Marcin Posted March 28 Report Posted March 28 Legit until proven otherwise. Many interesting features with some imprint on saya leather cover https://www.ebay.com/itm/376287779847?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D777008%26algo%3DPERSONAL.TOPIC%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20250417133020%26meid%3Db918e1ff3fdd4d3ca0b743dcc8ee6584%26pid%3D102726%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26itm%3D376287779847%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D4375194%26algv%3DRecentlyViewedItemsV2DWebWithPSItemDRV2_BP&_trksid=p4375194.c102726.m162918 Quote
Marcin Posted March 28 Author Report Posted March 28 (edited) Menuki rooster, some writing on sarute Edited March 28 by Rawa Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted March 28 Report Posted March 28 The blade is quite nice, however the tsuba, fuchi, and kabutogane are very, very crude; then you have brand new ito. Can't make out the imprint on the leather, but it reminds me of the kiku with vines/leaves seen on nakago. Very mixed bag. Quote
Marcin Posted March 28 Author Report Posted March 28 @Bruce Penningtonseppa, habaki? you have some wear on them. Quote
Scogg Posted March 29 Report Posted March 29 I think I have a very similar set of this type of very crude fittings. They came to me in a bag of miscellaneous parts and fittings. It has always been my assumption that they are modern reproductions or outright fake. They appear extremely crudely cast, and the hanger looks too small. Mine have remnants of paint on them. Again, I always thought they were fake, and keep them as a curiosity. -Sam 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted March 29 Report Posted March 29 13 hours ago, Rawa said: @Bruce Penningtonseppa, habaki? you have some wear on them. Yes. So, the whole tsuka could be a very late war replacement, or post war, no way to know. @SteveM is that mei recognizable? Quote
Geraint Posted March 29 Report Posted March 29 Gentlemen. While Marcin declares in his originalpost that this is legit until proven otherwise I would start the other way around. So far we have crude cast fittings with odd menuki, I would add that the leather cover is not showing signs of age but has strange markings. The habaki while closer than some is not right in its proportions and although the blade looks quite good overall there are features that cast doubt, not the least the odd mei. None of the blade photographs are in focus so that we can't see details. I would call this a fake/reproduction. I certainly would not be risking this at auction without in hand checks. As always I stand to be corrected, All the best. 2 Quote
Scogg Posted March 29 Report Posted March 29 I agree with Geraint. In my opinion, at best it’s a piece together with a mix of real and fake parts. If these crudely cast fittings were actually late-war; I would think that we would have seen them more frequently on other late war examples. Here they appear ill-fitted and with brand new tsukamaki. I do not think that is writing on the sarute. To me, it looks like scratching from using a tool to crimp the sarute into place. Another sign this might have been put together recently. -Sam Quote
SteveM Posted March 29 Report Posted March 29 Very strange. Illegible to me. The 怍 (saku) is fine, but the character (or characters?) above that are a mystery. An attempt to fake a mei? An addition of some chisel strokes to deliberately obscure the Mei? Unusual. Quote
Marcin Posted March 29 Author Report Posted March 29 (edited) 17 minutes ago, SteveM said: Very strange. Illegible to me. The 怍 (saku) is fine, but the character (or characters?) above that are a mystery. An attempt to fake a mei? An addition of some chisel strokes to deliberately obscure the Mei? Unusual. Yes Steve, for me it lookjed like [sho stamp] saku :] and I thought about those fittings - they looked so bad that no one trying to create a fake would accept that in my opinion. Maybe it was hastily put together from parts as last stand effort? It was better to give this as a functional weapon or leave someone unarmed? Look on mekugi ana, rust etc. even yasurime is consistent. Ofcourse better not to buy this :] Nagasa below 24 inch. Edited March 29 by Rawa 1 Quote
John C Posted March 30 Report Posted March 30 13 hours ago, SteveM said: to deliberately obscure the Mei? Seems the same was done to the tsuba. There are the remnants of something under the scratches. John C. Quote
Marcin Posted March 30 Author Report Posted March 30 6 hours ago, John C said: Seems the same was done to the tsuba. There are the remnants of something under the scratches. John C. Tsuba with scratches is from Sam's extra set. Quote
Scogg Posted March 30 Report Posted March 30 Indeed. I’m not the seller of this sword, and my photos are from a different but similar set of crude looking fittings. The scratches on my tsuba might be obscuring something. There’s a raised area at the bottom left of the scratching that could be some kind of logo. Unfortunately I cannot determine what it is, if anything at all. -Sam Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted March 30 Report Posted March 30 The seller appears to have a vast amount of spare fittings and bare blades listed, wouldn't hold high hopes of anything being correct. 1 1 Quote
Marcin Posted March 30 Author Report Posted March 30 @PNSSHOGUNbut we wonder if those crude parts are genuine. Quote
Scogg Posted March 30 Report Posted March 30 Personally, I do not wonder. I keep my crudely cast parts separate from my collection; because I have always believed them to be fake or modern-cast repros. At least until proven otherwise. -Sam 1 Quote
Marcin Posted March 30 Author Report Posted March 30 (edited) @Scoggjust in case we will have proof for those unfinished ones being genuine I'm posting here another set "kanesada" t98 Item description "Shin Guntō Sword, model 98, with 16th century blade, signed "Kanesada", reused in World War II" Tsuka with snake skin? habaki shortened? Edited March 30 by Rawa Quote
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