Nitrogannex Posted March 19, 2013 Report Posted March 19, 2013 Ok, So I just joined up today to see if I could get any sort of information of a sword I have. This sword was actually, of all places, pulled out of the garbage by my uncle who works for the city. Now initially both me and my father thought this to be a cast WWII NCO sword, however, the more we looked, we noticed the blade was too nice and lacked arsenal stamping. We also noticed the Tsuba was far too ornate. I was wondering if maybe I could get some help confirming that this is in fact a traditionally marked blade and if so, if anyone is able to read the makers marks. Now I did notice the Tang seems to be slightly bent ( slightly as in 2-3 degrees) and the blade isn't as fancy as what I normally see for handmade swords. On a final note, if this is in fact genuine I want to know about getting it restored, including a new scabbard and handle and where to get it done, and done right Any info would be greatly appreciated I can take new pics as needed, but be specific so I don't spend hours only to get the wrong shot http://www.imgeasy.com/images/khtCN.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/Ys4k.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/kgfcd.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/AOxZ5.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/v1Qsr.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/9XQE.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/WHNi.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/hnSyH.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/O70kF.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/45cQl.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/jDV1X.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/qnCPx.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/qegYX.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/XjmhL.jpg http://www.imgeasy.com/images/uON0.jpg Quote
Mark Posted March 19, 2013 Report Posted March 19, 2013 not sure who to address this to (rules say you should sign with at least a first name) The sword is a traditionally made sword, you did well to save it. Before just giving you the info maybe you would like to try and start yourself? Is so the makers name is not hard to translate, check the kanji page link at the top and follow to sword makers kanji........ the makers name is the last two kanji (bottom of line if the point is up) in the right hand line on the side of the tang that has 2 lines of kanji........ try it if you can't find it we will help. the other side of the tang (one row of kanji) is the date, the top two kanji are the era, you might be able to figure that out without too much work using the date charts Mark Quote
John A Stuart Posted March 19, 2013 Report Posted March 19, 2013 Real. Maybe; Gei Han Minamoto Masamitsu. Gei Han must be Geishu (Aki province) ?? It looks like it could be restored. John Quote
Nitrogannex Posted March 19, 2013 Author Report Posted March 19, 2013 Mark said: not sure who to address this to (rules say you should sign with at least a first name) The sword is a traditionally made sword, you did well to save it. Before just giving you the info maybe you would like to try and start yourself? Is so the makers name is not hard to translate, check the kanji page link at the top and follow to sword makers kanji........ the makers name is the last two kanji (bottom of line if the point is up) in the right hand line on the side of the tang that has 2 lines of kanji........ try it if you can't find it we will help. the other side of the tang (one row of kanji) is the date, the top two kanji are the era, you might be able to figure that out without too much work using the date charts Mark I am able to pick out the numbers, the characters are the same for traditional Chinese, I can pick out a 7 and a 10 on the side with the two lines of script and a 2 and what looks to be a year symbol on the opposite side, but do you have links to the charts? Quote
Mark Posted March 20, 2013 Report Posted March 20, 2013 David John gave you the makers name, try this for the date http://www.jssus.org/nkp/shinto_to_modern_nengo.html mark Quote
Nitrogannex Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Posted March 20, 2013 Mark said: David John gave you the makers name, try this for the date http://www.jssus.org/nkp/shinto_to_modern_nengo.html mark I found the bottom Character (ji) but the one on the top still remains a mystery, however, the maker Minamoto Masamitsu lived in the mid 1800s so I'm tempted to say Meiji, but that would be a guess Quote
k morita Posted March 20, 2013 Report Posted March 20, 2013 Hi, Maybe real. Date is the 2nd month of 1872, when he 70 years old. See [Nihonto Meikan] on page 892. Quote
runagmc Posted March 20, 2013 Report Posted March 20, 2013 This gives new meaning to the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" :D It's hard to believe someone would just throw something like this in the trash. Quote
Nitrogannex Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Posted March 20, 2013 Mark said: David good job with Meiji, you got it, k morita said: Hi,Maybe real. Date is the 2nd month of 1872, when he 70 years old. See [Nihonto Meikan] on page 892. Ok, So now I know the maker and the year of the balde there are a few other questions I have. Is there any other names on the blade, like perhaps a family name? Is the Tsuba and Menuki from around the same time, I know I only have one of the Menuki (I'll have to look around where the sword was stored, I could have sworn there were two). I know the handle and scabbard are from WWII. My third question is about how should I go about storing and restoring it. I'm on a High School senior budget, so a full blown restoration on the blade is out of the question for the time being, however, I would like to get a new handle and sheath put on and would just like some info on how to clean up the blade and protect if from deprecating further. I know my father (and it pains me to type these words) took WD-40 and Steel wool, but some tips would be great runagmc said: This gives new meaning to the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" :D It's hard to believe someone would just throw something like this in the trash. Oh I know, I collect WWII memorabilia and it's amazing what people throw away. What it all comes down to is when an older relative dies, objects like this usually have no meaning to the kids, so they see it as junk and throw it away. It's sad really, all that history down the drain Quote
Jiro49 Posted March 20, 2013 Report Posted March 20, 2013 Hello, the handle is earlier than WWII and so is the menuki. I would just oil the blade as there is no sense getting a new saya made only to ruin it with a dirty blade. Get some choji oil and just preserve it as is until you can afford to restore it properly! Dont clean the blade at all!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy! Quote
Nitrogannex Posted March 21, 2013 Author Report Posted March 21, 2013 Jiro49 said: Hello, the handle is earlier than WWII and so is the menuki. I would just oil the blade as there is no sense getting a new saya made only to ruin it with a dirty blade. Get some choji oil and just preserve it as is until you can afford to restore it properly! Dont clean the blade at all!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy! Ok so I ordered some choji oil, this should protect the blade correct? Now not getting a new Saya makes sense but what about a new handle being made? additionally, I've seen that you should use a deer antler to clean the iron on the tsuba, but as you can see from the pictures, mine has TONS of minute details, is there anything I can use to get in the small spaces, i was thinking a small toothbrush with water. Also, I've been doing some research, I can't seem to make out any flaws in the blade aside from the small amount of surface rust, edge is sharp without chips and there aren't any cracks whatsoever in the blade. Finally, I know it's hard to judge from pictures, but about what would this sword be worth, not for sale, but my dad decided he wants to put some insurance on it, he wants to keep this blade in our family as sort of an heirloom (we're not going to keep telling the trash story part though :lachen: ) Quote
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