ROKUJURO

The SAME used for TSUKA is mostly 'pearl ray', not sting ray. It is used widely in the industry for the production of handbags and purses.

Chad, HAMACHI and MUNEMACHI align perfectly, which is often not the case with non-Japanese copies. So all looks fine for a stainless Navy GUNTO.

Uwe, I thought it would be 1854 plus 7, but probably you are right.

Chad, there is steel under the HABAKI, plus a HAMACHI and a MUNEMACHI, so lots of important things to see.

Chris, KOMATSU (= small pine-tree) is probably the familiy name in this case.

Chris, date is ANSEI SHICHI NEN (1861) January (?), I believe, but there are two more KANJI.

Chad, welcome to the board! To say something substancial, we would need a lot of detailed photos with the correct lighting plus fullsize ones of each side without HABAKI. Tang photos always tip-up, in case there was a signature to be read. What can be said right now: The blade seems to be machine-made and the condition looks quite good and free of rust.

Marino, I understand your excitement, but I am not sure that you really see all these details in the blade. At least I cannot see the original shape of the KISSAKI nor that of the BOSHI from the photos. The two 'rivet holes' (MEKUGI ANA) have not been used at the same time, so you need one MEKUGI. The HADA cannot be seen without a proper Japanese polish, and that would require a restoration of the tip and the NAKAGOn as well. All parts (HABAKI, TSUBA, TSUKA, SEPPA, SHIRA-SAYA) have to be fitted to a blade after restoration. The TSUBA is difficult to see on the photo, but it might be a later addition.

akaMD, to be more specific: Even if the photos are not good, one can see that the blade has suffered some alterations which cannot be repaired. The tip was obviously broken and had been 'reshaped' (which is not possible to do at home), and the tang has been stripped off its natural patina which is important for the appreciation and the classification of a blade. The remaining parts are in a condition which would not justify to have them restored unless you don't care about the costs. The up-side is that you have an authentic Japanese WAKIZASHI from the SAMURAI era, and if this triggers your interest in the subject, you might want to read a lot about it here at the NMB or even buy some books, which would be a very good investment. P.S. This is not a military blade, so you posted in the wrong section.

Taylor, Mr. Mäder simply says that it is possible. The TOGI process is in no ways "better" than the traditional way of treatment of WOOTZ blades, as the development of the manufacture of a blade and the later treatments for aesthetical results always go together, and this can take centuries. This applies to all cultures from the Vikings with their beautiful Damascus swords to the Malaiian EMPU smiths and their KRISS dagers. .

Kwind, please sign all posts with your first name plus an initial. Your sword has a non-traditionally made blade. The stamp is of the SEKI arsenal. The other side of the NAKAGO (tang) probably shows the manufacturing date. The pictures should be tip-up to facilitate reading.

After a short inquiry, I just got a reply from Dr. Stefan Mäder about this subject. He wrote: Tatsächlich habe ich vor 12 Jahren einmal einen indischen Tulwar mit den japanischen Steinen auf die dortige Art poliert. Das Muster kam dabei hervor, aber nicht so deutlich und dunkel wie durch eine klassische, nicht übertriebene Ätzung und Politur. Da ich selbst in Japan nur zwei Jahre etwas über das dortige Polieren lernen durfte, ist davon auszugehen, dass ein erfahrener Togishi auch an Wootz deutlich bessere Ergebnisse erzielen würde als ich. Dass sich Wootz japanisch polieren und auch sichtbar machen lässt, steht für mich außer Frage. In english: Twelve years ago I have indeed polished an Indian TULWAR with Japanese stones the usual way. The pattern came out, but it wasn't as clear and dark as it would have been with a classical, not exaggerated polish and etching. As I had only two years in Japan to learn something about traditional polishing, I think that an experienced TOGISHI might achieve much besser results than me. I have no doubts that WOOTZ can be polished the Japanese way and that the pattern can be made visible. .

If it was offered or sold as a Japanese sword by the salesman, and it is not one, then it is - what?

Yes, Anton, worth $ 50.-- or less, depending on what you wanted to buy. There are very good replica of everything on the market, and also of Japanese swords and TSUBA. They are skilfully made and carefully finished by master craftsmen, are very close to the originals, and they are expensive. There is a very small market for these. On the other side, there is a big market for look-alikes, and these are sold to people who generally buy only cheap stuff or have no idea about Japanese swords except what they saw in Chinese martial arts films. In case you are really interested in Japanese swords including their cultural background and the high level of arts and crafts involved, I suggest you spend some time reading here at NMB, looking at pictures of quality items and buy some basic books. This self-education will already help you a lot and save you from buying swords like this one.

Jean, to me it looks more like a KATANA MEI, if you carry it on the left. I think I even see a KAO in gold. Do I see that wrong?

Nick, a close-up photo would be helpful.

If KONUKA HADA, then possibly HIZEN TADAYOSHI.

Dwain, i think it doesn't tell anything about the quality of a polish, but it is often done by traditionally trained polishers.

Yes, Anton, a squarish TSUKA, a cast TSUBA, a blade that doesn't even try to hide its non-Japanese provenance - all together a new, but bad attempt to fake a Japanese sword!

Taylor, an interesting thought! Your Wootz blade is actually the 'right' Damascus steel. Its name is derived from the fact that this material was traded via Damascus, coming from India and later from Persia. It is a crystalline steel the structure of which is quite different from the steel we know from Japanese swords. You don't have differential quenching, so there is no HAMON. Japanese blades have nothing to do with Damascus, as they use a mainly homogenized steel. On my side, there is not much hope that a Japanese TOGISHI can find a way to polish your blade as he is usually working with forge-welded steel, which is so much different from Wootz.

In my opinion, this is a forging flaw. As it is in a critical position, you should not take the sword to war. Otherwise for collecting it is certainly o.k. If it disturbs you a lot, you can have that fixed by a TOGISHI so you don't see it any longer.

Congratulations! Altogether a very decorative piece!

John, this might have to do with the fact that forgeries or copies are looked upon differently in East Asia. You may remember the problems with Chinese fakes of Western brand items (not only clothes), and in the 1960's, the same problem was seen in Japan. I remember an important industrial fair in Japan of that time where a true copy of a BMW motorcycle was shown - even with the blue-white brand badge! The Japanese were proud of it, and the West was shocked and protested against industrial theft. When the first few TEPPO guns were purchased from the Portuguese on TANEGASHIMA island, nobody expected the Japanese to be able to copy these, but in fact, they were fast (and successful) in doing so! There were several accepted reasons for making copies, and most people did not care too much. In the late 1970's (if I remember correctly), there was an auction of Asian Arts in Cologne, Germany (Lempertz). They displayed a beautiful blade with a gorgeous HAMON and O-GISSAKI, but with obviously GI-MEI (I think it was KIYOMARO). The blade was eventually bought for an enormous sum (about DM 8.000.-- if I remember correctly) by a Japanese dealer, and many of us guys watching this were astonished and asked themselves if the buyer was perhaps not knowing this. But I learned from Michael Hagenbusch, that the blade was certainly bought knowingly and probably sold at a very high price to a Japanese collector who would never ask if the MEI was genuine or not. He said: 'The new owner will put it in his KATANA-DANSU and be happy to own a KIYOMARO and never show it to anybody.' So forgeries are - at least in my understanding - mainly a question of the social acceptance of non-authentic items, and are not always seen as critical as we do in the West.

Jean, yours is cast!

It is all about ergonomy, still today. Your physical data, what you do with a tool/sword and how you do it is important, the more, if your life depends on it.