Identifying a swordsmith/history

[janimal]

I have acquired my former Sensei's sword after his passing. I was led to believe it was made and purchased in Japan while he was there training iaido from the UK. I have managed a very basic mei translation which I believe is Kaneyuki-saku, so made by Kaneyuki. 

Is there a way of finding out more about the history, where, when etc, from the mei, or is that sort of information now lost?

I will try and attach a picture of the mei. 

Thank you in advance.

[John C]

Just by the color of the steel, it looks shin-shinto. So I would start with smiths who are fairly modern.

 

John C.

[Rivkin]

Showa.

[SteveM]

I think even more recent than Showa. Possibly a Chinese-made, modern day iaitō. 

 

Another one similar to this one here at the thread below. 

There is also a similar sword on Reddit. 

 

Note the 謙 character isn't usually read as "kane". That kanji is usually seen as a stand-alone character and pronounced "Ken" (The actor Watanabe Ken uses this kanji in his name). I don't think I've ever seen it used as 謙之 (Kaneyuki). 

[Nobody]

I found another 謙之 online. I also think that the sword is a Chinese reproduction.

Ref. Anybody identify : r/iaido

 

[YourBabyBjornBorg]

I agree with Mr. Steve and Moriyama San.

 

However, I see this smith(?) has improved his chisel work immensely.

 

The one posted by Moriyama San is very poor and is nothing like real Nihonto's Mei, but the first one is somewhat pretty good (Yasurime is still a big giveaway, too shallow and narrow, although some Gendaito is like this, too. Never have been a fan of that).

 

....Wait, I think I found where these are from.

 

 

 

A cursory search on the Chinese internet showed someone bought this from Kaneie Art (a Chinese sort of dealer thingy, ugh) before 2020 for 7500 RMB (about 1107 US dollars) as a "Mino Series" something, presumably as Iaito,

 

so this is probably commissioned by Kaneie Art in China.

[eternal_newbie]

My understanding of Kaneie Art's position in the market is that they are a high-end Chinese producer; rather than turning out cheaper works for everyday use, or high-end works to fool buyers looking for cheap gendaito (although it's entirely possible that some of the komonjo-style swords are quietly sourced from them or one of their workshops), they focus on high-grade examples of Chinese swordsmithing in the Japanese style. Sort of a "check it out guys, this is how far we've come in rivalling Japanese shinsakuto". At the high end some of their custom swords are comparable in cost to, if not higher than, a commission from an actual contemporary Japanese tosho.

[janimal]

The blade is a shinken, not that that really matters in identifying the story of the blade.

All I have to go by was the Mei and a printed ticket on the bag it is stored in. 

It being a Chinese blade makes more sense now as said tag states "KSK-2.50 018" which now suggests ksk is a form, 2.50 is the length, there is a partner tag handwritten quoting 2.475, and the 018 I more likely a model.

Thank you very much everyone. More eyes certainly help a blind man find an answer