Fathergascan

Very cool, I just looked into it and found two names in Houston and Austin. I'll contact them to see if that info is current. Thank you!

Texas

Thank you for the info. So late 1500s then. I found a matching shape nakago, Kashu. That may also be the shape.

Id be fine with that, what would be the easiest way to find a local person on here?

Hello again, I've aquired a katana today and believe the yasurime is suji-chigai. Its hard to see the file marks. I am not sure what shape of nakago this is. Sori is 24in 3/8. Looks to have a steep curvature starting at the hilt. I think hamon is suguhu hostsure. Grain looks like itame-hada. (Hard to tell) Has a two piece hibaki with foil on each one. Please do let me know if I got anything wrong, or add any more info thank you!

I likely will just fix the original tsuka and leave it there. Personally even if I learned how to polish, it'd feel same as refinishing a milsurp gun. Professional is the way to go as far as that goes, but again likely going to leave the blade and just keep oiling it. Yes some red rust did come off!

Would anyone know of someone local who can have the blade inspected? (Texas)

Thank you for the reply, I messaged Nihonto antiques over in Florida. A guy named Moses if anyone knows of him. Hes said it looked to be 1700s. Also I agree, its not good condition or anything but its not ugly at all and there is some little detail showing through the scratches.

Oh no id never try myself haha, thats like refinishing a gun. Camellia oil it is then! Ill get some today after work.

Hey there! Thank you for the response. I was told mineral oil would be good to wide te blade and nakago with, so ill probably start there. Could you elaborate further on the polishing aspect? I wasn't planning on getting someone to polish until I can find someone knowledgeable in person to check it out. However, the tsuka from one of my more modern wakizashi happened to fit perfectly with the blade. I even was able to use the fuchi that came on the original tsuka, at least till I get the real tsuka wrapped. I know this isnt an amazing sword, but for 120 bucks its my first step back into collecting nihonto after a few years, so it feels good.

Oh im not too worried about ita value, I figured 120 was a safe bet no matter what. I just personally would like to know its age since that is a big part of the blades history and isnt clear to me atm.

Ahh I see, well thank you for the response. I suppose id like to know how old it is at the least. When I thought it was koto, thats what made me grab it for the price so if it ends up being somewhat modern I can sell for 240. I was offered that where I bought it.

Alright, what time frame would that be? Looking it it up is giving me wildly different estimates.