Ronald Aguirre Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 Hey All, this katana is for sale locally but I’m not sure about its authenticity. The koshirae are obviously not right, and the handle unfortunately can’t be removed without damaging it. Some things I’ve studied about the blade….The nagasa is 27 inches, Iori-mune, it has a pronounced shinogi-ji, and curiously, my untrained eyes don’t see a yokote on the kissaki. Any help or education you could give me about this blade would be helpful! Just wanted to get your thoughts on the blade itself. Is there a chance it’s authentic? Quote
lonely panet Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 Its what we call a fake-to. A copy of a nihon-to 1 Quote
Brian Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 Blade looks possibly genuine to me, put into amateur homemade fittings. But the only way you'll know for sure is to see the nakago. 2 Quote
Tohagi Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 Humm... Most of the bevels are wrong including mune angle, traces of machine vertical strikes on shinogi gi... The cutting edge is thick shaped like a knife, the habaki is wrong... For me it's a déco sword... Obviously this is not a definitive statement. Best, Eric Quote
Lilleskit Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 1 hour ago, Tohagi said: Humm... Most of the bevels are wrong including mune angle, traces of machine vertical strikes on shinogi gi... The cutting edge is thick shaped like a knife, the habaki is wrong... For me it's a déco sword... Obviously this is not a definitive statement. Best, Eric Could it be genuine but recently abused by someone with a beltsander thinking that they were "repolishing" it? Sad, but it does happen. Quote
robinalexander Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 5 hours ago, lonely panet said: Its what we call a fake-to. A copy of a nihon-to Hi Ron, I'm with Hamish....no place in my collection for this ..blade or otherwise (and I'm very forgiving). also ..... if you can't remove the tsuka 'without damaging it' .. then unfortunately there is even less chance of ever getting a valued opinion on the blade itself. Quote
Brian Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 Been sharpened like a knife. Typical of someone who knows nothing about Japanese swords. Done later. Quote
Lilleskit Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 Would really want to see what's under the tsuka (handle). The yokote absence on nihonto isn't uncommon. Here are some examples: Naginata: Rarely. Tip curves smoothly, no distinct separation Hira-zukuri Tanto: Rarely Shobu-zukuri Blades: Rarely Not saying that your blade is any of these, just that the absence of yokote on certain finds is not a disqualifier. Quote
Lilleskit Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 (edited) Maybe a recently belt sanded 😣 Burmese or Vietnamese Dha or reproduction of one. The tsuka looks closer to that style. 🤔 Edited May 21 by Lilleskit Pic added Quote
Lilleskit Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 7 hours ago, Ronald Aguirre said: Hey All, this katana is for sale locally but I’m not sure about its authenticity. The koshirae are obviously not right, and the handle unfortunately can’t be removed without damaging it. Some things I’ve studied about the blade….The nagasa is 27 inches, Iori-mune, it has a pronounced shinogi-ji, and curiously, my untrained eyes don’t see a yokote on the kissaki. Any help or education you could give me about this blade would be helpful! Just wanted to get your thoughts on the blade itself. Is there a chance it’s authentic? It looks like it's closest to a Northern Vietnamese/Military style Dha, not a Japanese blade. The V ground edge, glued on handle, and blade geometry are a closer match. I can't give an opinion on age and authenticity but researching dha blades might not be a bad place to start. Please forgive the less than helpful comments you'll receive in this thread. Best regards Ken Quote
Rivkin Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 I don't think its fake per se, but rather indeed a SEA sword in Japanese style. With 20th century random add-ons to keep it together. Quote
Tohagi Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 In the last picture the "tsuka" looks like the rest of a polearm pole. Could this be a polearm cut down? In this case geometry ... is not so wrong ?! Quote
Mister Gunto Posted May 22 Report Posted May 22 From what can be seen, it doesn't look promising. Without seeing what's under the handle, I'd pass. If you're ok with lesser-condition blades in your collection, you can find genuine nihonto out there fairly easily. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.