No Mei, but looking for help with identification

[Mike Z]

Hello,

 

I'm a new member, and gold subscriber, who had posted for the first time on 4/5, regarding one of two family heirloom swords I inherited from my grandfather.

 

This is the other of the two heirloom swords.  I realize there is no Mei to translate on this sword, and I was reluctant to post in this forum, but wasn't sure if "identification help" fit better here than in the general discussion forum?

 

To my entirely uneducated eye... I think this sword is Shin Gunto.   The shape of the blade, shape of the nakago, the overall length (36 3/8 in), blade length (26 1/2 in), seem to be perfect matches.  The braided tsuka, and menuki threw me off this thought a bit, but from what I am reading, it is not entirely unusual to see a braided tsuka with a gunto blade?  I also had an outside thought that it may be possible the tsuka's of these two swords may have been swapped at some point, but have no way to confirm or refute.

 

Thanks again for you time, and consideration!  Any help in furthering my understanding of these heirlooms is much appreciated!

 

Best,

 

Mike

 

 

[Brian]

Sword is definitely antique, and not made for the war. May have been carried to war if that is the scabbard it was used in. But the blade has a few hundred years on in. Hard to say much about it in that condition, but I would guess at 1600's.

[Mike Z]

9 hours ago, Brian said:

Sword is definitely antique, and not made for the war. May have been carried to war if that is the scabbard it was used in. But the blade has a few hundred years on in. Hard to say much about it in that condition, but I would guess at 1600's.

 

Brian,

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to provide feedback!  I really appreciate the insight.

 

Wow! That is exciting, and surprising.  Can you enlighten me as to what your trained eyes see, which leads to the blade as definitely antique?  Also, I know that I need to have these blades professionally appraised, in person, to get a better understanding of their origins, and potential for restoration.  But, from the pics, in your expert opinion, does it appear to be a candidate for restoration?

 

Anything more I can / should be doing to preserve it today?

 

Thanks again, Brian for your time and consideration, and for creating this amazing forum!

 

Best,

 

Mike

[Alex A]

Looks quite straight, like Kanbun

 

Saying that though, sori is one of the worst things to judge from images

[Brian]

The nakago shows signs of being shortened, which means it was likely longer. The patina looks older than WW2. Combined with the fittings (aside from saya) which are civilian, especially the double habaki means this is likely to be much older than WW2.