This is one of my pride and joys even though the signature was rejected at the 1993 LA Shinsa. Still unsure what to do about the gimei. I have had several opinions about when the sword was made. The shinsa team suggested it was a revival sword from about 1860. Others have said it is much earlier then that, 1500 or so. Judging by the nakago with flatened file marks and that it has 4 mekugi-ana, I would think that it was much older too. The shinsa team did judge the fittings, saya, tsuba, menuki and the tsuka. They recieved medium size papers, but dated them to to around 1820. I find that odd that the blade was made after the fittings were?
Thought I would share some pics. Any comments are more then welcome.