One can only imagine

[Stephen]

To me it looks like a true nihonto blade. Sad ither way.

Wanted to share the fittings.

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/m390126010?

[drb 1643]

Senior Red Cross dirk, nice fittings. Too bad about the blade.

Tom

[Death-Ace]

That's a shame. If gendai, must have been cut when those works weren't appreciated or folks were afraid of most Imperial era blades being labeled as "non-traditonal" or illegal. Although I have seen some recently that were just cut because someone though they were just trashy "showa-to." Mounts are beautiful though!

 

Funny story, I just went to Yasukuni a few Sundays to visit and see the market. There were a few dealers with tosugu and some koshirae, but most were overpriced or rusted and abused. But what striked me was a table with about a dozen wakizashi and tanto. Or well...remnant thereof. All were of the nakago and about the first two inches per law, freahly cut, but they were nihonto. A few were as old as late-Muromachi from what I could gather. I was wondering maybe if they were fatally flawed or not registered, but didn't make sense as that isn't too much a hassle now to have done. Then looking at them, it struck me. Signs of fire, lack of hamon on a few and scale blackened nakago. What a way to go after having survived this long.

 

I thought about buying one as it was dirt cheap and a nice cross section study, but I couldnt put my heart in it.

[Bruce Pennington]

That's gorgeous Stephen.  Nice eye-candy, thanks for sharing!!