Questionable blade

[vajo]

I would like to show you pictures from a sword that i have.

 

Katana; 69,2 cm

 

 

The sword has a bad polish, a lot of scratches and millions of fingerprints on it. 

 

Koshirae:

 

 

What is it? Period and school. Feel free.

 

update: Hada

 

 

[O-Midare]

Is this oil quenched?, activity: nie?

[ROKUJURO]

Yes, probably oil quenched. NAKAGO looks artificially aged/patinated.

[16k]

Jean, I have never seen an oil quenched blade with running masame Hada (too bad Chris didn’t post the picture where we can see it), and no dark spots in the peaks of the Hamon, I can even see tobiyaki (I think).

[vajo]

I load the picture up JP. Thanks.

[SAS]

Activities are visible in the pics from the other thread.... why 2 threads

[16k]

Activities are visible in the pics from the other thread.... why 2 threads

Because I guess the real Nihonto experts often skip the military swords forum.

[ROKUJURO]

Maybe that better photos can show more. I only see running scratches, but one has to see the blade in hand, when it is properly polished.

[16k]

Please, look at this one. Not scratches I think.

[SAS]

Because I guess the real Nihonto experts often skip the military swords forum.

 

I read so much of the forum, I sometimes forget what section a post was in   Real sword imo Chris.

[O-Midare]

Looks like some activity in the close up. Maybe water quenched.

[raynor]

I'm no expert but the nakago looks a bit strange to me. The line where nakago and unblemished blade meet looks splashed rather then an even line natural flow of blade into rusted nakago. The rust to me looks like it was sitting in the sea rather then oxidizing over time.

[SAS]

I'm no expert but the nakago looks a bit strange to me. The line where nakago and unblemished blade meet looks splashed rather then an even line natural flow of blade into rusted nakago. The rust to me looks like it was sitting in the sea rather then oxidizing over time.

 

It would be stranger if the line was straight, as if it had been masked off and artificially patinated that way. Even if the nakago is masked, there is usually some variance due to the polishing stones.

[ROKUJURO]

Please, look at this one. Not scratches I think.

Jean-Pierre,

 

really difficult to say with all the pitting and grinding marks. Someone of the experts has to see it in hand.

[vajo]

Here is another shot i made today from the blade. So you can see the hole sugata.

 

[Ken-Hawaii]

Little funbari, so Nanbokucho, probably Bizen, if real.

[Bazza]

Neck-stretching again...  Tang looks wrong to be Kotou.  I think it is a WW2 Showatou, possibly a gendaitou.  Hardly a sword worth a polish IMHO, but a window might be instructive and worth the expense.

 

FWIW.

 

BaZZa.

[lonely panet]

poor condition oily. move forward

[PNSSHOGUN]

Partially forged & folded but oil quenched?

[vajo]

Here are some close up pictures from today.

 

[16k]

I still believe late Shinto or Shinshinto.

[SAS]

Based on the rough ji surface and the color of the ha, i think the blade has been etched in an amateur attempt to restore; a new polish should fix it.

[Bazza]

I see no reason to change my mind from Showatou, at best a hantan.

 

BaZZa.

[vajo]

Hi Bazza thanks for the advice, thats is it i think! 

 

Its a hantanren-to from Mino Provinz. Like Masanobu swords. I found pieces that looks like a perfect brother of my sword.

 

I compared it deeply with that sword.

 

http://www.aoijapan.com/img/sword/2013/13155-2.jpg

[16k]

I guess it’s a possibility, but I’m still not entirely convinced because of the Hada. The Hamon certainly shows some similarities.

[vajo]

I want to sell that sword, but it is a question to sell it as a showa-to or older sword. So i want to figure out what it is. If someone unteached buy it as showa-to he will probably destroy it by self polishing or sharpning, because it has a low worth he could think. If i would sell it as older sword and it is not older than i could have a problem.

[lonely panet]

it apears that the new mounting points toward it being used for Iai or cutting, so maybe thats the best market to aim for 

[reeder]

There’s couple of eBay sellers selling blades with similar aged nakagos. Their swords are bad and this looks like one. Iirc the listings usually are “the Japanese samurai sword”.

[dwmc]

I agree with Hamfish, sell it with the preponderance of what it appears to be. To my eyes, there is quite a lot that has occurred with your sword. The tsuka appears to have partial same' replacement. The mune and shinogi look rounded by age or mechanical buffing. The patina of the nakago looks simply weird, chemical aging? The blade itself looks as though it has been sanded as well as chemically cleaned. Other than that , it's fine...

 

Does it show past polishing, does it drop in thickness (Kasane) from nakago to blade, is it ubu-ha ??

 

Simply sell it truthfully for what it may possibly be, this is the fun, as well as frustration of Japanese sword collecting!

 

Good luck,

 

Dave M.

[16k]

I’d say it also depends on how much and where you’re going to sell it. If on NMB, a simple link to the discussions we’ve had about it should make clear that the blade is questionable and opinions are all over the place, so no foul play can be held against you.