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Help With Mei And Thoughts


Deusxp

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Hi everyone! This is my first post and I wanted some help with identification of my recently acquired sword. I have always been intrigued by Japanese swords and finally was able to find one. I rescued it from a yard sale and it looked as though it had been neglected for sometime but is in decent shape all things considered. The tsuba, habaki and one seppa are there and in decent shape. The tsuka is in a sad state and the saya is there but the leather is falling apart. Looks to me like a ww2 leather wrapped saya. I need help with identifying how old the blade is and who the smith may be. I have done research and I know it is a hand forged blade. There is a clear hamon and the folded steel grain. It has a 25" blade length so I believe it's a wakizashi but the two handed tsuka has me confused. I have looked at the posible smiths for what I translate the signature being and I can't find an exact match. If anyone could help it would be much appreciated. I see "Hizen kuni ju Norisada" but there is no one listed under that name on any of the databases. What I really want to know is when was this sword made, who the smith may be and what you guys think about it. 

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Dear James.

 

Welcome to NMB!

 

A good find.  You are correct in that it looks to have been mounted for use in WWII.  If the length from tip to machi is 25" then it is a katana, the dividing line is 24",

I believe the mei says, "Hizen no kuni no ju Norisada", if I have missed something then I will soon be corrected.  It looks like civilian tsuba and tsuka which is not that uncommon and as far as that part of the sword goes some menuki and a re wrap and it will be as good as new.  The blade needs some TLC at the moment and you are probably going to have to decide whether it deserves a proper polish.

I would suggest the first thing to do is lightly oil it and then try to get it to either one of the members here or a sword club or show and show it in hand to someone who can advise you about what to do.  Don't rush and above all don't give it to anyone who tells you they can polish without checking here first; many think they can polish and many ruin swords in the process.

 

I can't tell you if the mei is genuine but there is a lot of information out there about Hizen swords and several people who focus on them as  a collecting area.  

 

Enjoy!

 

All the best.

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Thank you for your thoughts! I have oiled it and would like to restore it to it's former glory eventually. Hopefully I can get a opinion on age and if it would be worth a polish in the future. Would like to see if there are any references to this smith anywhere. I will try to look for someone in my area that can look at it hands on. Anyone else's thoughts would be much appreciate!

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