BenVK

Vinegar and water is not a good idea because it's an acid which is now acting upon the steel. Wash it off asap with a solution of water and baking soda or ammonia. When dry, oil the blade with a soft cloth and try not to touch it again with your fingers (gun or sewing machine oil is fine).

Doesn't look to be a genuine Japanese sword to me either. If it is, it's ruined now.

Thanks Geraint, that Murata is an interesting blade with it's Kogarasu Zukuri shape which I like a lot. There's a beautiful example of that style in the forum for sale section but I can't afford it! Here some more photos of the one above. It's seen better days but might be worth saving, there's no major damage that I can see.

Am I correct in saying that this old blade has had the nakago altered for Kyu-Gunto mounts? Thanks Ben

Yeah, a bit of Pikal will sort it out! Seriously though, that's an amazing photo, clearly shows that the softer core metal didn't bind with the outer harder case.

Here's the gold painted WWII NCO sword, not so bad I guess, just weird!

Not much left of that one to abuse is there!?!

I've seen quite a few abused blades but this one currently on ebay nearly made me cry, looks like someone attacked it with an angle grinder!! poor thing. The usual suspects are wire wool and sandpaper but I've also seen a few that have been spray painted! One in particular I remember was sprayed gold...weird! What's the worst you've seen?

Guys, you could tell me if I've re-wrapped the tsuka correctly? It's my first ever attempt at doing this and I haven't worked out how to tie the knots yet but I think it's neater than before. The cord is tighter at least and will get even tighter because I wet it first. Not sure if that's the correct thing to do but it seems to be working. I was surprised at how tricky it is to do this, looks easy in the youtube videos, but then again, nothing is easy with Japanese swords is it!?

Thanks Brian, that's what I meant. In other words, I don't think they spent hours and hours polishing the hamon with hazuya stones on these blades! Blimey, you have to be so precise with the nomenclature around here!

I think it's probably one of those mass produced, mono steel with acid etch hamon wartime blades that's been mounted in civilian koshirae.

I'd say you got an ideal sword to practice Iaido at a bargain price.

You have a nice blade there, the condition is excellent as far as I can see. Perhaps you should consider keeping it, at least for awhile whilst you decide if learning more about these swords is really for you or not. I'm sure everyone has a unique fondness for their first sword.

There was a bit of that but the overiding feeling was one of being totally out of my comfort zone with this blade so I wasn't sure what to do with it. I'm glad I posted it here though, the advice is much appreciated.

Some more pics of the hada. Do I like it? I wasn't too sure yesterday but yes, the more I study it, the more I like it. Learning how to authenticate and identify these swords is difficult enough, learning how to appreciate what your looking at is a whole different challenge and I'm only just starting out on that road.

Thanks again guys. Bazza, I put in a max bid of £750 and was surprised/anxious to learn that I was the only bidder. The alarm bells were going off but I feel you have to honour your bids don't you... With commission, VAT and shipping, it worked out to be around £950. I agree with you that I've "paid for a tutorial", it's been here for less than 24hours yet I've already learnt a great deal more than I knew before. If the auction house will accept it back, I think I'd better return it. Like you say Ken, it's a rather strange one and I'm not really digging it that much.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, I didn't mean that the description was misleading, I only meant that what I bought wasn't what I expected. There were a few pics but they were small and there were no close up shots of the blade. I took a gamble on it mostly based on the auction photo of the nakaga and the mei. The polish is excellent and that threw me off guard I guess because it really does look like a brand new blade. It's very difficult to see the grain in the ji with the naked eye and the shinogi-ji looks like chrome with no visable grain at all! What I thought might be a weld line could very well be where the tsuba was originally mounted before the mune machi was moved up as you suggest. That would make sense. This is my first Nihonto so perhaps I was being a bit paranoid about it. I have a few shin-gunto in their original wartime polishes but they didn't help me much with trying to authenticate this sword.

Additonal

Gentlemen, could I ask for your opinions of this Katana please? I'm concerned that possibly the nakago has been welded at some point, although it must have been a long time ago. I'm also curious as to why a lower mekugi ana has been drilled through the mei. I recently bought the sword in an online auction and here's the description. Japanese Katana with 25½" blade, in civilian mounts. Tang signed Kiyomitsu. Good quality fittings & tsuba. Hamon is suguha with muji hada (pearl grain) mint condition blade looks to be early 16th century. From this, I got the impression that the blade and koshirae were authentic and old but in reality, I'm sure the koshirae are modern and the blade has been quite recently polished which is different from being in "mint condition". In other words, it's not what I expected. I'm pretty sure I will be able to return but I just wanted to hear some thoughts about it first. Thanks Ben

Thanks, I think the price is very reasonable but I'm going to pass on this one. It may be a mistake but I just can't get excited by a stainless steel blade and unappealing koshirae. My reasoning is probably ridiculous but there you go.

Very interesting info, thanks guys. The bottom line I guess is whether it's worth the £400 asking price?

Is the pommel correct for a Navy sword, it's looks more like an Army version painted gold?

Some more pics.

I've been considering buying this sword but there's something about it that worries me but I can't put my finger on it yet. What do you guys think and am I correct in saying this is a Stainless Steel blade? Thanks Ben

Thanks for your assistance George. I'm based in North London, N13 if anyone fancies a cup of tea and a look at the sword. :D