wgt63

As requested, I hope these help! William

Thanks George. I will work on pics of the blade and try some closeups as well. As for restore, no, its all original and was just a passing thought, so will keep it as is then.

Thanks John. From what I can tell, or came up with is the following; Chu Kissaki Koshi Sori Gyo no mune (takashi) Boshi Midare Komi Hamon Midare Yakibe Muneyaki Somewhere on a note, dad had 1864? written down, though don't know where that date came from.

Ken, John. Thanks for the comments. Research is the only way to learn anything. I hate the post that shows something and ask what is it worth, just plain laziness. I eventually would like to find an officer's knot for the military mounts and possibly restore work as well, some dings and scratches on the scabbard, but that is a future goal. Just wanting help with research on the blade and how old it is. I'm at the point where this kind of info seems to be buried with the experts and much harder to locate. My next step it seems is to figure out blade type (I think it is Shinogi Zukuri), temper line type, blade curvature's low point, tang type and a few other points to help with aging and verifying swordsmith origins.

I have inherited this sword from my dad when he passed some time ago. Here is what I've been able to determine and am now stuck. I do not think that the blade is original to the mountings, just not sure. The mountings are a bit loose, I'd say by 1/16 inch, maybe be missing a pair of washers (seppe?). The handle (well fuchi?) 6 washers and tsuba all have the # 3 stamped in them, so matched. I guessing a Type 98 WW2 mounting in medium grade. Looks to have been silver plated and painted black at one time. The blade is signed, tachi-mei style, from what I can translate using online sources is "Musashi Kuni Yoshiaki Saku" that is believe means "Made by Yoshiaki of Musashi". Oh, the blade is 24 1/2" inches long. That is as far as I can get online. Any help with aging the blade and identifying the swordsmith would be great!! Value of course if possible. I'll try to answer any questions the best that I can, I know from research that there are a lot of things to look at when evaluating a blade. The mounts I think I got right, but of course would appreciate feedback. Thanks again, William