Bruno

I have read they were banned from 1945 to 1953 in Japan.

Please sign your posts with your real name as per as the rule.

Well, maybe I was wrong. The acid etched aspect of the blade, the poor shaped kissaki and the style of the mei made me think of a chinese copy.

It is a chinese copy.

Seki and Showa stamped swords can be left for the martial artists, amateur polishers and WWII memorabilia collectors as they are not nihon-to ...anyone looking to learn about nihon-to will be wasting their time with them.... Isn't t a bit contradictory? I mean, if non-traditional and traditional blades were such similar that they recquired a stamp(seki/showa) to differenciate them, why ones are out of interest and not the others for antone looking to learn about nihonto?

Grrrrr once again I can not have access to it!!!

The koshirae is pretty but I wonder if the blade is not a bit tired, it seems hamachi/munemachi are used. Or maybe it is just the photos...?

I agree with George, original also.

Not sure this can answer your question, but at least I hope it is a clue: http://www.dfoggknives.com/Metallurgica ... REPORT.htm

Sorry to ask a question which answer might appear obvious, but why nobody bidded on it? Are 1000$ too much?

As Brian said, the blade comes from a Type 3 koshirae. I guess once the blade polished, the previous owner have had no choice but stored it in a shirasaya instead of the dirty gunto saya, not to contaminate the blade.IMHO

It seems to have the tiny Gifu/Chimata stamp on the nakago, that makes me think to a murato not gendaito. If it is the case, it shows that even machine-made(hand finished and oil quenched) blades can be really pretty with a full polishing job. Very nice blade.

Do you have other pics of the bladen mounts etc...that you can show us? Naosuke is one of the Seki Kaji Tosho, right? Any infos about him anf his work?

I was joking, not Japanese to me neither.

Definitely Japanese to me! :D

Thank John and Moss. I got it. I will print it on photo paper, hope it will be nice.

I do not have access to the Ebay link due to country restriction. Is it possible to see it however?

For 2OO$ it is a bargain even for a mass produced sword.

Hi Todd, May we see some pictures of your sword please?

100% agree with George. You can probably find a Type 3 tuka a day or another on Ebay, if you are lucky.

Fred LHOMAN can make you a fresh new one for 300$. Otherwise, in one of F&G booklet, the author says that you can yourself remove the liner by pulling it of the scabbard, and then clean it.

The first one seems to be a....gendaito(mil steel?)....maybe previously mounted in the Type 3 koshirae due to the 2 holes at the extremities of the nakago. The price is quite high and the shirasaya/blade are in rougth condition, I am sure you can find better for that budget.

Well, the togishi simply said that (most of)gendaito are not made with true tamahagane so cannot be considered as true nihonto. It is just his point of view, not mine...

Yes that would be a good start. Do we have NMB members who are also NBTHK members? It would be nice also if Morita and Moriyama san could enlight us about this interesting question. For sure star stamped swords are better done than mass produced gunto but I have been told by a very serious french togishi and swords restorateur that gendaito were not(in many cases) made with tamahagane. I suspect he is a purist mainly focused on shinto swords but his knowledge is very impressive. So when he told me that I was a bit surprised(deceived to).

Agree with Stephen but I dare to add that menuki look guenine.