Identification Of An Unusual Sword.

[RobertThornton]

I added this unusual tachi to my collection recently but have no idea of its origins,swordsmith,or indeed why it is shaped in this fashion.I would very much appreciate any input that would enable me to find out more about it? I submit the following pictures for this purpose.

Best regards,

Rob

[Fuuten]

The blade looks legit to me. See this link for more about its shape: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/styles.html

 

I can't say anything about the signature, and it seems to have some dirt and stuff in it so the chisel strokes aren't clear to see. Fittings look like half gendai koshirae (but no saya in photo's) and the tsuba a little older. .

 

Edit seems to have been shortened once (second mekugi ana and below habaki.

[SwordGuyJoe]

Sorry to disagree with you on the sword - I don't think this is Japanese at all. It looks to be a "better" Chinese blade. Dremmel mei, misshaped nakago, and drilled mekugi-ana point me this way. The hodge-podge fittings push me further. I'm not a tosogu guy, but to me the tsuba appears legitimate.

[lonely panet]

Im with Joe, the blades abit funny to me.

maybe the work of a china, india or US back yard metal smith, the hamons very bad looking but the steal looks have some folding work done.

 

either way its a sad learning curve

 

best og luck next time

[Toryu2020]

could we see more close ups of the blade, especially the kissaki?

is the scabbard there somewhere? Kissaki moroha blades are pretty rare, one wonders why thefakers would want to fake one. interested to see more pics,

-t

[RobertThornton]

Thanks for your input so far gentlemen.I was douptful of its authenticity but it was worth buying simply for its fittings and curiousity value.Ile put up some more pictures,this time including the saya and the running repairs made to the weapon,that led me to believe it was at least used in WW2? I find it difficult to believe that some swordmaker went to so much trouble of baseing this blade on an ancient,historic Japanese design,using a complex folded metal forgeing technique simply to produce a fake? However i am aware that some Japanese military blades were made in China during WW2? The fittings are certainly a mixture,one even has a Tokugawa Mon,the whole setup makes one sceptical but thereare certain personal touches about it that lead me to believe it was carried by a Japanese soldier in WW2.I will put up more pics of this weapon as it is a good analytical start to understanding the others in my rather large collection.Until my recent retirement i have not had the time to research my collection and thus am very much a novice.I thank you for your input to this point and greatly value your comments.Please keep them coming.

Many thanks,

Rob

[Gilles]

According to what I see we have here a real fake sword. Possibly chinese made. Parts of the koshirae appears legit except the tsuka ito.

 

This is of course my personnal opinion.

[RobertThornton]

Thankyou gentlemen.

I tend a few more pics of the weapon in saya and a few closeups of hamon and hatariki.The saya shows signs of severe water damage and rot over its lower third.The rotten leather has been removed and the zukuri bound with strong cotton thread as (possibly?) a running repair in the field.The same cotton can be seen in a repair to the shortened Ito near the Fuchi.The colour is consistent with Japanese field uniform green(though this is a stretch,as it did vary considerably in shade).There are two older menuki-ana in the grip and the ito is forshortened and very poorly bound.There is evidence of fish or rezin glue in the leather repair.I welcome your comments.

Rob

[Brian]

Not a real hamon imho. Sword is a fake. The hi are no-where near what someone would expect on a Japanese sword. Sorry. But it is a fairly high end modern custom sword anyways it appears.

 

Brian

[Grey Doffin]

I agree with Brian.  Not Japanese; probably a chinese fake.

Grey

[Kai-Gunto]

China blade with Real mixed fittings.

[RobertThornton]

Thankyou for your time and expertise gentlemen.

[bubba-san]

Agree ... one quick way to distinguish between a Japanese sword and cheap Chinese is check the  position of the HA Machi   and the Mune machi   if there is more than 1/8 or more difference its probably Chinese.  After making so many swords in China it would seem they would learn. The reason they do it that way is because it much easier to jam a caste Habaki  on the blade tang , rather than forge one on the blade.....      James

[Johnny Barracuda]

Hello, it is my turn to concur. Although the makers oddly chose a rather unusual and rare shape for the blade (perhaps in reference to gensui to as they wanted to pass it for a WWII sword), it seems a China made fake to me.