The blade was not overly expensive and sold through a friend (who bought it from a friend). It was definitely not from komonjo and has been in the country for quite some time. (It was purchased years ago)
It wasn't sold with the smiths name mentioned (which honestly wouldn't have meant much at the time). It had a non believable dramatic story attached to it, so links to it's real history has unfortunately been lost with the passing of its past owner. The polish, hamon, and grain are actually pretty nice in person (hamon isn't visible in the pictures) but obviously not expecting a juyo grading .
Mainly at this point the owner is intersted in learning if it might actually be by that smith and in general anything about. The main goal of papering would be learning and ideally confirming the maker. There's no real profit interest in this one, just looking to learn and understand its real history if possible.
If you can suggest any resources with authenticated signature copies to compare that would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Brad