zhuang, you wouldn't just leave like this..."
When Huangfu Yun saw Zhuang Rui holding a file and scraping the hilt of a sword, he was dumbfounded. He had repaired many antique swords, but this was the first time he had seen Zhuang Rui do something so unskilled.
As for the peerless sword Zhuang Rui mentioned, Huangfu Yun scoffed at it, saying that it was so rusted that even if it were polished, it would lose its sharpness.
"It's alright, just you wait and see..."
Instead of filing the sword as Huangfuyun had suggested, Zhuang Rui cleaned the rust off the hilt and then wrapped gauze around the copper handle to create a simple, hand-held hilt.
Zhuang Rui's next move puzzled Huangfu Yun and Zhao Hanxuan. He took the file and gently tapped the sword blade with little force. Every few inches, he would tap lightly. Because the rust covered almost the entire blade, the sound was very dull.
Zhao Hanxuan, being an insider himself, couldn't help but say after seeing Zhuang Rui's actions, "Boss, you don't actually think that tapping it like that will make the rust come off, do you? If so, this sword must be a famous one like the Fish Intestine Sword..."
"Yes, famous swords like Zhanlu, Juque, Haocao, Chun Jun, and Longquan can indeed remain incorruptible and immortal, but this one..."
Huangfu Yun also shook his head, clearly not very optimistic about the sword in Zhuang Rui's hand.
"Immortal and incorruptible? Impossible, right?"
Zhuang Rui looked up and asked in surprise. In his mind, even the best swords and knives were just scrap metal after they were unearthed. Iron and copper are prone to rusting. This was common knowledge. Every year, tens of millions of tons of iron around the world are corroded and turned into waste.
"Of course it can be incorruptible and immortal, didn't you know that?"
Seeing Zhuang Rui shake his head, Huangfu Yun realized that the person in front of him was an outsider. He then said, "You know about the swords made by King Goujian of Yue that were unearthed from the No. 1 Chu Tomb in Wangshan, Jiangling County, Hubei Province?"
Zhuang Rui had no idea about this. He shook his head immediately. Huangfu Yun continued, "This sword has been buried underground for at least 2,400 years, but when it was unearthed, it showed no signs of rust. The eight characters 'Sword made by King Goujian of Yue' are clearly visible, and the inlaid glass and the smooth patterns on the guard are completely undamaged. The blade is as sharp as ever, as if those 2,000 years were just a fleeting moment, and the oxygen that fills the earth had no effect on it..."
In fact, not only the swords of Goujian found in the tomb of the King of Chu, but also the bronze swords from the Spring and Autumn Period unearthed at the foot of the Jishengtan Pagoda in Longquan, and the bronze swords from the same period excavated at the Jinshuitan construction site in Yunhe County, are all intact.
The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum in Xi'an yielded a precious sword known as the Qin King's Sword, which further proves the superb craftsmanship of ancient Chinese sword-making.
The tomb was dark and damp, about 5-6 meters below the ground. The soil was damp. It had been lying in such a place for 2,000 years, but when it was unearthed, it was shiny black and had a cold, sharp gleam. It could cut through more than a dozen sheets of paper in one stroke, and it was extremely sharp.
"Holy crap, is this really true?"
Although Zhuang Rui spoke with doubt, he knew that this matter was not false, because it could be found out with a simple investigation. The main problem was that he had paid too little attention to news about the excavation of antique swords and knives in the past. This was not Zhuang Rui's fault. He had only been studying antique appreciation for a year at most, so how could he know the facts clearly?
"We've made a fortune! Damn, this is a huge windfall..."
When Zhuang Rui looked at the bronze sword in his hand, his eyes were filled with fervent desire. If what Huangfu Yun said was true, those famous swords were incorruptible and immortal, then the bronze sword in his hand was very likely to be on the same level as famous swords such as Gan Jiang, Mo Xie, Long Yuan, and Yu Chang.
After tapping the bronze sword for nearly 20 minutes, Zhuang Rui stopped, smiled mysteriously at Huangfu Yun and Zhao Hanxuan, and said, "Gentlemen, watch closely, I'm going to perform a magic trick for you..."
Chapter 612 Cutting Iron Like Mud (Part 2)
Zhao Hanxuan and Huangfu Yun's eyes widened upon hearing this. They didn't know what Zhuang Rui was going to do. Did he really think that by tapping it for a while, all the rust would fall off?
"Uh, something's still missing..."
