What do you Think about this sword

[Gerry123]

I don't know which section is the right one to post this, so I'm posting it here.If this is incorrect, please move it. Thank you.This sword has been repurposed as a military sword. I think the blade is old, but I'm having trouble with the translation; perhaps someone here can help me.The tsuka (hand guard) will be newer, while the saya (sword guard) and the blade itself are probably older. I've only ever seen three sayas like this. What kind of ray/shark was used for it? The hamon (sword guard) is barely visible in the raking light, making it difficult to photograph, but it is straight. The blade weighs 840g, is 64cm long, the sori (sword guard) is 1.3cm, the kissaki (blade guard) is 3cm and pointed, the blade width is 2.6cm, and the blade thickness is 0.65cm. What do you think about this sword?

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

[Gerry123]

This sword comes from the same source as the Kabuto.The sword shows some damage to the spine and edge of the blade, possibly from battle.

Edited February 7 by Gerry123

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Gerry,

The sword is signed Bishu Osafune Suke X (not sure of the kanji; the blade has been shortened a bit). It is dated Taiei Ni Nen Hachi Gatsu (August of 1522). It has a ray skin saya (same' saya); after the skin is glued to the wood saya it is lacquered and polished down to what you see today. The tsuba appears to be a meld of Nanban and traditional Japanese made.

Grey

[PNSSHOGUN]

The mei is Bishu Osafune xxx (likely Sukesada) and dated 1500's. The mounts are traditional but seem unlikely to have been carried during the war. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Possibly 法光

Hōmitsu (Norimitsu)

 

[Gerry123]

Thank you so much for your answers!

I can now decipher the dates on swords, but I'm hopelessly lost with these kanji.

Are you sure it's shortened? The blade looks very harmonious and graceful compared to other katana. I have several other swords, but this one and one of my wakizashi are somehow different; I always describe it as very fine and graceful!

Perhaps it was only used for display in war.

Why is there a copper hanger and why is there this Nippon sun motif on the saya?

Maybe it's a family sword that an officer carried?

[Gerry123]

One more question. What do you prefer?

Real Mei or Gimmei?

[eternal_newbie]

However you managed to type the first post of this thread, use that method from now on if possible; it seems to be formatted correctly and easily read, unlike the follow-up posts which have a very large font that doesn't even fit a sentence on my widescreen desktop monitors.

[Scogg]

This can happen when copy/pasting from another app or translator program. When pasting, you will be prompted with an option to "post as plain text instead", and that will fix the formatting. I recently encountered something similar when copy/pasting from my phone notes app and my text looked good to me, but those in dark mode could not read it.

@Gerry123, I'm going to relocate your post to the Nihonto section, because I feel it better fits that category. Like has been said, there is not anything that is obviously military issue that I can dicern. 
Best of luck,
-Sam

[Gerry123]

Okay ! 

[Rivkin]

It would be nice to see closeup of hamon… otherwise so far looks ok

[Jake6500]

Sorry for diverging from the topic of the thread being the sword itself

 

But I really, REALLY like that saya...

[Gerry123]

Have a nice day. I took a new picture of the hamon. I hope it's good enough. The hamon looks worn all along the edge. I can't get a better photo; I think the blade has suffered a lot over the years. It's a bit easier to see in person.The damage from the fighting hasn't penetrated the hardening process. The damage on the spine of the blade, for example, is a bit deeper, which is probably due to the softer steel.

Edited Sunday at 10:58 AM by Gerry123

[Nihonto student]

On 2/7/2026 at 3:39 PM, Gerry123 said:

 

One more question. What do you prefer?

Real Mei or Gimmei?

Dear Gerry, 

 

We live in a strange world, but I doubt you'll ever hear anyone say they prefer Gimei blades as a matter of fact. Have you ever heard of anyone preferring paintings with fake signatures? I don't think so. It's possible that a gimei might still be recognized for its technical/artistic quality, It can happen of course, but it's not the norm. There's always a tendency to give the advice, "Buy the sword, not the signature," but this should be taken with common sense and requires experience in evaluating a work. The market in general strongly penalizes Gimei blades. Whether this is right or wrong is something you can find plenty of insights on the forum.

 

All the best

 

Giordy

[Gerry123]

Thank You for your Answer.

Thanks for your reply. I don't really care if the signature is forged. What's important to me is whether it's an authentic katana. I'm new to this. But I'm familiar with other antiques, and if you have, say, a 400-year-old clock, it's not in perfect condition, and if it is, it's usually restored. These things have been used, so there must be signs of wear and tear, right?

[Nihonto student]

57 minutes ago, Gerry123 said:

Thank You for your Answer.

Thanks for your reply. I don't really care if the signature is forged. What's important to me is whether it's an authentic katana. I'm new to this. But I'm familiar with other antiques, and if you have, say, a 400-year-old clock, it's not in perfect condition, and if it is, it's usually restored. These things have been used, so there must be signs of wear and tear, right?

Regarding defects, everyone has their own perception of what they can accept. Some want only perfection, while others don't mind the signs of aging. Often, this is also related to financial resources.
The key point, however, for me remains awareness:
If you're not aware of what you're buying, you risk overestimating the item.

 

Just to give you some food for thought on the blade you posted:

 

- The fact that it's 500 years old (to be verified) doesn't make it valuable or rare. That's when the most blades were made, and the high demand is generally synonymous with poorer quality.

 

- The signature needs to be verified, but generally for Bizen blades beginning with "Bishu Osafune" isn't synonymous of quality blades, but rather with blades made for purely utilitarian purposes, which are called kazu-uchi mono.

 

- The blade seems hard to read in this condition; you can see little or nothing of the "pattern"—hada, hamon, activity, etc.—the cost of a restoration (If possible) will be around €2.000 (€ 20 -25 per centimeter is the average cost of a professional polish), with the real risk that the restoration's value will be greater than the value of the blade itself.

 

This is just to name a few things.

 

Based on this, as I said, you might still be convinced to buy it. I don't want to convince you otherwise...the important thing is that you're aware.

 

 

Giordy

[Gerry123]

Hello,

Sorry, I never claimed that just because it's old, it's valuable. I just wanted to express that I don't really care if it's worn; authenticity is more important to me. I never asked about its value. And since the sword is already mine, I don't need to think about it. The hamon is definitely there. If you turn the blade in the light, you can see it quite well, but I just can't get a picture of it.

I only paid 400 euros for the sword, so everything's fine. Thanks for your reply.

Regards, Gerry

[Nihonto student]

10 minutes ago, Gerry123 said:

Hello,

Sorry, I never claimed that just because it's old, it's valuable. I just wanted to express that I don't really care if it's worn; authenticity is more important to me. I never asked about its value. And since the sword is already mine, I don't need to think about it. The hamon is definitely there. If you turn the blade in the light, you can see it quite well, but I just can't get a picture of it.

I only paid 400 euros for the sword, so everything's fine. Thanks for your reply.

Regards, Gerry

Overall, 400 Euros seems like a fair valuation to me. I'm happy the seller was honest with you, and I hope this piece is just the beginning, encouraging you to continue your study of Nihonto.

 

All the best

 

Giordy