ChrisW

Any other opinions out there guys? Much appreciated, as always!

Looks rather like it was being prepared for suriage. Just my two cents.

Those were my thoughts too Barry. Rather hinges on whether or not the mei is any good, that was my initial assessment. Even then, a risky proposition.

Here's a few as requested, he did the best he was able to. Hopefully these are helpful! Thanks for the help Thomas.

I'll have to see if he can get me some pictures then. It is a bit of a drive and I was in the area the other day. But looks like a shinto blade to me, so probably YOS917 in Hawleys is my guess.

Unfortunately, it is in such poor condition in terms of polish that seeing any hada on the jigane is quite impossible. I wish it were in better shape to be able to do so.

By the way, that red rust stuff is just some kind of buildup; as far as I could tell, it wasn't eating into the blade.

Hey guys, I've got a wakizashi of a friend here. He is curious about whether or not it makes sense to have restored. I told him it largely depends on the signature. The signature looks confidently written, but that could mean nothing. The blade has a clipped/snapped tip, but it appears to not pass through the hardened edge (a few mm of tip loss). The blade is about 18" (from what I remember, I'll change this once he gets back to me) and appears to have a suguha type hamon. It has a shirasaya with integral wooden habaki in poor condition but appears to have once been of good quality. The blade is quite stout and appears healthy enough to receive a polish. It gave me the impression of a Sukesada-type work. My asks for my friend's blade are: Translation of mei Veracity of mei: shoshin or gimei? Worth restoration or no? General impression/opinion Again, any help/feedback is appreciated guys, Thanks! ~Chris

Sometimes, you're just handed a win. I think you got a winner here Geraint!

He made medium to high grade gendaito, so yes.. gendaito with his personal stamp. Appears to be a nice blade. Is it worth the polish? I would say yes, but that's just me. As for who? Try Bob Benson or Jimmy Hayashi.

To help with assessment, can we get some measurements? The following would help: Nagasa (cutting edge) length: Nakago (tang) length: As for the blade, it is signed and dated (so I assume) and appears to have a hot stamp. I would assume that at least makes it more likely to be gendaito, possibly a bit older, but it could also just be a showato. You'll have to wait for the experts to chime in.

Smart! Also, I would not risk testing the cedar trunk theory as many a nihonto bringback has come out of a cedar trunk in less than optimal condition, so who knows?

See those little pits all over the brass tsuba? Brass doesn't pitt like that naturally. That is pitting from a poorly-done sand-casting job. There is literally nothing about this sword that is legitimate, sorry to say. It looks like the other blade you posted is good though.

I agree with Geraint here, I think I can see a faint yokote on both sides in the same location.

Just from the nakago, almost certainly a fake. However, a picture of the boshi (tip of the blade) would help confirm this. It looks to be one of those recently made Chinese replicas/fakes that are all over the market right now. The tang looks completely wrong and bedraggled, and the hamon looks grinded on. Did it come with any fittings? What of the habaki: is there one? if there is, does it fit poorly?