Hello,
First of all apologies if I've got the correct terminology wrong but I'm still learning. I've been given a sword by an elderly friend of mine who served in the RAF during WW2 and was based in Sumatra where he says he got the sword.The sword is in pretty bad condition with a lot of nicks in the edge and someone has damaged the fuchi and the mekugi trying to get them apart. (I knew the meguki is tapered so I went as carefully as I could trying to identify which way in it went). The menuki is very dirty but in reasonable condition. The saya is scuffed, dirty and could do with being shown some love with leather conditioner. I haven't touched the sword other than to remove the fuchi to see the mei as I don't want to destroy the patina and therefore the history of the sword. I'm really after some advice as to whether the sword is genuine and if so should I leave it as is or have it restored? I can do the cleaning but frankly the thought of trying to sharpen the blade properly worries me as I know it's very easy to unsharpen something! I've attached a couple of pictures and I'd appreciate your comments.
