George_Hakes

Fakenham Auctions, don't know if it will be in any of their upcoming sales though, will let you know when I find out.

Hello All, Thank you for the replies, it's fascinating to be able to give a name to this sword. I took the little bamboo peg out today, it was rather stiff, I don't think it's been removed for many years! I was quite happy to see that no one had attempted to clean the tang. I tried to get as good a picture I could, had to get the light just right to be able to see the markings. I have uploaded an image here: http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/681/dsc0015xh.jpg If it doesn't work, let me know and I can email you the pictures. Any information you can provide me from the markings is gratefully received. I'm going to try bid myself hopefully. If you have any ideas on value, let me know. Best Regards George

Hello All, Thanks for the prompt replies. I'll try get some better shots of the blade, I was having to use a little compact camera and the lighting was really bad, I'll get some with the DSLR tomorrow. Would you like shots showing the blade profile, blade tip, and the grain? Also, just to be on the safe side, how is the best way to go about removing the handle bindings and tsuba to reveal the nakago without causing damage? Many Thanks George

Here are the other pictures, I had to do them all quickly today, can take better pictures/email larger if required.

Hello All, I am new to the forum, I would be very grateful if you could give me your opinions on this Katana. I work as a photographer at an auction house in the U.K, I had this item come in today. I know there are a lot of fakes about, but looking closely at this, the wear and ageing look very authentic and I thought it might be worth looking into. Although there are a few things that lead me to be dubious about it's authenticity, firstly the dragon Kashira, secondly the blade itself, it is very bright and has that distinctive wavy edge. I don't know much about this area as I'm more into Germanic Militaria, but I know this is not one of the common NCO swords, or a military sword, but it has the leather military jungle cover on the wooden scabbard. I'd also be very interested to know what the Kanji on the silk means if anyone can translate it? I'm sorry I haven't been able to dismantle the sword to show you any hidden markings on the tang, but it's not mine to do so. If you could let me know your honest opinion, just thought I would regret not getting hold of it if it is indeed an Officer's private katana. Will add the other pictures in the next post. Best Regards George