Guns Knives and Swords

I had figured the Tsuba was pretty much junk. I see two possible translations for the signature. About how old would you guess this sword to be?

This came into the local gunshop today and now resides with me. I know very little about these except I do think the scabbard is WWII. The tang and Tsuba are both signed. Here are the picture, they will say much more then I can.

I am being offered this dirk as part of a trade. Online research is very confusing and I don't know what I am looking at. I would appreciate any help you can provide in identifying this dirk, it's age, and perhaps it's value to aid me in the trade. Mike

Thanks for the information! Yes it is stuck. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Any idea of what it may be worth? This was from a very large collection of stuff. I did not know this one was in there since he was the one who actually picked it all up. It took a total of 3 truckloads. He had kept this one thinking it was mall ninja stuff but when he mentioned it and sent me a few pictures I knew it was the real deal.

My friend actually beat me to to this one and we are curious just what it is. The blade length is around 10 inches. I can see no signature on the tang. It is a bit hard to see in the pictures that there is a false edge about 4 inches long at the front of the blade.

Both have the typical acid etched blades and poorly cast tsuba. The entire blade is a Damascus pattern. I knew they looked odd to me from the beginning but not until I looked up Chinese fakes did I know what they were. The sheaths may be original items though. I will post a few pictures of them for your opinions. The wood inside the darker one has been broken and recently repaired. To my eyes they both seem to show true age where the rest of the swords do not.

I never noticed it but now that you mention it it is quite glaring that the Haikan is too high to be of any use. There is no sign of it ever being lower or a different one being in place. The sheath does indeed seem to be covered in a very thin layer of leather. I guess there is a possibility the sheath has been cut off and is originally from a different sword. From what I am reading my take on this is that it is a collection of parts, however it does look like it was assembled long ago and shows no signs of an amateur being the culprit. Even if the sheath was cut the work is very well done and is square to the brass and finished smooth.

It does not latch into the saya throat because it looks like a piece is missing from the end of it. It all aligns and fits together quite nicely. I have no history on any of these. It sounds like this one has had an interesting life. I have several other swords that I have had for a number of years. I may post some of them to see just what they are. Thanks again for all the help and interesting information.

This is the last of the lot. The last 2 swords are Chinese junk. That surprised me as nearly everything else in this collection is turning out to be the real thing. This sword is a bit on the short side with a 25 inch blade. The condition could be better but I think it is passable. The sheath is poor being held together with black tape. Is the sheath correct for this sword?

Both sides had the large hamon near the handle.

I have looked it over very closely more then once and I have not seen any kind of stamping. What kind of value would you place on this sword. While I am at this point planning on keeping the swords I have posted I am also curious to see how I am going to make out money wise on the total collection. I always go by the motto Keep the best and sell the rest. This seems to be a decent sword of it's type and worth adding to my collection. I have a truckload or more of other stuff to sell off to hopefully recoup my investment. I find all the responses to the swords very interesting and informative. Thanks for your time. The three remaining swords are a bit more of a mystery to me and may be older blades set in WWII furniture.

This is number 5 of 8. I am curious to know more about this one as I can't find a good match for it on Google.

add 31 for a total of 34 inches. It is too late at night to be doing this. Yes I am very pleased with what they are turning out to be. Thanks!

The pictures do a pretty god job of showing you what I have this time. The total length of the blade is 3 inches. It has a few spots on the blade otherwise it is quite nice. Is the red paint on the tang of any meaning? The other side is about the same as this one and I do have pictures if anyone wants them.

This was attached but the cord securing it just came apart when touched.

This is one of the military swords in the collection of stuff I bought recently. Please excuse my poor pictures of the blade. It is very hard for me to get around glare and reflections with my current setup. It works great for most things but not shiny blades. The blade is 34 and 3/4 inches tin total length and 27 inches are exposed when the handle is in place. The hamon is quite active and even from end to end and side to side. It has no rust or dings. The leather tag was affixed to it along with the tassel. Three of the swords had similar tags and they may have come out of a museum. I am not much help on this so here are the pictures.

Neither side has the edges of the slots aligned with the slots in the sheath. Both sides are cut straight and allow the curve of the copper to show. Both sides are a perfect fit to the knife and tool when you imagine the slight angle they sit at when in place giving near 100 percent contact with the back of the knife and tool. If they were equal to the edges of the slot in the sheath there would be a very slight gap when in place. The pictures are not as good as having it in ones hand. Adam's picture with the captions is not accurate to the real thing. See the new pictures and look closely. Both edges curve in slightly at the bottom. This allows full contact with the knife and tool since they have a slight curve on the backside.

Here are two better pictures of the area in question. One of Each side. The first picture appears to have blurred or worn edges near the bottom but this is not the case, the colors of the copper make it appear that way.

A few more pictures of the blade.

This is the second of the 8 Japanese swords I recently acquired. I am assuming it is a Wakizashi. The blade length is 2o inches. As you can easily see it is not in the best of condition. It is not signed. The pictures will tell you much more then I am able to.

The sheath fro the blade is 2 inches longer then the blade. Would that be correct or an indication of a repurposed sheath?