Macadaciouse

Well damn, I feel like an ass. Thanks everybody, it's not too much of a loss; I bought the sword in high school anyway, I think it's excusable.

Pictures you can hopefully see from your browser, because nobody likes downloading files...

The metallurgical discussion on the merit of a meteoric sword seem to be exhausted, but as a sidenote the cornerstone in the kaab in Mecca (the exact place observant Muslims face each day to pray) is a meteorite, and in Islam it is the most sacred relic on earth. Just an interesting tangent. Back on swords, I know Yoshindo Yoshihara made a blade or two out of meteors as an experiment a few years ago, I imagine they turned out well. I've always been taught the main alloying quality of nickel in steel is reducing oxidization, but something like vanadium would certainly make a sword vastly superior from blades made from terrestrial steel (let's be honest, traditional Japanese steel is basically of a poor quality, which is why it takes a master smith to make an excellent blade)

This sword has been very divisive among those who see it; I've had an even number of people dismiss it as a forgery as confirm it as authentic. Now, without a doubt the wood fittings are modern, but the blade itself shows a visible grain, a strong convex shape and as you run a (gloved) hand along the blade, you can feel small irregularities and waves which could only come from forging. I would say the tsuba etc. all pre-date the sword; from the condition of the tang I would probably guess the sword is WWII-vintage, though the tang may have been cleaned and/or tampered with in a Chinese chop shop (it shows file marks along the edges, but at the same time there are a few blackened divets that to me look like the marks of a cross-peen hammer made during forging. Side note, I've been a practicing blacksmith and welder for several years now.) The blade has become cloudy, but I would hesitate to say it needs a new "polish" unless by polish you mean an electric buffer and some jeweler’s rouge. As per the history of the sword in my possession, I bought it as a toy on the internet for one cent ($80 shipping from China I didn't see until it was too late). Any opinions on the quality/history of the sword? Would it take a full polishing to retrieve the luster of a proper blade? Is it only a paperweight? Thank you all for any opinions you may have, I'll post more pictures of the tsuba in the appropriate forum.