rt44

Thank you Ray and Bruce for your help, I greatly appreciate it. These new ones are the clearest photos I am able to get in current conditions with equipment I have on hand given the state of the tang. I will try and get my hands on a better camera/lighting setup, but wanted to provide these in case they are any help.

Here are some more pictures of the sword. If there are any other photos/angles that would be helpful, I will be happy to provide. Thanks again.

Hi all, I have recently come into possession of a Japanese sword that a relative had brought back from the Pacific during or immediately WWII. Unfortunately, the relative who served has long since passed away and I can find out no other information than he served in both engagements in the Pacific as well as part of the occupation force. So how he obtained it is likely an unanswerable question. It has likely sat in its scabbard since 1945-1946 collecting dust until I came into possession of it. The blade itself is I’m pretty rough shape with noticeable rust. The tang has a rather dark patina, which was my first clue when researching that it might be worth consulting others. It has obviously been remounted on WWII era fittings, but there appears to be a mei on the right side of the tang. There are no such markings on the other side, just a flat patina. The hamon appears to be irregular and has not made me suspicious, but I am a novice after all. I have provided pictures of the blade and made attempts to frame/light the photos to make the presumed mei legible, but have been largely unsuccessful. Any advice on achieving that would be appreciated as well. I have also provided some approximate measurements below. I will try to use correct terminology, but could be mistaken. Length from kissaki to hamachi: 20 3/8 inches (51.75 cm) Nakago length: 5 1/4 inches (13.34 cm) Nakago width: 1 5/8 inches at top, roughly 1/2 inch at bottom (4.13 cm, 1.27 cm) Blade width at hamachi: 1 1/4 inch. (3.18 cm) In addition to any identifying information anyone might be able to provide on this sword, steps I can take to preserve this sword would be extremely helpful. We do not intend on selling this sword regardless, but if anyone had a ballpark figure on its worth I would be interested to know just for curiosity’s sake. Thanks for any help you guys can provide. I will provide more pictures in the thread below. Rutland