Hi all,
I'm brand new to this forum and new to Nihonto in general. When purchasing some guns, the seller had an "old sword" that his dad brought home after WWII. Being that it was not German (I collect some WWII German dress daggers and swords along with guns, etc.), I was not really interested in it. So he just threw it in for cheap. After a while I got around to researching it and it actually appears to be a real antique wakazashi. With the exception of the fact the tsuka appears improperly wrapped, the menukis are missing, and the blade has been improperly cleaned, I think the piece might be something pretty good.
I was hoping to learn if the thing is correct in its configuration and parts. Also I'd really like to know how old it is, even if it's just an estimate or range. I am seriously considering having the blade fully polished. Whether I sell it after being polished or keep it, will depend on how it turns out and what the estimated value might be. Though the more I research these things the more intrigued I become. I may just end up keeping it and/or upgrading to a nicer one. Another budding collector perhaps?...
Additional info: Unfortunately the tang is not signed, which I understand really hurts the value and makes a piece very difficult to date. The iron tsuba measures 2 7/8" by 2 3/4" and 4mm thick. The seppas are real gold over what appears to be copper. The habaki is also gold (rather thick plate) over probably copper. The sori is 1.0cm. Total length of the blade including the tang is 23 5/8". Tang length to the cuts for the habaki is about 5 5/8". The blade has some surface staining but it not pitted anywhere. There's one very small nick to the cutting edge. I can't make out a hamon pattern because of someone's prior cleaning, likely with steel wool or something. There is some very fine scratching. I can see a little bit of hamon and hada in the small area which was covered by the habaki and not cleaned. Not enough can be seen to make any determination of the pattern as far as I can tell. In looking at the transition from the area covered by the habaki to the exposed blade, it looks like the blade has not been polished away too much. The transition is smooth, it does not look like much metal is missing off the blade in general. The yokote line is fairly obvious also. The blade is quite sharp throughout and the edge shows no signs of being improperly sharpened.
Sorry this has gotten so long. Please take a look at the pictures and fire away! Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.
Kory
