Militaria Show Wakizashi

[Death-Ace]

Hi guys!

 

Have another wakizashi I've found from a show in NC that I traded a couple of USAAF items and some money for. Blade is really nice in hand and used a bit of 91% isopropanyl alcohol and oil to clean her up and saw some great hada  (mokume) and a really nice hamon that I can't completely describe. It is o-suriage and the flash from the pics make it appear cleaner than is but it appears to have been cut down in the ShinShinto era. There is a ware, but mostly in the bo-hi. The shape of the blade is shobu-zukuri and I like the sori of this blade! The blade must have been played with by kids and has some cuts in the mune and a few chips in the ha. The kissaki has had a chip taken off the tip. There appears to be a new ubu-ha placed on the blade. Measurements of the blade I have taken at the moment is" Nagasa: 19 3/4"; Nakago: 5 1/4".

 

There appears to be a deeper scratch above a small scratch in the ha below the pitted area of the bo-hi, which I will include a picture for your opinions! It is only in the omote and I do not see the chip nor scratch/crack on the ura.

 

The kashira and fuchi appear rudimentary and welded but a nice, simplistic design. The saya has had the kurigata and kozuka inlet filled; unfortunately, it appears the ashi was removed. The habaki is a silver foiled "cat-scratch" design. The iron menuki appear to be a ken design. The tsuba is a common dragon design signed Seiryuken Eiju. The iron mounts themselves were quite a bit rusty after 70+ years of NC humidity, but with a soft brush and a little light oil, cleaned the rust nicely.

 

​Hope y'all like!

Lev

[Death-Ace]

Here are the last pics of the blade with the nakago and the the area in question on the orange microcloth. As seen, there is a diagonal scratch in the area but on the ura, no damage is noted. I hope this helps!

 

Lev

[TheGermanBastard]

Hello Lev,

 

first of all you should best take a picture of the whole blade so one can really see its Sugata.

 

Second and more importnat, I believe there is a very big umegane under the Habaki. While this is not a fatal flaw it greatly hurst the value though. If it was mine I would not get it polished.

[Death-Ace]

I do apologize for those pics. Unfortunately, the phone I'm using doesn't have the resolution of the past one I owned. That is the one thing that puts me at unease, but when examining it, it didn't appear to be actually be one, although it looks it, which is very strange. When I receive more word from up north, I'll definitely post it before the final decision.

 

Edit: Looks like I forgot to add the pictures of the blade without the koshirae! I do apologize!

[TheGermanBastard]

Hello Lev,

 

I hope I am wrong. To my eyes this looks like a huge umegane ... I believe you are maybe also looking at the reasonung for it being rather recent O-Suriage ... if I was to hide a body I would put it where nobody sees it: Under the Habaki. The best place for your bad Kizu ... like my children tidying up their rooms and just outting everything under their carpet.

[Death-Ace]

Hello Lev,

 

I hope I am wrong. To my eyes this looks like a huge umegane ... I believe you are maybe also looking at the reasonung for it being rather recent O-Suriage ... if I was to hide a body I would put it where nobody sees it: Under the Habaki. The best place for your bad Kizu ... like my children tidying up their rooms and just outting everything under their carpet.

Haha, like the reference! That's the spot that bothers me and hoping it truly isn't. I was wondering if that was a possibility, but having someone more knowledgeable is definitely a big help! Hopefully when I hear back from Brian and Takeo I keep getting some good news, bit if not, hate to do it, but Ill probably request for it to be sent back.

[TheGermanBastard]

if it is a Umegane you will not want to get it polished or your will be buried. if it is Umegane take it as cheap lesson since you probably haven't paid much for the blade. If it is not be happy.

[Death-Ace]

if it is a Umegane you will not want to get it polished or your will be buried. if it is Umegane take it as cheap lesson since you probably haven't paid much for the blade. If it is not be happy.

Thanks again, man. Hoping not, even if not financially viqble, it is a nice blade in hand as it is, but If hate to see if it is an umegane that popped out during polish. Nada, not too much at all, honestly, only about 250 overall, which surprised me, even with condition issues.

[TheGermanBastard]

The Koshirae is worth more than what you paid so you are always safe ... however you must consider cost of restoration. Most US polisher will charge probably USD 1200.00+ for this blade ... if you want Shinsa it is another USD 500.00 + for Hozon  ... a new Shirasaya USD 300.00 ... tsunagi USD 150.00 ... bringing the bill soon close to over USD 2500.00+ and then the air gets thin ... if you were to sell it through a dealer as a conseignment you have to take their fee into consideration, too ... so that's a tough one - given you don't end up with any Kizu.I recently sold a Udo Mumei Ubu Koto Tanto with Hozon for less than that ...

[Jamie]

I don't think it's shobu zukuri either. Just the yokote no longer there. It's a slight and easily erasable line.

I could be wrong.

[Death-Ace]

Sorry about the wait! Again, appreciate it. It was a bit difficult in hand to notice if it was shobu zukuri or not. Unfortunately, you are right, the yokote was completely erased.

 

The prices you listed are definitely what it would be, albeit the parties I'm using is a bit more, which would mean this is a labor of love, which is what it comes down to. If this does go through polishing, I'd definitely be going the NTHK route whenever the next shinsa would be after completion. Depending on the news, I am still considering retracting it from polish. Haven't received any further word as of yet, as they appear to be a bit busy, but will keep everyone updated!