TommyMars

Alright so i'm back and i currently have the sword in my possession. I'm going to upload an imgur album to this just because i took too many pictures to upload them all into one post. The blade seems to be in somewhat rough shape, the edge has some damage from i can only assume being used for its purpose. The blade itself looks like someone tried to either badly sharpen it or polish it, so there's some scuffing and scratching in one area. There is some surface rusting but it's now oiled and will continue to be protected from the elements. There is no indication of any sort of makers mark or inscription on the tang itself, the tang came from the hilt rather easy by using the method from the link above. I haven't peeled the tape off yet in fear that i might damage the scabbard more than it already is, but i may attempt that later. I'm trying to get the pictures as best quality as i can but definitely let me know if i need to retake any and i'll do that as soon as possible. Here's the link to the pictures: https://imgur.com/a/V2Snr Thanks again to everyone helping out on identifying this and helping me keep this in good shape. Tommy.

Thats what i'm afraid of lol, not that i have any intention of ever selling this thing, i just really don't want to ruin it in any way. And hopefully it hasn't already been messed with too much as it is. It's been kept safe going on a third generation now, i don't want to ruin it for generations after me.

So if i can't get the hilt off with just using some pressure with my hands i should transition to tapping it off gently, then? The more i can mitigate actually harming this, the better. The wooden pin in the hilt is easily removable and the last i remember the hilt doesn't seem to be secured very well, i guess it's just still a bit tight somehow. Also in reply about someone being able to handle it in person, I'm located in western North Dakota, but this sword is currently in Southern California, and i'll have it in my possession while i'm in Irvine, CA and the stops after that would be Carson City, NV and Wyoming, if there is anyone in those areas that would be willing to meet on my way back home within the next few weeks.

Thank you for the information so far, once i get ahold of it next week i'll give that a shot with getting the hilt off and get some high quality pictures uploaded of the process. What do you mean by the paper and tape off? Is there something in particular i should be looking for under it? My parents have always left that on since it's got some cute Japanese comics under the tape and that was just the way it was received. This all seems like a wonderful can of worms i'm opening up.

Hello, and thank you in advance for any help you can give me. This sword was recovered by my grandfather at the end of the war and has been in my family ever since. We know absolutely nothing on this and i was having issues finding information from reading websites. I'd like to be able to clean it up properly and have a bit of history on this sword. These are just some pictures sent to me so sorry for the potato quality, but i'll have better pictures once it is in my possession next week, the handle seems to be on pretty tightly, though the pin comes out rather easily so my parents didn't want to damage anything by trying to force it off. Thank you again in advance for the help! Tommy.