MichaelL

Well for what its worth the blade is steel (its magnetic) and 6mm thick. Have now taken a calliper to it, its substantial in weight. Its also not chromed or polished etc. But yes mounted more appealingly would have been nice.... oh well so it goes.

All good, I was not expecting a whole lot for my $100. Took me a sec to realise the thread was moved, but rightly so. If nothing else I can take it apart and see how its put together (and what to look for etc). Can certainly see how someone can easily pay a lot for it in the past. Given as someone above said it would probably have been produced in their 1000s I am a little surprised not to see more examples of this sword online (as fake). Searching showed nothing, lots of real ones, but no fakes like this. Anyway thanks all.

Fair points all. It was bought at a general estate auction, along side a few obvious "cosplay" examples. The images were limited (see below), and the auctioneers had no idea, and were not inclined to take it out or photograph it any more. It was in a glass case (unlike the cosplay ones), and my initial thoughts were it resembled a WWII sword. The AI indicated this was not the case and suggested it was a civilian sword and after quite a bit of questions and prodding it was quite adamant on this... You cant always ask the questions you would like before hand so took a punt. Never thought it was of any real value, and was surprised at the AI comments, particularly after getting it and taking some better shots.... and still having it say it was real. To answer some of the questions. The leather wrap is dry and old. I deal with horses so see a lot of crap leather. Easy enough to remove, but dried in place for some time so held its shape (painted on outer side). Had to be carefully not to tear or damage it further. The same is real rayskin, two panels one each side that have simply shrunk with age/drying, these are certainly organic and not plastic. Yes the Tsube is a cast mess, it has two seppa (wafer thin) on either side. Did not remove the habaki to examine it, but it looks thin. The saya is wrapped in leather. There is enough tarnish, dirt, dust, scapes, and scratches to suggest it was not made yesterday. I get its a fake. I do wonder why a fake would use real leather, and real rayskin. Why not just paint the Saya black. Use fake rayskin, and cord for the wrap. Why run the ray skin under the kashira. Why use two layers of brass/plate on the koiguchi when one would have had the same effect. Why put in a spring latch at all... same for the seppa... it would all cost money to produce on what would have been ultimately still a cheap fake, that would have looked remarkably similar without them... Anyway its done. Now to decide what to do with it.

An interesting observation (eternal_newbie) about AI and giving you answers you wish to hear rather than what it can observe in the images. $100 is not much for a wall decoration. A Cosplay sword would have cost me more.

To satisfy peoples curiosity.... I did not pay much for it ($100). It certainly looks aged. I eventually took the step of unwrapping the hilt and did indeed find a peg. It was difficult to see and copper? I could therefore also get photos of the tang.... or lack of tang... Its real rayskin and leather wrap. Looks poorly made to me, however AI is still claiming its a real Japanese blade and not a Chinese fake (which in itself it interesting to me). No signatures (fake or otherwise) and the hole does not look drilled to me... .

Well not being a Nihonto expert (or novice), I took a punt. It might well be fake. I would wonder why fake it so poorly (why not fake an expensive cool looking blade etc). The rayskin is clearly real, the leather saya is also real, both worn with age, showing inconsistencies of age and shrinking. The Saya is also worn on the inside from considerable use. The Koiguchi is actually two separate layers of brass (why not just use one). Why not just use platsics and paint etc. I did put the images through an AI program (always a reliable source of nonsense) and it suggested... A Japanese katana, late Edo to early Meiji period (c. 1800–1870), mounted in civilian koshirae, with a traditionally made blade in tired but honest condition. Blade Shinogi-zukuri form with proper geometry Moderate sori consistent with late Edo proportions Kissaki correctly shaped, not reshaped or clipped Surface shows age-related scratches and light oxidation Hamon not clearly visible in current polish No obvious fatal flaws (no visible hagire or major structural damage) Condition: Unpolished, stable, and unrestored. Preserved rather than refurbished. Nakago (Tang) Not removed for inspection Mounting suggests traditional construction Retained via concealed or non-standard peg arrangement No evidence of modern rat-tail or welded tang construction Full attribution not possible without professional disassembly. Mounts (Koshirae) Civilian style, not military Brass sukashi tsuba, Kyoto kinko-influenced aesthetic Blackened samegawa showing age-related shrinkage Ito intact but aged Mounting appears cohesive and period-appropriate The mounts show use and age but are structurally intact. Interpretation This sword appears to be: A modest but genuine Japanese blade, likely late Edo period, later mounted or refitted for civilian wear during the Edo–Meiji transition. It is not: A modern reproduction A decorative wall sword A tourist souvenir piece It represents a working or family blade rather than a high-ranking or battlefield weapon. As for me, I have no idea, for the price I am happy to have it real or otherwise.... It does raise an interesting question as to how accurate is the assessment. However for now I would like to know how to remove the hilt to inspect the tang (or lack of tang)....

Thanks John, I certainly didn't pay much for it, so it could be a repo, but I don't believe that to be the case. The Saya is covered in real leather, it all looks worn and age weary, nothing looks bright or machined. Not elegant by any means, what you might call a working sword, but I don't thing its repo (doesn't really matter if it is). I wondered about the latch too. But it moves freely and is not holding it together. The Saya has an internal cutaway to accept it, but the outer edge is well beaten down by it, so it has clearly been this way for some time. Anyway it does not appear to be holding the tsuka on.

Hi All, Got a Katana on speculation, sword looks vintage late edo period (at a guess), obviously not high end. I would like to remove the Tsuka to see the tang, however I see no visible mekugi? Any thoughts? M