Request for Help Identifying a Tanto

[JackDo]

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired this tanto and I would like to ask for your opinions about it.
Here are some details and photos:

• Nagasa (blade length): approx. 16 cm (measured from munemachi to kissaki)

• Overall length: approx. 30 cm

• Width at base (motohaba): about 2 cm

• Thickness (kasane): about 0.5 cm

• Nakago: 1 mekugi-ana, patina is visible, some marks but no clear mei (or faint inscription)

• Hamon: visible but not very clear due to condition, seems irregular in places

• Kissaki: rounded, with visible yokote

• Sugata: resembles a hira-zukuri tanto

• Condition: some rust and scratches present, needs polish to show hada/hamon more clearly

I am mainly hoping to learn whether this is an antique nihonto or a more recent blade, and if possible, which period or school it might belong to. Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance for your help!

JackDo

[Bugyotsuji]

Looks like a broken blade later fashioned into a Tantō; or even a long shikomi-zue sword-stick, the blade of which broke, and the sheath was likewise correspondingly cut down. (?)

[John C]

Jack:

I agree with Piers. As an aside, the cherry bark craft used to make the saya is called Kabazaiku and has been around for a long time, however it has become prominent over the last 80 years or so.

 

John C.

[Brian]

I think if Japanese (Big if) then indeed, it's lost the front of the blade, and there likely isn't a boshi there. The hi is crudely cut, making me think this was a cheap sword cane. Nakago is way out of proportion.

[JackDo]

Hello everyone,

Thank you very much for your valuable insights.

Regarding the tsuka, I also appreciate the information about Kabazaiku and its history. That was very interesting to learn.

I will try to take and share clearer photos of the nakago and kissaki area, in case there are still details (such as a possible faint boshi or file marks) that could help in further identification.

Thanks again for your time and advice!

[2devnul]

Hi,

 

IMHO it is not Nihonto. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks for the clearer photos in the meantime. The unusual diagonal file-down of the top tip of the kissaki suggests that something was broken and smoothed off there. 

[ChrisW]

Broken lower half of a blade for sure. I've seen this before.

[JackDo]

Thanks everyone for the helpful comments.
If this blade was indeed once part of a longer sword that broke and was reshaped, I am curious to know more about the historical background.

Why did Japanese sword owners or smiths choose to reuse a broken blade in this way instead of discarding it? Was this a common practice in history, and what were the main reasons behind it ?

I’d be very interested to learn more about this aspect of Japanese sword culture.

[John C]

Jack:

Re: your last question, swords did break in battle. And when this happened, it was much quicker to fashion a shorter blade from the broken bit than to forge a brand new sword. In addition, many swords were family heirlooms, or at least treasured by their owners, and fashioning a tanto from a broken blade would be one way to kep the heirloom functional.

 

John C.

[ROKUJURO]

And there is still another aspect: There are many defective blades flying around for almost no money. They are not necessarily broken, some have big KIZU like FUKURE or HAGIRE. To make them saleable, they are sometimes cut down by sellers to look like TANTO, and with a strong concealing HADORI as in this case, they end up on the market.

That is probably not done only in Japan. As Piers pointed out, the KISSAKI has a wrong shape, and this could also be the result of a "western" repair attempt. 

The idea of a family heirloom is always a bit romantic, I think. Probably rather rare considering Japanese sword laws.

[JackDo]

Thank you very much everyone for your helpful comments and explanations.
I would just like to add that this tanto was not purchased from a sword dealer, but rather found among household items being sold when Japanese families were clearing out old belongings. That is why I was curious about its history and possible background.

It feels wonderful to learn so much from this community. I am truly impressed by the depth of knowledge here — how much can be understood and explained from just a piece of old steel. This field is truly fascinating and very inspiring to me.