Is this a Japanese sword or some nock off?

[AKraven907]

Hello everyone, 

my name is Daniel and I recently came across a sword that was in an antique store that had more substance to it than any other sword Ive come across in similar scenarios. This sword is in really rough condition with lots of rust and putting in the tang. Though it does have a set of characters going down the tang that look etched to me, not stamped. The edge has a very obvious texture to it that make me believe it might be true folded steel. It’s definitely steel as it’s very responsive to magnets and the filing on the tang shows more proof. Though I’m sure about this sword, I would really like to know if it’s something I should have a professional look at first, or if it’s ok to have any knife store clean it up and polish it. 
 

I would very much appreciate your help, thank you all!

[nulldevice]

This is not an authentic Japanese sword.

 

I'd suggest reading here to learn more: https://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html

[Tensho]

This is a Paul Chen/Hanwei sword

[Hokke]

As others have said, this is a Paul Chen Tiger katana produced by Hanwei. It's Chinese manufacture with "swedish powdered steel". Actually a decently made blade compared to what was coming out of china at the time. New these were just over 1K....in this condition however....worthless.

 

 

Edited August 19 by Hokke

[eternal_newbie]

6 hours ago, Hokke said:

Actually a decently made blade compared to what was coming out of china at the time.

 

Yes, these early Cheness/Hanwei swords are rather interesting from a historical perspective as they basically put functional katanas within the reach of the average Westerner who, up until then, needed either contacts in Japan for a cheap-ish second-hand gendaito or be in touch with one of the few knife-makers in the US who could produce Japanese-style geometry. Just about everything else was a wallhanger with a rat-tail, waiting for one bad swing for a chance to escape from its handle and make a real mess.

[AKraven907]

Thank you all for the help, now I don’t feel bad about having it cleaned up by my local knife shop. It may not be worth anything at all, but I got it for a song, so I don’t mind spending a pittance on having it cleaned and sharpened. It’ll be a start to my later collection of actual blades. 

[eternal_newbie]

15 hours ago, AKraven907 said:

Thank you all for the help, now I don’t feel bad about having it cleaned up by my local knife shop. It may not be worth anything at all, but I got it for a song, so I don’t mind spending a pittance on having it cleaned and sharpened. It’ll be a start to my later collection of actual blades. 

 

I wish you good luck on your journey; the start is always the most exciting part.

 

Just make sure that if you do get a genuine Japanese blade that you stay far away from your local knife shop and leave any restoration to a trained professional