Is it real or is it fake?

[Trav4ever]

Hello folks, I was gifted this sword a few days ago. It was purchased from an antique store in Virginia that sells a lot of American military antique weapons. All that was said on the swords sale tag was old samurai sword. I have tried to do some research into how to be able to determine if a Japanese sword is real or a fake, unfortunately it’s pretty confusing to me and with my novice into the subject I can’t tell if what I’m looking at is real or a fake or how to determine what era it is from or anything like that. I appears to no have any markings whatsoever and thus makes it even more confusing. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated and will help determine if I should get it professionally restored. I will not be attempting to do any type of restoration on it myself as I know that is a bad idea.

[Kantaro]

Looks real to me but I am not an expert.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Travis,

The sword is real but appears to be fairly low end. Do not have it professionally restored; you don't know any where near enough about it to make that decision. Here you will find a care and handling brochure you should read: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/

Grey

[rebcannonshooter]

Hi Travis, I agree with Kantaro and Grey, it is a real Japanese sword (not a Chinese fake). Your sword is a wakizashi, that is, a sword whose blade length is between 12 inches and 24 inches. Although the blade condition is poor, a couple of pics show a hamon (the outline of the hardened edge which appears as whitish metal). The tsuba (sword guard) and tsuka (handle) were of good quality, but also now in poor condition. 

As far as the restoration goes, the bad news is that its going to be a very expensive process. There are only a few qualified sword polishers in the US and that very high cost (combined with the handle repair) would far exceed the value of the sword. 

All of that being said, search the message board for info on the care and handling, as Grey says avoid attempting to clean the blade, keep the sword lightly oiled and enjoy being the caretaker of a real Japanese sword.

Tom

PS what part of Pa are you from? I live in the Altoona/ Johnstown area half the year and could give your sword a look if your close.

[EGB]

I’m about 99% sure I know exactly where that sword came from and have examined it before. The dealer in that antique mall has had a few nihonto and military swords, and all of them were pretty badly sanded down, nothing really to see in terms of hada or hamon. I think it’s real just in really bad shape. Not sure what’s going on with the weird extra hole in the nakago. 

[Trav4ever]

1 hour ago, Kantaro said:

Looks real to me but I am not an expert.

I appreciate your input. Thank you very much.

[Trav4ever]

28 minutes ago, Grey Doffin said:

Hi Travis,

The sword is real but appears to be fairly low end. Do not have it professionally restored; you don't know any where near enough about it to make that decision. Here you will find a care and handling brochure you should read: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/

Grey

Thank you Grey, I be diving into the information you provided.

[Trav4ever]

21 minutes ago, rebcannonshooter said:

Hi Travis, I agree with Kantaro and Grey, it is a real Japanese sword (not a Chinese fake). Your sword is a wakizashi, that is, a sword whose blade length is between 12 inches and 24 inches. Although the blade condition is poor, a couple of pics show a hamon (the outline of the hardened edge which appears as whitish metal). The tsuba (sword guard) and tsuka (handle) were of good quality, but also now in poor condition. 

As far as the restoration goes, the bad news is that its going to be a very expensive process. There are only a few qualified sword polishers in the US and that very high cost (combined with the handle repair) would far exceed the value of the sword. 

All of that being said, search the message board for info on the care and handling, as Grey says avoid attempting to clean the blade, keep the sword lightly oiled and enjoy being the caretaker of a real Japanese sword.

Tom

PS what part of Pa are you from? I live in the Altoona/ Johnstown area half the year and could give your sword a look if your close.

Thank you for all the information you provided. I’m south of Pittsburgh, about the same distance from Washington.

[Trav4ever]

23 minutes ago, EGB said:

I’m about 99% sure I know exactly where that sword came from and have examined it before. The dealer in that antique mall has had a few nihonto and military swords, and all of them were pretty badly sanded down, nothing really to see in terms of hada or hamon. I think it’s real just in really bad shape. Not sure what’s going on with the weird extra hole in the nakago. 

That’s interesting about having probably examined it before. Your information seems to line up with what I know. It was purchased at an antique mall in Williamsburg. The seller has a lot of civil war era knives, swords, and even a few firearms from what I understand.

[EGB]

Yup that’s the one. I’m not an expert but I thought it was real, though unfortunately I think that dealer went over the blade with 120 grit sandpaper. At least if I remember he left the nakago alone. Glad to hear it has ended up in good hands. 
 

Edward

[Trav4ever]

8 hours ago, EGB said:

Yup that’s the one. I’m not an expert but I thought it was real, though unfortunately I think that dealer went over the blade with 120 grit sandpaper. At least if I remember he left the nakago alone. Glad to hear it has ended up in good hands. 
 

Edward

That seems to check out. From the camera flash you can certainly tell someone has scratched the surface of the blade quite a bit. Maybe it’s able to be fixed with restoration, but I’m not sure and at 109.00 an inch it’d be quite a bill.