Recently aquired this Wakisashi, was told koto period. Anything y'all could tell me about it?

[Fathergascan]

Picked this guy up at a show (ignore the tape, just to keep it from rattling), was told it was koto period. Yasurime looks to be Higaki. Unsure of what smith since it is not a signed blade. The blade itself it a bit rough, however I can clearly see the hamon in the right light. Let me know if any more pictures are needed. 

[David Flynn]

Going by the condition of the Nakago and the Yasurime,  my guess is 20c Seki.

[Tcat]

Not koto.

[Fathergascan]

Sorry, could you explain the meaning of 20c Seki?

[Fathergascan]

22 minutes ago, Tcat said:

Not koto.

What period would you say it is? I can get other pictures if necessary. 

[Fathergascan]

2 hours ago, David Flynn said:

Going by the condition of the Nakago and the Yasurime,  my guess is 20c Seki.

What is the meaning of 20c Seki? 

 

[eternal_newbie]

7 minutes ago, Fathergascan said:

What is the meaning of 20c Seki? 

Made in Seki in the 20th century (probably the first half)

[Fathergascan]

5 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

Made in Seki in the 20th century (probably the first half)

That is surprising, I've been out of collecting nohonto for a while. I thought the X Style filing was a koto thing. Also the color of the nakago is black, there is new surface rust that im going to take care of. The yellow stuff is glue, it chips off with my nail. Here's some more pictures of it.

[Fathergascan]

Is this worth keeping? I paid $120 for it, was going to get the tsuka wrapped and all that. 

[eternal_newbie]

19 minutes ago, Fathergascan said:

Is this worth keeping? I paid $120 for it, was going to get the tsuka wrapped and all that. 

 

For that price I think you did pretty well unless there's a fatal flaw somewhere that we can't see.

[Fathergascan]

2 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

 

For that price I think you did pretty well unless there's a fatal flaw somewhere that we can't see.

As far as I can see it's just poor condition. Even with the new pictures, youd say it was made in the 1900s?

[eternal_newbie]

8 minutes ago, Fathergascan said:

As far as I can see it's just poor condition. Even with the new pictures, youd say it was made in the 1900s?

 

That wasn't my opinion, just explaining what "20c Seki" meant. All I can say is you have a genuine nihonto in koshirae which at least doesn't seem to have any major flaws, so it's worth at least what you paid for it.

[Tcat]

1 hour ago, Fathergascan said:

What period would you say it is? I can get other pictures if necessary. 

 

My guess is Shinto, Mino.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Trevor,

I see little to be excited about here. At $120 you did fine, unless you  get the tsuka wrapped and all that, in which case you're likely too deep into it to ever get your money back. I wouldn't spend another cent unless someone knowledgeable and honest sees it in hand and advises otherwise, but I wouldn't expect that to happen.

My advise is to turn a quick buck and look for better to collect. Grrey

[Fathergascan]

5 hours ago, Tcat said:

 

My guess is Shinto, Mino.

Alright, what time frame would that be? Looking it it up is giving me wildly different estimates.

[Fathergascan]

2 hours ago, Grey Doffin said:

Hi Trevor,

I see little to be excited about here. At $120 you did fine, unless you  get the tsuka wrapped and all that, in which case you're likely too deep into it to ever get your money back. I wouldn't spend another cent unless someone knowledgeable and honest sees it in hand and advises otherwise, but I wouldn't expect that to happen.

My advise is to turn a quick buck and look for better to collect. Grrey

Ahh I see, well thank you for the response. I suppose id like to know how old it is at the least. When I thought it was koto, thats what made me grab it for the price so if it ends up being somewhat modern I can sell for 240. I was offered that where I bought it.

[Brian]

Age has nothing to do with value. People assume the older, the more it's worth. A semi decent Shinto is worth more than a Koto kazu-uchimono.
Don't worry about when it was made.

[Fathergascan]

7 minutes ago, Brian said:

Age has nothing to do with value. People assume the older, the more it's worth. A semi decent Shinto is worth more than a Koto kazu-uchimono.
Don't worry about when it was made.

Oh im not too worried about ita value, I figured 120 was a safe bet no matter what. I just personally would like to know its age since that is a big part of the blades history and isnt clear to me atm.

[Bazza]

Study never ends...

 

(Thus quoth a great man).

 

BaZZa.

[Peter Bleed]

This was a wonderful example of how this list can/might work. I know of no one who would "want" this sword, BUT the down side pot6ential is limited and the learning potential is great. With work, interaction, and care, this will become a presentable "samurai sword." in in doing that you will have 1) learned, 2) communicated, 3)practiced (you likely will "try" some polishing, be careful, go slowly and read). Get the tsuka wrapped and a katana-kake and you have done no serious damage, but gained a display piece.

Peter

[Fathergascan]

9 hours ago, Peter Bleed said:

This was a wonderful example of how this list can/might work. I know of no one who would "want" this sword, BUT the down side pot6ential is limited and the learning potential is great. With work, interaction, and care, this will become a presentable "samurai sword." in in doing that you will have 1) learned, 2) communicated, 3)practiced (you likely will "try" some polishing, be careful, go slowly and read). Get the tsuka wrapped and a katana-kake and you have done no serious damage, but gained a display piece.

Peter

Hey there! Thank you for the response.

I was told mineral oil would be good to wide te blade and nakago with, so ill probably start there. Could you elaborate further on the polishing aspect? I wasn't planning on getting someone to polish until I can find someone knowledgeable in person to check it out. However, the tsuka from one of my more modern wakizashi happened to fit perfectly with the blade. I even was able to use the fuchi that came on the original tsuka, at least till I get the real tsuka wrapped.

I know this isnt an amazing sword, but for 120 bucks its my first step back into collecting nihonto after a few years, so it feels good. 

[ROKUJURO]

3 hours ago, Fathergascan said:

.....the polishing aspect? I wasn't planning on getting someone to polish until I can find someone knowledgeable in person to check it out.....

It is a very good idea to have the blade checked carefully first and NOT TO ATTEMPT a DIY POLISH!
Low viscosity mineral oil will help a bit, but  CAMELLIA oil would be best. After application, removing the excess is important so no oil gets into the SAYA.

[Fathergascan]

4 hours ago, ROKUJURO said:

It is a very good idea to have the blade checked carefully first and NOT TO ATTEMPT a DIY POLISH!
Low viscosity mineral oil will help a bit, but  CAMELLIA oil would be best. After application, removing the excess is important so no oil gets into the SAYA.

Oh no id never try myself haha, thats like refinishing a gun. Camellia oil it is then! Ill get some today after work. 

[Tohagi]

Hello,

This wakisashi is not ugly at all.

The hamon is interesting, quite elegant gunome a little too close to the ha.

My guess would have been shinto too (somewhere betwen 1690 and 1800...).

You should try to show it to someone.

 

Best,

Eric

[Fathergascan]

Thank you for the reply, I messaged Nihonto antiques over in Florida. A guy named Moses if anyone knows of him. Hes said it looked to be 1700s.

 

Also I agree, its not good condition or anything but its not ugly at all and there is some little detail showing through the scratches.