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Inherited Japanese Sword - Can you please help me learn more about it? ( Detailed pics inside)


DJVCuda

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First of all - Thank you for looking.  It was recommended I post this here as I am trying to obtain more information on this sword my grandfather brought back from WW2. 

 

I have no real history on it and would appreciate any information I can share as It is my turn to care for this treasure.

 

I understand thus far :

 

Sword signature:
勝光
Katsumitsu

 

The tsuba (guard)  is signed:
國廣
Kunihiro.
 

Is there any way to tell the age and possibly more information? 

 

I'd like to share this with my son as I will eventually pass it down to him.  I have been educating myself on how to handle, care and present this sword so please excuse my ignorance but I am just starting this journey!

 

 

Thank you in advance. 

 

 

 

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Others more competent than me will be able to comment on the sword, but I'm sure the first things they will tell you are: 1) don't place the blade on a hard surface; 2) clean those fingerprints with a microfiber cloth; 3) a picture from above of the full bare blade (including the tang) is needed for identification.

 

Cheers!

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Pietro is right, on both points, Dave. showing a photo of the entire bare blade will allow us to determine the blade's jidai (age). Then, looking at the hada (steel details) can determine the gokaden (school). Then, the hamon (pattern of the edge) may add the smith (tosho). If everything else matches, then the mei (signature) can confirm the tosho.

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14 hours ago, Ken-Hawaii said:

Pietro is right, on both points, Dave. showing a photo of the entire bare blade will allow us to determine the blade's jidai (age). Then, looking at the hada (steel details) can determine the gokaden (school). Then, the hamon (pattern of the edge) may add the smith (tosho). If everything else matches, then the mei (signature) can confirm the tosho.

Thank you for the feedback Ken - I have posted more pictures in hopes that it provides more of what is required.

 

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At first glance, it looks like a nice, old kotō sword, from sometime before the mid 1500s. Originally it would have been slightly longer than it is now, and it was shortened (from the tang end) to its current lenth. This is common, especially in older swords. One sign of this is the abrupt, horizontal cut-off on the tang. Another is the extra hole added to the tang (so that the new handle would fit properly on the newly-shortened sword). I say "at first glance" because there was a revival of old sword styles beginning in the late 1700s or early 1800s, whereby smiths deliberately copied old sword styles. Your sword could be one of these revival styles. Forget about the fittings for a moment, as these are almost certainly later additions/creations, and while they are valuable on their own, and valuable to the ensemble, they aren't necessarily contemporary to when the sword was first made. In fact, they look to me like they were made/assembled in the 1800s. Its not a good, or bad judgment. Its just a way of saying that in this case the sword is the thing to focus on. (The little metal bits in the handle - "menuki" - are in the shape of folded fans). 

 

As above, there are some nasty fingerprints on the sword, which will hopefully come off with a very gentle wipe of a soft cloth. As Pietro says, microfiber (Microdear) is the best. There is a nasty weld opening in the sword which usually means the sword wasn't made by a grand master swordsmith, but don't freak out about this now, and definitely do not try any polishing on this sword no matter how tempted you are. Limit your restoration efforts to the wiping with the microfiber cloth. 

 

The next step would be to either show it in hand to someone knowledgeable about swords, or send pictures to a properly trained polisher to find out more about professional restoration. Your sword is much older than WW2. Age doesn't always equal value as there are a million variables that determine value, but so far it looks interesting. 

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