My first Nihonto (?)

[Jwizz]

Hello all, I received this Mumei Tanto today! It was listed as "old koto era" 

 

I want to believe it to be authentic 

BUT

I don't know a lot about much, so ANY help identifying anything about the blade will be greatly appreciated! 

 

Taking photos were ALOT harder than i imagined they would be, so, my apologies for the lack of detail in the images. 

 

Thanks, Justin.

 

[Nihonto student]

Hi Justin,

 

thanks for posting your blade, I confirm you that it is an authentic Tanto, at first glance I would say from the Muromachi period.

If you want, post some more detailed photos and the measurements of the blade so maybe we can understand something more.

 

All the best

Giordy

[Franco]

Tired looking blade badly polished, imho. Which makes it somewhat difficult to accurately date.

[Matsunoki]

Perfectly genuine old Tanto exhibiting Uchi Sori where the mune  curves towards the edge as it approaches the kissaki. A feature seen in Koto Tanto especially in Kamakura era but also in later Utsushi (copies made in an earlier style). There appears to be no reshaping to the kissaki (boshi looks OK) which would suggest it was deliberately made in this shape. Just an opinion.

[Robert S]

2 hours ago, Franco said:

Tired looking blade badly polished, imho. Which makes it somewhat difficult to accurately date.

Franco:  What are you seeing that makes it look tired?  The tired blades that I have are a lot more tired than that :-), so my eyes may be jaded.

[Jacques]

Nagasa ?

[Jwizz]

Thankyou all for your insight! 

 

I am very excited to have my own nihonto to study and clearly have A LOT to learn!

I will try to post more detailed photos/measurements later today.

[Franco]

4 hours ago, Robert S said:

What are you seeing that makes it look tired? 

 

Tired in the sense that I would be concerned about the unexpected with a new polish. Especially depending upon how much foundation work is required. I'm not convinced by the uchizori of age at this point. Keep in mind that uchizori can be a function of polish. And this tanto looks to my eyes in desperate need of a polisher with excellent foundation skills.  

 

p.s. Upon further look, this steel does not look healthy to me. Hope I'm wrong.

Edited May 13 by Franco
p.s. added

[Jwizz]

1 hour ago, Jacques said:

Nagasa ?

20cm / 8inch 

[Jwizz]

3 minutes ago, Franco said:

 

Tired in the sense that I would be concerned about the unexpected with a new polish.

It is honestly a lot more glossy/reflective than what I was expecting. (Unsure if that's good or bad) 

It seems to have a bit of iridescence, I assume due to being overly oiled perhaps? 

[Franco]

6 minutes ago, Jwizz said:

I assume due to being overly oiled perhaps? 

 

Perhaps. Something an excellent polisher could answer.

[Jwizz]

1 hour ago, Franco said:

Upon further look, this steel does not look healthy to me.

May I ask what gives you this impression? 

[Jacques]

17 hours ago, Jwizz said:

20cm / 8inch 

On the short range. For what i can see sori seems more takenoko than uchi, is it right?

[Jwizz]

6 hours ago, Jacques said:

seems more takenoko than uchi, is it right?

Yes, I believe so

[Jwizz]

Measurements;-
- Nagasa: 20cm / 8 inches
- Nakago: 9.5cm / 3.74 inches
A few more detailed photos. (I hope)

I will also add, it isn't sharp at all.


 


Thanks again for any help, comments and or insight.

[Franco]

On 5/13/2025 at 8:09 PM, Jwizz said:

May I ask what gives you this impression? 

 

Double clicking on the third image (front half, omote side of tanto), the surface steel both above the hamon and below near ha doesn't look tight to me, a little loose. Needs a good look from a polisher. An excellent polisher might look at it and say no problem.  

[Jacques]

 Without having it in hands, i give up. 

[Matsunoki]

To me based on these images this looks like a totally acceptable but unexceptional Koto Tanto blade with accompanying Koshirae that probably doesn’t  fit that well (saya looks too long). The difference in kasane between nakago and blade suggests multiple polishes, nothing unusual there for an old blade. Some loose hada is nothing unusual either. 

The polish is obviously not pristine and certainly not comparable to a good modern polish but so what? 
If you bought it because it pleases you and you haven’t paid a fortune for it then good for you.

Did you buy it with the intention of getting it polished?

[Jwizz]

4 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

If you bought it because it pleases you and you haven’t paid a fortune for it then good for you.

Did you buy it with the intention of getting it polished?

Thankyou, I got it for around 500usd and am rather fond of it. 

Imho for me, it's a perfect introductory piece

I was hoping to learn as much as possible about it but having a bit of mystery isn't an issue at all. Makes me wonder where it's been/what it's seen. 

 

I didn't intend on getting it polished, perhaps in the future i will.

The koshirae like you said, doesn't fit very well. 

How difficult do you think it'd be to find koshirae that would be a better fit? 

[Rawa]

I was starting from "rat-tail tang" replica. Yours is couple lvls higher :]

[Matsunoki]

Just now, Jwizz said:

I didn't intend on getting it polished, perhaps in the future i will.

Based on these images I’d just leave it as it is. It’s not that bad and probably wouldn’t justify the expense of a polish. Enjoy it, learn what you can from it and move on up the ladder. It’s a modest typical starter…..nothing wrong with that.
 

1 minute ago, Jwizz said:

How difficult do you think it'd be to find koshirae that would be a better fit? 

Sadly, near on impossible . No two blades are the same and it’s famously difficult to find particularly a saya that fits. If you wanted to experiment, as the saya is wrong and a bit of a wreck anyway and with missing fittings you could try shortening it yourself and as the tsuka ito is poorly done you could try splitting the tsuka and refitting it. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND DOING THAT ON ANYTHING OF QUALITY……but you don’t have much to lose on this one. Getting the tsuka rebound is no big deal, I’m sure you could find someone in Oz. 
Depends on how confident and capable you feel 🙂

 

Dont do anything to the blade except to keep it lightly oiled….and enjoy owning a modest piece of history.

 

 

[Jwizz]

56 minutes ago, Matsunoki said:

Sadly, near on impossible.

That is a shame, i think i will experiment with the saya at least. will give me a decent project and hopefully a more respectful resting place for the blade  
and perhaps I'll look into getting the tsuka rebound.

Thankyou again, Colin, for all your assistance and words of wisdom / affirmation.

[Cookie_Monstah47]

Hi Jwizz,

 

Believe it or not the cost of polishing an 8 inch (aproximating) tanto is rather modest compared to a full length Nihonto. You have a decent habaki too. Where I live that would amount to about $1300 USD with a new shirasaya as well. It's your first one too. The question is if there's any hidden kizu lurking in the blade.

 

Best,

Khalid