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My Sword.


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So I thought I'd put some pictures up of my sword.

I really don't know a lot about it, other than the Umetada mark on the fitting. The blade has no signature on it, and it's bent. I've tried getting the bend out, very carefully....but it eventually goes back.

If I find out it's nothing special, not authentic, I'll fix it up myself. Value is kind of meaningless as I'm fond of this sword. I've had it for quite a while.

 

So yeah, any information on this sword would be awesome.

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Bugger, ok ok. After taking these shots I may or may not have taken the worst rust off the blade with some very fine wet or dry.
It's only after I showed the pics to some friends from Japan, and a couple here that I realised in might be authentic..... :(

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  • 4 months later...

So I took some pics of my sword a while back with my DSLR.
I wasn't happy with them though and may well try again, I just don't have anything decent to use for lighting.

But that's why I took so long to load them up.

 

Anyhoo, peruse at your leisure and let me know anything you come up with. One guy who seems to know what he's on about (on another site) says it's real and possibly shinshinto.

 

Paul

 

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It's real, and looks to have been in full professional polish once. Probably worth having looked at in hand. Could be a decent sword. Could well be Shinshinto...not easy to tell. Tsuba looks good too, needs a lot of careful work to remove the rust there....using bone or ivory chips.

Oil the blade for now to prevent further deterioration.

 

Brian

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Paul

 

You are in a situation where, you have to get that blade amongst people who know. Oil as Brian said, important to preserve as is.

If it is deemed worthy of it, a polish will be on the cards. But later after considered advice.

Realise now that you are the custodian of a Nihonto, and certain responsibilities go with that, find out what they are, and practice them.

And welcome to a fascinating hobby.

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Just a bit more about this sword.
I got it when I was in my early twenties. I had a mate who was always wheeling and dealing, selling and trading stuff. Ended up doing well for himself.
He knew I liked swords and turned up with this one. Asked me if it was real. Then as now I had no real idea, but I figured if it wasn't it was at least made by someone who knew what he/they was/were doing.

I swapped a few things for it and it was mine. He said he'd got it legitimately but was always sketchy about how he got it.

I had the thing for....ooh round about ten years, then I gave it to my cousin. He had it for close to ten more and just recently gave it back to me. He said he didn't want it around his place any more.

Probably my imagination but it always had an odd.....feeling to it. Bad karma or whatever. I think that's why he gave it back. Feels fine now I have it back.

Also, it has a bend in it just short of the middle. When you draw it and cut it pulls to one side. Is a bend generally a fatal flaw?

 

Oh one more thing.....how does a blade like this get from Japan to Perth Western Australia. I could see how and why if it was shin gunto, but it's not.....

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Hi Paul,

A bend is not much of a flaw; it can be fixed easily by someone with training.

Swords of all ages got to Australia, the US, some to Canada, and a bit to some countries in Europe after WWII when they were confiscated as weapons in Japan and taken as souveneers by returning home soldiers.

Grey

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Additionally, I'd suggest against cutting with it. On one hand it may be valuable and you're hurting the blade. On the other hand, it could be a Chinese fake and you could end up hurting yourself. Either way, nothing good will come of playing samurai in your backyard...

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I did a cut with it once. It worked surprisingly well.
I have several Boken. I feel much more comfortable using those to practice.

Anyone in here know anything about transporting edged weapons from Australia to Japan (future reference). Looks like I have some studying to do.

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Paul, a very strong suggestion that you NOT try to straighten the bend yourself! It might look easy, but it's not!

 

Ken

 

Yeah I have tried straightening it (very carefully and gently) in the past. The bend always comes back though. Yeah once I found out it was a real sword I stopped doing anything to/with it.

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Anyone in here know anything about transporting edged weapons from Australia to Japan (future reference). Looks like I have some studying to do.

 

I think you should contact this chap, Andrew Ickeringill - http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/user/49-andrew-ickeringill/, who is a recently qualified togishi/polisher based in Melbourne.

He can provide you with that info at a local level and would be a great pair of eyes to look your sword over if you're prepared to ship him the sword or make the journey across the Nullabor.

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I think you should contact this chap, Andrew Ickeringill - http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/user/49-andrew-ickeringill/, who is a recently qualified togishi/polisher based in Melbourne.

He can provide you with that info at a local level and would be a great pair of eyes to look your sword over if you're prepared to ship him the sword or make the journey across the Nullabor.

 

Thanks Lee :)

 

Paul

 

(I keep forgetting to sign my posts dammit!)

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