raaay

Hi Alex try Nine circles .UK they are Kendo and Iiado martial art suppliers , they have seppa and Sageo's .

agreed 100% Chinese fake and sorry it is a really bad fake IMHO

here we go again

Hi Ian , I only got it right away , because i have a Tsuba signed Seiryuken

Ian , not like you , you are normally good with kanji signature's

Alex , I had this conversation not that long ago with someone who lived in Japan for nearly twenty years , he is a high Ranking Iiado instructor , now living back in the UK . he also travels back to Japan to order Shin-ken for private commissions , his take on it is due to the lack of artisans covering all the different discipling's in the new sword making process , it is now taken up to a two years, to have a custom sword made for his Iiado students , previously one year was about the average time for a new Shin-ken .

Hi Jason , contact the Irish Token society , someone there may be able to help you or at least point you in the right direction , there are a few Japanese sword collectors in Ireland . also there lots of fakes turn up at local Irish auction Houses , not sure how much you know about Japanese swords , apologies if you are already an experienced collector . but seek some advice first if you are a complete novice , just my two pennies worth .

I will jump in and say it looks like a replica to me , with the poor photo's available , IMHO

Hi Peter , have a look in the for sale section , there is a full set of Kai Gunto mounts for sale , most likely a lot more economical to purchase the whole package rather than trying to pick up all the parts individually, IMHO .

as per previous comments , it is a Chinese fake trying to be a Japanese sword .

Sorry , it looks like a Chinese copy IMHO trying to look like a Japanese Tang .

Hi Gerry , in not shell that would be the normal thing to do with the mounts .

Hi Nick , It looks like an Iaito sword to me ? and with maybe imitation same ! on the Tsuka , better pics would help ,. PS. but that does not explain why it has 4 tang holes .

Hi Ron , not 100% but i think you would remove the cords from the Tsuka then unscrew the Mekugi cylinder ??

it is singed on the Katana Mei side, if i am not mistaken .