Help With Unmarked Wwii Blade

[Sakcollectors]

Hi, I'm looking for any information on this un-marked Jap Sword, I'm very much a novice. I picked this up at a Gun Show ten years back and don't know anything about it except it has WWII fittings on it. The blade is a little over 28 inches from the Habaki to point. Thanks for your time in advance. Regards, Don

[Sakcollectors]

Sorry, one of the pics is from another sword I have, here a couple close-ups of the blade

[ROKUJURO]

Don,

welcome to the NM board!

Could we have a photo of the NAKAGO (tang) without the HABAKI, please? Just to be sure that it is what it looks like: a standard, not traditionally hand-forged blade from industrial steel with a HAMON that was produced by quenching the blade in oil.

The whole sword seems to be in good condition.  

[ROKUJURO]

Yes, pic 7 was from a different blade which lead me to a possibly wrong assessment. Now. I would not exclude that this blade is traditionally made, but I need more close-ups of the HAMON, please. 

[TheGermanBastard]

Well, you posted two differents swords ... one is a Seki Showato from from WWII ... and the other a decent older piece! Could be Sue Koto. Not bad at all. Also the WWII mounts are in pristine condition.

[Sakcollectors]

Yes, ok. It's going to take awhile, as I have to take the sword apart again. The leather wrap handle has new leather stringing. I took the original off to preserve it, as it was showing signs of decay. I have to be REAL careful, loosening the string as I don't want to pop out any steel eyelets from the cover. And the handle fits really tight and has to banged off with a rubber hammer.

[ROKUJURO]

Don,

why don't you leave the leather field cover off? Soak it with good leather oil or grease and let it saturate. Maybe that will lead to a longer life of this part. The fancy yellow leather shoe lace is a funky addition, but quite far from the original.

It should not be necessary to use extreme force when taking the TSUKA off. Perhaps the handle does not fit properly, has dried out or something is inside that causes the problem.

Please add your name to each post!

[Sakcollectors]

Tang pics, thanks for your time. I greatly appreciate it!

[ROKUJURO]

Don,

I have the impression that this might be a traditionally made blade, not very old - very late SHINTO JIDAI perhaps up to MEIJI. But in your case, I would try to look into that and do some research. Perhaps you can correspond with some experts here and have their opinion, when they can see the blade in person.