Hi, I'm Dave, and I know absolutely nothing about Japanese swords.
First, let me say this forum seems really good. I have been researching Japanese swords for the past week and have just ended up massively confused. I wound up here, and people seem very helpful, so I was hoping someone could give me some advice.
I have had this Japanese sword for around 8 years now. It belonged to my ex girlfriend, and when we moved in together she told me how this was a really Japanese sword forged in Japan (she traveled there a lot on business, and was very interested in the culture). She explained it was worth a considerable amount of money. We eventually broke up and I was left with a lot of expensive items including this sword which I just kept.
Now, after 10 years of living in Bangkok (I'm from the UK originally), I'm finally done and moving on. I work as a photographer, and will be selling everything I own and moving to Laos to do freelance photography. So my predicament is that I have this sword, and I have ZERO idea if it is even real or just a Chinese or even Thai fake. It sure does look like a beauty to me, and after some research I was almost positive it was genuine until I started to research the 'dagger in the handle' and then I just though this has to be some kind of Thai knock off.
So before I sell it, could someone take a look at these photos for me and give me an indication of what it is, whether it is fake, and even being fake how much it would be worth. It's gotta go...
I have more photos if needed. I also have a wooden board around 10"x5" with Japanese writing with the sword. I thought it was a certificate but I had a Japanese guy in my condo translate it and it's some kind of proverb. (again I can provide an image if needed).
Finally, I have no official certificate of manufacture, and it definitely is not an old sword.
I hope this wasn't a ramble ... if I forgot to add some information let me know. I can't give the dimensions because right now I do not have a tape measure.
Thanks for the help!
