Leather field covered Tanto

[Butch]

Recently posted on the Military sword section.

And was informed this is not a military smith ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated ..

Many thanks Gareth

[Shugyosha]

Hi Gareth,

 

It looks like an older blade mounted for wartime use or at least given the combat cover so it could be used in the field. From the patina on the tang I’d guess early to mid Edo period, maybe a little earlier.

 

My reading of the signature is Kamada Masanori (鎌田正則) but I can’t find any reference to a smith signing this way. Masanori is a common name but the first two kanji don’t match. So either I’m misreading or he escaped the records. Some close-ups of the blade might be useful if you can post them.