What's it worth before I butcher it?

[Caleb Baxter]

Can anyone give me an idea of what this might be worth before I decide to give it a redneck restoration with some WD40 & sandpaper please? Early edo period hitachi no kami muneshige

[Ray Singer]

As I just wrote in another post, this is by Hitachi no kami Muneshige. It is an authentic antique Japanese sword, It's certainly is not something that you should be butchering with sandpaper. Leave it alone, or send it to a professional polisher. 

[Seth]

Will be worth considerably less after a "redneck restoration". You will have nothing to gain from hitting it with sandpaper. Is it in this same condition since you posted it 8 months ago? Definitely get some oil on it. 

[Caleb Baxter]

It is in the same condition. What type of oil do you recommend?

[Shugyosha]

Hi Caleb,

WD40 or 3 in 1 oil will work or if they aren't available in the US, whatever mineral oils you have available for domestic use. Take the fittings off the blade, oil it liberally and then wrap in newspaper and leave it alone for a couple of weeks. That should kill any active rust and some of it will come off when you take the paper off. If there's still any red rust, repeat as necessary until what remains is black in colour.

 

Don't do this with the tang though as that patina is an indicator of the blade's age and should be left there.

 

As has been said above, resist the urge to take any modern abrasive to the blade as that will kill whatever value it has. If you have patience, buy a couple of good quality uchiko balls and use those on it a couple of times a week once the rust has settled down. Over time that will remove a bit more of the rust and bring out some of the detail in the blade that you can enjoy.

[Brian]

Sell it, and let the next owner take good care of it. It's poor condition, but you should get $600+ for it.