Tanto Genuine Or Modern ?

[Loyer]

I have been offered this Tanto for  $200 but the seller cannot guarantee anything about it.  It looks correct to me.  Does it appear to be genuine or modern ?  Blade is 14 " ;  looks like a bridal tanto to me

 

 

 

[paulb]

Hi Dennis

If the blade is 14" long it is too big for a Kaikan (brides tanto) Cant see any detail and the shape looks crude the nakago looks poorly shaped and finished.

I cant see enough (any) detail in the blade so impossible to guess its age or origin.

[ggil]

Maybe a reworked broken old beater???

[CSM101]

I would not buy it. Not even with a price of 200 Dollar. There is nothing in the blade that makes it genuine.

 

Uwe G.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Letter opener?

Ken

 

[ROKUJURO]

Dennis,

I would not be so negative about this one. The SHIRA SAYA and the HABAKI look original to me, and the blade may just be a tourist item from the early 20th c - plain steel, possibly with no HADA and HAMON (that has to be verified), but a TANTO.

You decide about its collectability!  

[Loyer]

I pulled the trigger on this knife and was happily surprised to find it to have a very nice hamon after a bit of polishing.  It is still likely a newer blade (handle not very corroded) but the layering in the steel and the irregular hamon make it collectable to me.

 

I'll post pics even though the blade is not completed.

 

 

[ggil]

probably the only thing new is the yasurime and patina of the nakago.  a lot of swords were broken, and during the war many of these were made into tantos.  if one was broken close enough to the handle you could get a wakizashi out of it.  oh and just because a sword broke doesn't mean it is poorly made.  Your tanto is likely a relatively nice knife, and could be quite a bit older than you think.  it is too bad the nakago was not better shaped to make it seem original.  it seems to me the shape is like a really fat ugly bizen nakago, as this school seems to make a wide nakago Jiri (as far as I can tell).  heres another way to think of it: the smith puts his best work near the end of the blade, so you get the best part of the word.  Sugata would always be wanting a bit in these blades though, as other things if you were studying a particular school/smith.  The steel looks pretty good there: no big openings and some showy hada.

[Jean]

Osuriage hira zukuri wakizashi?

[Loyer]

total blade length is currently 297 mm or  a bit under 12 "   and 24mm (1" wide at the widest point.)

[Brian]

Definitely not the original nakago. May need a reshape.

[Loyer]

Definitely not the original nakago. May need a reshape.

Would a correcting reshape of the nakago be more tapered towards the end and rounded at the corners ?

[ggil]

the ends are finished in various fashions but the taper (below the ha-machi) is what is missing.  Probably left this way because the metal is pretty hard there and no easy chore to remove (with hand tools), and it goes to show the worker's (who re-shaped the nakago) lack of care.  

[Loyer]

I agree my blade is likely made from a once larger blade.

 

Am I doing it damage by giving it a more traditional profile of the nakago ?. (I realize I will need to watch for heat buildup when removing material. )

 

What is more appropriate:  leaving it as is or revising it to a traditional shape ?

[ggil]

yes YOU are likely doing damage removing material, as YOU aren't trained to do the work.  leave it or have it done by a pro.  How are you going to apply a convincing patina to the fresh metal.  what tools will you use to apply yasurime.  How do you know what the nakago should look like. 

[Loyer]

Blade is showing some nice hamon but would never be worth sending to a professional polisher.  Still, for $200. well worth the money.

 

[/url]

 

 

[SAS]

My opinion only.....if the last properly trained craftsmen left it as is, so should everyone else (who are not), all else being satisfactory.