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Sword for parts?


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Hello,

I am very new to this realm. I have a friend who has the sword below that is missing parts as shown.

There is no maker marks anywhere on it.

What should be done with it? Should it be restored or maybe it can be used to restore other swords?

 

I want to do what is best (within reason). How much would it cost to replace the missing items..or how much would it be worth for someone to use for parts if not worth restoring?

 

Thanks,

Dave

 

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I doubt the parts present are worthwhile to use on another blade. The habaki (blade collar) is made to fit that particular sword as is the tsuka. The only transferable part for certain is the sarute. The blade itself is very much abused but appears to be solid, if its traditionally made then it is likely worth a polish. The only way that can be found out is by having a window (small polished area) done to see what the hamon is like.

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I agree with Chris on the window option. The blade appears late edo (pre Showa I think for sure) and likely traditionally made (basing this on the nakago age, 2 holes, and the fat kissaki (hard to forge that, what’s its name please?). if you are patient enough you can not only restore the koshirae but learn quite a bit of interesting info and history. Professionally Polishing the katana will cost quite a bit, so gotta get a window put in to see if there is anything there really worth it, but then when/if you get a tsuka made (gotta buy the missing parts first) you could be looking at a blade that would probably look better without the window. Don’t rush, stick around and learn for a good long while, and that would be the best thing before jumping in to restoration, unless money is no option and it’s got sentimental value or something, then you can easily be pointed to properly qualified and decently priced services from various board members. Search polishing services here and some great options show up. Good luck! If you stick around and meet some members in person they can get a much better feel for the thing when in hand. Your thoughts on the blade are important as it is in your hands and you can study it and make an informed decision after learning more. Logan is right restoration is expensive. I think fully restoring this would be $2k, or more if it can be done (pitting isn’t too deep, turns up machine made or Chinese, has hagire)

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Thank you for all of your replies. One other question he has asked...what do you think it is worth in it’s current condition?

I am very slowly starting to learn about these (I recently picked one up myself (non-traditionally mad,I think..., but good condition).

 

I posted pictures of mine in the following post:

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/28997-first-onewhat-is-it/

 

Thanks Again,

Dave

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It's always easy to spend someone else's money. As what was mentioned above, if you have this fully polished all the parts replaced etc.. you're probably close to $3k. I have not seen a Mumei Gendaito(if it is) sell for that. I recently saw a Gunto blade with habaki(not traditionally made) that was signed and dated sell for $225 on eBay that was out of polish but had no rust or damage that I recall.

 

Unless a Gunto is traditionally made, is in full polish and has all the original parts they're really not worth polishing/throwing money into.

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Maybe dreaming sure, looking again at the habaki yeah I tend to agree, but also maybe trying to avoid the nightmare of dismissing something decent and it ending up worse off for it. Looks like the edges have been cut away a bit near the middle from ameteur polish, which is a real awful thing for these.

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Looks like a non traditional blade to me. I personally wouldn’t spend too much for it. If your friend wants one, I’d sell this one and use the money to save and get a better one. Just my two cent.

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I was going to avoid this discussion but it keeps going. I agree with the others who see this as a rather early Showa-to. It clearly  has what early collectors called "The Showa Hump" which is a slight but noticeable thickening of the mune above the kissaki. I see little other upside potential for this blade. I'd let it go, Dave.

Peter

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It appears to be a non-traditional blade to me, and as such, would not be worth a traditional polish. A non-traditional less expensive method to restore the blade may be worth considering (if it’s 100% certain you have a factory made sword). It would probably be better to wipe it down with some oil and store it in low humidity to prevent further rust.

 

That said, my suggestion to do a nontraditional restoration would still be considered controversial by many even on a mass produced factory made blade. Personally, I don’t consider such blades to be of any value other than as weapons, militaria, or sentimental. There’s really not a substantial dollar value in such things, so I wouldn’t spend much or anything to restore it unless it has some special personal significance, in which case, money doesn’t matter, go for a traditional restoration.

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I don't know, it kind of does look like Hada? I'm not sure how it's that visible though with just a poor polish.

 

If you plan on selling this, I would recommend not doing anymore. You're putting some deep scracthes in the blade and changing directions which will require more material to be removed(if someone wants to polish it themselves)

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