Help determining authenticity

[xxCTxx13]

Hey everyone. I ran across this piece today and wanted to get some insight into its authenticity. There was a seki stamp and mei, but I have no ability to translate. They saya was wood and seemed to be a recent replacement. I plan to take a closer look at it tomorrow and could get additional pictures then. Once I got home I noticed I did not have a clear shot of the overall blade. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me.

[xxCTxx13]

[xxCTxx13]

[xxCTxx13]

[xxCTxx13]

[PNSSHOGUN]

Yes, authentic for sure. You are right about the Seki stamp but the mounts appear more civilian than military. 

[xxCTxx13]

14 hours ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Yes, authentic for sure. You are right about the Seki stamp but the mounts appear more civilian than military. 

Thank you so much for responding and for the information.

[SteveM]

石原義定作　Ishihara Yoshisada saku

 

It's the swordsmith's name: "made by Ishihara Yoshisada". WW2 swordsmith. 

[Bruce Pennington]

Many smiths sold blades to the open market as well as to the military.  So not unusual at all.  Though not dated, the large Seki stamp puts your blade, most likely in 1942.  They have been found in the range of 1940-1944, so those dates are possible too, but the massive majority of the dated blades we've found with this stamp are dated 1942.

[xxCTxx13]

On 8/8/2021 at 2:56 PM, SteveM said:

石原義定作　Ishihara Yoshisada saku

 

It's the swordsmith's name: "made by Ishihara Yoshisada". WW2 swordsmith. 

 

Thank you for the translation Steve!

 

On 8/8/2021 at 6:01 PM, Bruce Pennington said:

Many smiths sold blades to the open market as well as to the military.  So not unusual at all.  Though not dated, the large Seki stamp puts your blade, most likely in 1942.  They have been found in the range of 1940-1944, so those dates are possible too, but the massive majority of the dated blades we've found with this stamp are dated 1942.

 

Thank you for the date information Bruce! I started searching Ishihara Yoshisada on the forum and google and ran across your stamp survey database.

 

I went back and picked up the sword Sunday morning. The first in my collection. I took some more images to add to the thread for future references. On closer look, I can see the yokote faintly peeping through.