fireguyfire

One more thing I notice looking at the photos is that it appears to have a normal steel says inside of the leather cover; is that unusual? The leather says cover definitely appears to be original, and I see a leather snap on the sword itself so I’m assuming g the sword and saya have always been together.

Thanks for the replies gents, and thanks for the photo Dave; that would be exactly my hoped result if I indeed wind up with it. I restore a lot of things as a hobby, from old cars and trucks to gas pumps and coke machines, and I have a fully outfitted wood shop on my acreage as well so I am more than game to tackle the restoration of this sword, however with most specialty things there would be lots of advice and tips needed as the last thing I would want to do is create unnecessary damage to a historical item because of my ignorance. I know we aren’t supposed to talk valuations on this part of the forum, but I’m thinking if I could get it for 3 or 400 dollars I would still be fine. please let me know if I am off base on that gents.

Thanks for the reply; I definitely would never use an abrasive if I do acquire the sword. is the tsuka unsaveable? I was thinking perhaps a careful cleaning of the Ray skin and then having it re wrapped might be enough to make it a presentable representation of an honest ww2 field sword. I’ll know much more when I get an in person look in a few days and will post up better I do then. im guessing I could get it in the $300-$400 range and I don’t think I could go wrong at that price level. I’m assuming the mountings are nothing special? Does a leather cover add value or just appeal?

Hi there; new to the forum ww2 collector who knows a very little bit about ww2 Japanese swords. At one point I owned a Kai Gunto but sold it to fund the purchase of something else and have regretted it ever since. ive been casually looking for another ww2 sword and through a friend of the family was offered this sword the other day. The elderly lady who owns it says it was her husbands, and the sword was a vet bring back by his uncle, who lived in the eastern US (the sword is now in western Canada). she came across the sword while cleaning out the barn and was kind enough to send these photos. I am getting a hands on in a few days but for now these photos are all I have and I was hoping to get some input from collectors that know a lot more than I do so that I can decide to pursue it or not. As you can see the handle is in poor condition, but the fittings are there with the exception of 1 of the cherry blossoms for the handle. The scabbard has a leather field cover which is great; it appears to be in good shape from the photos. From the books I have I’m guessing it’s a mid war sword because it only has 1 scabbard hanger and has a non pierced tsuba. She says the blade looks very good but is covered with a thick sticky substance; she says there is no rust and offered to clean the blade but I told her to leave it as is. She has very little attachment to the sword and I think it could be had for a very reasonable price. I am open to comments about the sword, and also suggestions on what to do with it if I do get it regarding restoring the handle, etc. Thanks in advance for your inputs!