NinjaBear

The owner of the sword came back in today. He asked if I would still buy it for myself. I thought about it and said "50 bucks?" He agreed. So, I figure, it's not an authentic Japanese sword, but its not a cheap amazon Chinese sword. From what it sounds like, this still very well could be 80 years old and from the other side of the world, which in its own way is kind of cool to me. I don't think I wasted 50 bucks? Who knows, still I find it interesting.

Thank you for the added insight! I guess its still got some question marks then. I gave the info I could to the guy who owns it. I think I've gotta go with probably not real and move on. It didnt have some of the decorative stuff like I had found online. I dont know about flimsy but it seemed more basic than what I had seen.

Thank you for the feedback. It makes me wonder the quality of the steel. I notice there is no hamon so definitely not hardened the same way we are used to seeing on Japanese swords, but I assumed maybe they didn't do that with manufactured swords. But it definitely does appear aged. I agree, like WWII age, not just made to look old. Were there Chinese made fakes in that same time frame? I'd like to offer the owner any information I can. I informed him that I believed it to be not authentic after reviewing that thread above, but he claimed that the story was that his uncle acquired it in WWII and that it was never modified or left his care. So if the Chinese made these fake ones in the same time frame, then his story can be true, as well as the evaluation of them being not authentic.

Here are a couple more images.

I work for a pawn shop and this sword walked into my store. Its in rough shape, but generally serviceably I'd say. I would love to own one of these for myself, but I don't have the resources to pay for one of the hand made swords but this one might be my entry into owning one of these historical swords. I have to make an offer to the seller but I dont have a clue even where to start for pricing it. I figure Identifying it would be the start. But, I don't know how to identify them. I took apart the handle when I first got it in, it does not have any engraving so I assume it's manufactured. Outside of that, I'm pretty clueless.

Thank you so much. I'll pass the info along to the owner! You guys are wonderful. I have another sword thats not in as nice shape and also doesnt have the engravings to figure out. I couldnt find any sort of "This is how you identify the sword" kind of guides anywhere. Ill make a new post for that one. That one is one I might buy for myself if I can afford it, just so I can own a real one for myself.

Thank you so much all! I compared the Engraving to the image shown above. Should I be concerned that the "Saku" symbol appears to be missing from the bottom?

Wow that's so beautiful. Its so well taken care of. Obviously in a museum it would be. But Just, the condition is amazing.

Here are some pictures of the guard as well.

The topic of identification seems to be a really uphill struggle. I don't have the level of knowledge as some of you guys and you have been super helpful in the past which has been very appreciated. I work for a pawn shop, and in a passing conversation with one of my customers, he mentioned he had a sword. I love these things, and we hardly ever see real katanas. So I said if he ever felt like bringing it by for me to see, I'd love to see it just for my own interest in seeing a piece of history. He brought it by and was kind enough to let me take it apart to inspect to see if it had the swordsmiths name on the tang. And it did! I also thought it was interesting that the serial number was 9. But besides my own personal curiosity and interest, I couldn't share any other details with him about it. He says his father brought it home in WWII. I told him I would post here to see if I could learn anything about it to share with him. I'd love some help!

Oh wow, this is really cool! Thanks for sharing! I wish there was a way to tell the difference. The Hamon on this is very different from mine. It leads me to think that they werent made by the same person. If I read right, Hattori Masahiro didnt personally make the swords, sometimes prisoners would sign his name? Or something to that extent.

Thank you so much guys! I really appreciate it. Is it missing a tassle or did some come without?

Not at this point. I'm just somewhat confused by terminology and other languages. I thought I had this all figured out at some point, and I clearly was misinformed. Im just a methodical person so it seemed simple to type it all out to make sure I collected all of the info accurately. I paid $700 for the sword, so I was curious what it was worth. Some of the prices ive been seeing in the BST area are 4-6 thousand the prices I was seeing on ebay were less. So thats confusing to me also. I wasnt sure if that was the term I should be researching. I'll start poking around.

I am trying to place a value on this sword. Between all of you guys helping I think I have this right. This is a Kai-gunto made in the Takayama-To style. Its a Type 97 Naval officers sword from WW2. The sword smith is Hattori Masahiro and the polisher is Ito Rokusuke. Is the blade condition what we would call Excellent? The retention cord is considered to be rare. The handle is made of shark skin. Is there anything noteworth that it is missing?

OH! Thank you so much!

Interesting. So the sword Style is a Takatyama-To? But the sword smith himself is unknown. Im to understand the engraving is the name of the polisher? I also thought the retention cord was maybe someone trying to replace a lost one. It didnt look like any photos I saw. Is this entirely what it says or only partially? I cant seem to remove this screenshot for some reason.

Thank you so much! I was told it as Emura, so I feel more educated today 😄

I am as new as it gets when it comes to my knowledge of these military swords. I work for a pawn shop and I purchased this sword. I was told it was a Naval Kai Gunto. I believe its a Chounsai Emura. It does have a wide kissaki which, if what I read is correct, was a style that Emura used. the Tsuba and its parts all have matching serial numbers "499" Any info I can get would be much appreciated. This stuff is so fascinating. Here is a link to the gallery if needed. https://imgur.com/a/PhJUZvY