Conway S

Thomas, Very interesting find. There are quite a few similarities. Too bad there were no pictures of the blade or nakago. I will keep looking for other examples like these. I saw in the referenced post that late war swords were sometimes machine made. I wonder if this would explain the lack of a temper line on the sword I posted... Conway

Thomas, Those two pictures are very interesting. The amount of uncertainty in the collecting world definitely makes the hobby exciting. You start to realize how each item is a small piece in solving a much larger puzzle. I like reading all the differing opinions on these swords too. I am glad the post spawned further discussion on this topic. Conway

Here is a photo of the leather scabbard. It looks fairly identical to the one in the other post regarding @AlphaRaider's sword. Note the orange thread which was used to sew the leather together. That is another oddity that stuck out to me when I first had the sword in hand.

Here is another picture of the handle.

With great difficulty, I was able to remove the habaki. No markings found. Does the picture provide any further indication of what this sword might be (Chinese fake or some other non-Japanese made period sword)? There was a blue/green gunk under the habaki.

It has an unmarked blade.

Thomas, I have read through the above thread in regard to the cross guard on the sword in my other post. As luck would have it, I have another sword with the exact same one. See below. I will post more pictures.

The collar is also intended for a sword that had the blade release mechanism. Not sure if it was common to piece swords together, but I assume that is not a good sign.

The little white insert is actually metal.

Appreciate the replies Bruce and Brian. I was hoping the blade tip would show in the pictures. Here are the fittings that came with it.

Hello all. I am new to the message board and only a novice collector of WW2-era Japanese swords (I mainly collect WW1/WW2 headgear). I acquired this sword through my father who recently purchased it at a local gun show. Upon disassembly, I was immediately confronted by the misshapen and crude nakago as well as the oddly placed rivet hole. The fittings and scabbard don't concern me, although I should mention it does not have any spacers. I would appreciate any thoughts on the authenticity of this piece. Going forward, I probably won't buy another sword unless I see it in person first. Let me know if more pictures are necessary. Thank you. Conway