Possible Nagamaki Naoshi

[pica]

I've found this blade it will be shinshinto, have a nagasa of 56 cm and a kasane of 0,9 cm and the nakago is 26 cm, and over the horimono the blade became u no kubi zukuri, the mei is not totally readable

but have a kiku shoei. Anyone hava an opinion about it?

 

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Stefano P.

[Shugyosha]

Hi Stefano,

 

I think there's enough weird stuff going on there for me to discount it fairly quickly:

 

Looking at the tang, this sword may have been fire damaged and re-tempered but in any event is too corroded for its age. Also, someone has filed down the tang and added a new, badly cut signature (or some other inscription - sorry I haven't tried to translate it) which makes me very suspicious. The condition of the tang and the additions have had a detrimental effect on the value of this piece, both from a financial and historical point of view.

 

Overall the shape is odd and it looks clumsy to me. I'm not sure that it was intended to be a nagamaki as the blade seems quite short (I think the Kiku mon is part of the original signature which suggests shinto/ shin shinto period) and, therefore, it's in the wrong era (though occasionally they were produced later - there was a 19th century nagamaki on Aoi Art recently). That said, the kasane is very thick and the absence of the yokote might point in that direction.

 

The horimono on both sides are truly awful and look to have been added by someone using a Dremel - probably at the same time as the signature was cut or engraved.

 

I hope that gives some food for thought.

 

Best,

John