ChrisW

The leather looks pretty decent (its usually first to go on these). I'd get it.

Bends that don't cause stress fractures/cracks are easily fixed by a professional. Never let bends dissuade you if they're just cosmetic. A lot of good swords have seen a lot of use and pick up a bend or two. They are designed to bend instead of break after all. Whereas a lot of European blades tend to shatter instead of bend.

It would be horrible to live in England and not be able to collect firearms/modern blades and knives. My condolences for your idiot government. Some people just can't live with the knowledge of others possessing things they don't like. I know I tried to buy some pinfire revolvers from England last month and even though they're obsolete, the seller informed me that no mail carrier would import them to America for me. I was very upset at that.

Oof.. this thing has been mangled. But if there's still enough steel there, it can be brought back. But Luis is very right about the nakago, its pretty eaten up. It really all depends on if it can still be traced to a particular age/school/smith and if you're willing to spend the money that it would take to bring it back.

Looks legit, albeit low grade. Brass looks porous.

This guy is one of the many known sellers to peddle fakes. Stay away from this guy.

For other members to give you a more accurate readout of these, you should disassemble them so they can get a view of the nakago (tang) as well as shots of the tsuba (guard) and the whole length of the blade. From what I can see, the one with the wooden handle looks like a late-war blade whereas the other is more mid-war. I don't know how others would describe the wooden handle one, but I've heard the term "last ditch" tossed around a lot for swords of that type. They're both WWII vintage. Matching serials are definitely a bonus that militaria collectors appreciate. I'd wait for Bruce's prognosis, he's the resident expert on these.

The blade is Damascus. They never made katanas from Damascus. Definitely a fake.

Find of the year so far?

Definitely an interesting read!

Seen this guy before, he sells poorly made fakes that would only fool a novice.

Yup, this one does really smack of those habaki-less gendaito being sold.

That's a lovely piece!

Ah, that makes sense. Its still disgusting though. I was so very ticked at not being able to get my pinfires. The guys were pretty disappointed at the range today.

Not to hijack my own thread, but to speak to how: its very simple. eBay policies ferociously protect sellers and their reputation scores. Sellers can easily petition eBay to have any neutral and negative feedback stricken from the record including scenarios where: the buyer returned the item, the sale was cancelled, or the seller did not outright contradict their listing information. As anyone who has ever bought on eBay can tell you, its very easy to get burned. Last month I got burned by the infamous UPS false tracking scam and both eBay and PayPal did nothing simply because according to what UPS said, it was delivered to the address stated to them (but UPS refused to tell me what address that was, even though I was the recipient). Naturally I gave negative feedback on this, but the seller denied, and since I could do nothing to prove it other than hold out my empty hands, eBay took off the negative feedback. The only consolation in that case was that it was for a small claims about of about $50 (bar of copper). eBay is outright crap at protecting buyers, they only care about seller protections since that is where they get their buck. As always "caveat emptor." http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/letters/blog.pl?/pl/2015/5/1430855475.html Now PLEASE, let's consider this thread over unless IJA collectors have an opinion on this blade.

I agree with the guys here. I am nowhere near the caliber of their expertise or knowledge, but a fresh repapering at a shinsa sounds like the smart thing to do.

I tried to buy some 7mm pinfire revolvers from England last week... was getting a pair of them for $200USD. It was a steal practically; they were both in need of some TLC. But then the seller informed me he couldn't ship to the US! I was so very angry! I had already gotten ahold of some shells, parts, and a reloading kit. The shells alone are $20-25USD! Needless to say, I am extremely pissed off about that. I wonder if Brexit had anything to do with their apparently even more draconian export laws the seller cited as the issue.

Gorgeous, both the blade and mounts are immaculate!

I am sure Brian would not be happy about where this thread is going. Let's consider this thread finished unless any more IJA collectors have an opinion to share on this blade. I have more or less found a consensus that this particular one is likely as it appears.

Eh.. just be careful. I got lucky this time I think. But he's got some shady stuff he consigns. I'd hate for someone to get burned just because I got lucky and they feel emboldened.

I'd have to also agree with Brian's statement on this one. I spoke with Mike. What he told me is that he consigns items from several sellers in Japan. He does not verify authenticity of anything, only that the translations given to him are literally correct. He does not check for gimei, shoshin, etc. So like most of eBay, this is a huge case of "caveat emptor." Mike is willing to do returns/refunds which is one redeeming thing about him as a seller. However, I've been able to spot many blatant fakes: looking at that supposed 1929 dated katana made from the gun barrel of the Yamato.. or the obvious modern productions of "Gendaitos". However, I do wish he'd come here and check stuff with the NMB for authenticity or at least 'likely to be so.' This would probably alleviate many concerns if he'd simply say in each listing "probable gimei" or "probably replica/fake." But being that he runs a business and that bottom line is what he chases, he won't likely ever do so. So again, if you buy from eBay, you have to be certain or have an out... or be okay with getting burned occasionally. I'd love to hear some of the veteran IJA collector's opinions of this piece though too. Even if its a put together, the blade/parts are worth more than I paid for ($1050usd) or at least I believe so. (I am alright with sharing what I paid right? If not, please feel free to censor this part.)

Beautiful tanto!

What's that red stuff on the Masasada? Active rust?

The gap between the forward seppa and the habaki is about one seppa's worth of thickness (a few millimeters) which could be due to the ill-fitting meguki or wood shrinkage? The mekugi doesn't even reach the other side of the hole in the grip and sits slightly off. So that may be why. It appears to be a fairly recent replacement mekugi. Not entirely sure. Appearance wise, everything is correct. Its just that gap that seems off.

Words of wisdom for any hobby really I think.