Zhuang Rui held the bronze sword and looked around the room. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He walked to the corner and picked up the broom.
"You two, watch closely..."
Zhuang Rui held the bronze sword in his left hand and a broom upside down in his right, with the sword hanging down. Then he used the broom to scrape the bronze sword hard.
What happened next stunned Zhao Hanxuan and Huangfu Yun was that the rust on the bronze sword actually came off with the broom. Before long, the ground was covered with rust residue, and the bronze sword blade faintly emitted a yellow glow.
"What...what kind of sword is this?"
Even though Huangfu Yun frequently visited major auction houses abroad, he had never seen such a miraculous scene. Could it be that the legendary incorruptible bronze sword would really appear before his eyes?
"Old Zhao, get me some rags and some warm water..."
Zhuang Rui vigorously cleaned the rust off the bronze sword with the broom handle. The broom handle was made of sorghum stalks, so it wouldn't damage the bronze sword. Besides, the rust wasn't formed on the bronze sword itself, but was just attached to it. Zhuang Rui had struck the bronze sword earlier to shake off the rust.
When Zhuang Rui heard Huangfu Yun say that the sword was covered in rust, he felt something was wrong. The bronze sword was so shiny that it was almost reflective through the rust, which meant that the rust was likely etched onto the bronze sword when it was buried with other weapons.
However, because the bronze sword itself was made of excellent material, it was not corroded; the corrosion simply adhered to the surface, making it look like a fire poker.
With this realization, and considering that Zhuang Rui initially noticed the rust on the sword was loose when he tapped it, he decided to perform a magic trick for the two of them. The principle behind it was quite simple.
"Here, a rag..."
There was no warm water in the shop, so Zhao Hanxuan got water from the water dispenser, brought it into the back room, and then handed Zhuang Rui a rag.
Zhuang Rui dampened and wrung out the rag, then carefully wiped the bronze sword. As the rust powder was gradually peeled away, the slightly yellowed bronze blade was revealed to the three of them.
The bronze sword, now free of rust, was about an inch shorter than before. Its blade was covered with even and beautiful lines, and the two edges gleamed coldly under the light. No one doubted the sword's sharpness.
"Clang, clang clang..."
After wiping away the water stains with a dry cloth, Zhuang Rui held the sword in his left hand, bent his right middle finger, and flicked it against the blade. Instantly, the sound of metal clashing together rang out, crisp and melodious, quite pleasant to hear.
"Brother Zhuang, look! Quickly check if there are any inscriptions on it. This sword must be a famous sword that has been passed down through the ages. Take a look..."
Huangfu Yun, who was standing to the side, was now bloodshot and out of control. If Zhuang Rui did not listen to him, Huangfu Yun would probably rush forward and snatch it.
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui also carefully searched the sword. However, after looking for a while, he did not find any writing. There were two patterns that looked like characters, but Zhuang Rui did not recognize them.
"Brother Huangfu, come and take a look. Are these two characters? They look a bit like bronze script to me..."
Zhuang Rui grabbed the bronze sword with a rag and turned it upside down so that the hilt faced Huangfu Yun.
Huangfu Yun had long wanted to snatch it and play with it, so he seized the opportunity and drew the sword away.
"Damn, watch out, bro..."
Just as Huangfu Yun drew his sword, Zhuang Rui felt a chill in his palm and quickly let go. Looking at the rag that had fallen to the ground, he saw that it was already broken into two pieces.
"Really? It can be that sharp?"
Zhuang Rui's eyes widened in disbelief. This legendary decisiveness must be something else entirely. Zhuang Rui made up his mind to try it out later and see if he could make a clean cut.
Zhuang Rui used to see in martial arts novels that those divine weapons were indestructible and extremely sharp, but at the time he thought they were all nonsense. Although some of the ancient people's techniques cannot be replicated even now, Zhuang Rui just couldn't believe that the ancients could forge such weapons without modern iron-making technology.
However, facts speak louder than words. Looking at the two towels that had fallen to the ground, Zhuang Rui felt a chill run down his spine. If he had been too slow to let go, his palm might have been cut as well.
"The blade is flawless, the satin weave is like a thousand flowing waves, the edge is strong yet restrained, sharp yet concealed. What a treasure, what a treasure! How could the ancients have forged such a precious sword?"
Zhuang Rui wasn't the only one with this thought. After carefully examining the bronze sword, Huangfu Yun also let out a loud howl, as if only in this way could he vent his excitement and astonishment.