wakizashi sword?

[JDunn45]

Good day All

I am trying to help a family with a estate problem, they need to sell

there fathers collection of firearms and edge weapons. If you could

please help me with what this is and an general value, it would help me

greatly.

Thank You

James Dunn

 

I have a Japanese sword from an estate that need to be sold, But I need

to know what it is and a value, If I could get some help it would be

appreciated.

When handle is removed there are no marking on the Tang, no marking on

the blade.

Tang to Tip is 22 3/4" Tang is 4 3/8" long

At gard blade is 1 1/4" tall

[Grey Doffin]

Hi James,

Very difficult to tell you much from the photos alone. Best I can come up with is mid to late Edo wakizashi. The blade has been steel wooled and no photos will tell much.

Where are you located? Maybe someone who knows swords can take a look at it for you.

Grey

[obiwanknabbe]

Hi James,

 

Welcome to the board.

 

Well as I am sure you know, there is not a whole lot of detail visible due to the state of the polish. What I can tell is that what you have is a Wakizashi. Its probably on the younger side of old. I might venture a guess of it being an edo period piece. I say this solely based on that it looks to be on the stout side, i don't see much in the way of loose grain, the steel has a rather uniform look to it, and I think i see a Suguha Hamon. In other words, it looks solid and utilitarian. Again, just a guess.

 

I am also leaning towards the conclusion that this blade was cut down from a longer sword. I don't see any evidence of Yasuri-mei (file marks) on the Nakago and there appear to be cut off marks towards the bottom. I am sure others will chime in if I am incorrect here.

 

The saya and tsuka look original to the blade. I suspect that leather battle cover was a later addition by a GI or some subsequent owner.

 

Value? Very hard to tell. Most of us dont like to talk price because its just so hard to tell what you have through pictures. Its entirely possible (though largely unlikely) that it could be a blade from a famous school and worth more. It would need far greater study to determine if that were the case. What I can say is that I have seen similar, un-papered, blades in about the same condition, sell in the $200-$400 USD range. This is, of course, assuming that there are no fatal flaws present. I know that is likely not what you wanted to hear, but cut-down blades are in no short supply.

 

Regardless, its a nice piece of history and a good opportunity for further study and learning.

 

Best Regards,

 

Kurt.k

[Kai-Gunto]

  JDunn45 said:

Good day All

I am trying to help a family with a estate problem, they need to sell

there fathers collection of firearms and edge weapons. If you could

please help me with what this is and an general value, it would help me

greatly.

Thank You

James Dunn

 

I have a Japanese sword from an estate that need to be sold, But I need

to know what it is and a value, If I could get some help it would be

appreciated.

When handle is removed there are no marking on the Tang, no marking on

the blade.

Tang to Tip is 22 3/4" Tang is 4 3/8" long

At gard blade is 1 1/4" tall

Its difficult too read when letters is yellow!

[Dr Fox]

  gunto said:

  JDunn45 said:

Good day All

I am trying to help a family with a estate problem, they need to sell

there fathers collection of firearms and edge weapons. If you could

please help me with what this is and an general value, it would help me

greatly.

Thank You

James Dunn

 

I have a Japanese sword from an estate that need to be sold, But I need

to know what it is and a value, If I could get some help it would be

appreciated.

When handle is removed there are no marking on the Tang, no marking on

the blade.

Tang to Tip is 22 3/4" Tang is 4 3/8" long

At gard blade is 1 1/4" tall

Its difficult too read when letters is yellow!

 

But 10 times better than Red, because then I can't see it at all. Brian knows what I mean!

[Brian]

If everyone just uses the default (Nihonto) theme/style, then yellow is easy to read

But yes....for us colour blind people, red disappears completely on a dark background.

 

Brian

[Dave R]

What struck me about this was that it was in a Shirasaya, and what looked to be quite a good one, with a leather field cover sewn over it. Was this a "Last Ditch" sword?

Dave R

[Geraint]

Hi Dave.

 

Does the shirasaya have a hanger? I can't see one in your photos. If not then it probably was not intended to be carried as a weapon but perhaps retained by an officer as a personal item. The length seems to support this.

 

All the best.

[Surfson]

I agree with Kurt. It's worth about $2-300 bucks. Unlikely that anyone will want to invest the money for a proper restoration. Are the other items part of the estate? Looks like some interesting militaria. b

[JDunn45]

  Geraint said:

Hi Dave.

 

Does the shirasaya have a hanger? I can't see one in your photos. If not then it probably was not intended to be carried as a weapon but perhaps retained by an officer as a personal item. The length seems to support this.

 

All the best.

 

Here are a couple of pictures showing the hanger.

Thank You

Jim D

[Dave R]

This looks very much like a sword in shirasaya, a mount specifically for storage not wear, which has been modified for field use. Leather field cover, improvised copper alloy hanger, and an aluminium throat mount. Is there a similar leather cover for the hilt anywhere? I suggest that you would get the best price for this selling it as "Militaria" rather than "Nihonto".

[bobtail44]

You would be doing very well if you got 200 dollars for it. Thhe condition is quite poor and the restoration would likely cost as much as the blade is worth.

 

T .Spencer