Wooper58

Hey all, I bought this a while ago off eBay and was wondering what time period it was made based on these pics

Sorry to reuse this thread, but can anyone provide any info on the blade? Well the portion that’s still there. I’ve included a few more images from the seller, would like to know the possible era and make it belongs to? Thanks for all the support so far, you guys are great!

That sounds much simpler and convenient, thanks!

Great catch Ian! According to the Control of Weapons Act 1990, a controlled weapon is partly defined as “a knife, other than a knife that is a prohibited weapon”, which this falls under. My only concern is regarding the lawful excuse, is it safe to assume that “holding koshirae together” or “holding seperate sword fittings together” will be understood properly to someone unfamiliar to nihonto? I don’t think it could pass as a kitchen knife… The penalty dealt if the lawful excuse isn’t accepted is pretty hefty… 1 year of imprisonment sounds like a baaaaad time. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!

Funny enough, I’ve already made a tsunagi from a pine board I just wanted to use the ‘real deal’ with the fittings to scratch that itch, kinda like placing in the last piece of a puzzle instead of using a cardboard cutout of the piece. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Thanks Rob, I really appreciate the offer. My thoughts are that if I am going to go this far to get it (which would mean having to pay for both the collector’s guild membership and chief commissioner’s permit anyway) I might as well look for a whole blade instead. I was just wondering if it would fall under a curiosity/antique rather than a weapon, but I suppose that’s just wishful thinking.

It only gets better from here… Apparently the blade has to be locked up in a safe (gun safe or similar) or it has to be in a glass display that has 5mm thick glass and locked. Maybe I’ll buy a fish tank to store it in too…

It seems that the definition for a sword here doesn’t involve length of the cutting edge… it is defined “as being a thrusting, striking or cutting weapon with a long blade having 1 or 2 edges and a hilt or handle. A sword is still classified as a sword even if the 1 or both blades are blunt.” This is according to the Victorian prohibited weapons list.

Good catch! I’ll look into it further, hoping to see some Victorian collectors share their thoughts.

This applies only to Victoria as well, none of the other aussie states are this strict

Thanks for the quick replies! The restrictions are stated as follows: In Victoria, swords are prohibited weapons and may only be imported by people possessing a Weapons Custom Import Permit, and may only be owned by those possessing a Chief Commissioner’s Prohibited Weapons Permit. If you want to import and own a sword, both are needed. A copy of a current membership card to a recognised Collector’s Organisation will be required, as well as evidence that I am a genuine collector that will not use said weapon. My question is regarding the state of the blade, if it is not considered a sword anymore would it still be exempt to these restrictions? Or is it now closer to a dagger (which would be prohibited to import and own entirely). Thanks everyone

Hi everyone, I live in Victoria, Australia and am new to nihonto. I understand the strict laws we have here regarding importing blades, and was wondering if they applied to broken blades as well? I am looking to purchase a blade which includes the tang and about a sixth of the bladed portion of the sword, to fit into a set of koshirae I own. Would this still count as a sword, and thus would it be prohibited to import? Included is a picture of the blade in question. Thank you