Did grandpa have the hanjo lol he always said this sword was over 600 years old

[mike76us]

can anyone tell me about this sword would love too know

[Surfson]

The photos are not ideal, but from what you show, it appears to be an old Japanese sword that was previously mounted at least once before.  We would need better photos of the tang and the whole blade shape, as well as some measurements of length and curvature to "guess" more about the age, but it could well be quite old.  

[mike76us]

[Grey Doffin]

Hi, name please,

How to handle and care for your sword; you would be doing yourself and the sword a favor if you read it.

http://nbthk-ab.org/cleaning-maintenance.html

Grey

[mike76us]

ok man thanks for your help i will def do that it is still very very sharp can still shave with it also and very heavy tip is thicker on the end more then the back

[Surfson]

Better photos of the tang, both sides, would be very helpful.  Also the length of the cutting edge and a photos of the whole sword from above so that we can see the curve.  

[mike76us]

[mike76us]

thanks for the help guys i will measure the angle tomorrow and post the curve and tip angle

[mike76us]

cutting edge 25 3/4 whole sword 35 1/2

[Surfson]

Looks to me like it was shortened once by an inch or two Michael.  Also, the shape does seem to suggest that it may be what collectors call "koto", which literally means old sword and refers to swords made before around 1595 or so.  It seems less likely that it is 600 years old based on the length, but it is quite possible that it is.   You can submit it to professional appraisers that come to the US from Japan in one of the NTHK organizations.  They usually come to one or another sword show in a major city in the US about every year or two.  It definitely looks like a genuine hand made samurai sword that is over 400 years old, so your grandpa was basically correct.  Cheers, Bob

[mike76us]

yea thank man finding out anything about these is very hard i will keep in mind what u said i can remember when i was a kid it still had all the wrapping on the handle and leather on the case my dad had it stored in a basement but i remember the same rust spots on the blade as a kid it have some kinda ivory looking diamond looking things in the handle wrapping my dad still has them somewhere

[Surfson]

Those are called menuki and can sometimes be worth hundreds of dollars.  

[mike76us]

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/31588-did-grandpa-have-the-hanjo-lol-he-always-said-this-sword-was-over-600-years-old/

[ChrisW]

I am not quite sure what you're asking? You've posted it in a separate thread before.

 

Are you trying to figure out its age or school? Or?

 

People here are glad to help, you just need to give us a bit more direction on what you need!

[mike76us]

yea srry my name is mike yea i posted it before think u guys help me figure the age so far was hoping someone recognized the hamon the sword is unsigned i wish i had the funds to have it research just trying to get as much as i can the school would be nice to know also would get me in the right direction on figuring out who made it

[ChrisW]

Best I can offer would be to say you should find someone close to you from the board here and see if they can give you an in-hand evaluation of it. It is very difficult to tell more without looking at it in-hand, photographs can only do so much. In the mean time, do be sure to follow the guides they showed you in regards to caring for it!

[mike76us]

yes i agree it definitely needs a better home lol hopfully someone will want it i just hate to do anything with it untill i know little more about it thanks you sir for your info

[mike76us]

only thing i know about it is that’s it’s really old i live in west virginia iced looked everywhere around here for someone to check it out very hard to find someone

[Jamie]

There is a member In west va

[Blazeaglory]

Looks like it has some potential. Take some pics with it laid down on towel so it focuses properly and take pics of the Nakago(tang).

 

There Is way too much detail on a traditional Japanese sword (Nihonto) to make a judgment through pics, let alone blurry pics. No offense as I know it's hard to take good pics of the blade but when you hold it up like that the camera tends to focus in the background.

 

So far so good tho. The sword looks like it has some action albeit a little rust and in need of a polish

[SAS]

PS don't do anything to it yourself except putting a light coat of oil and gently wiping it off with soft tissue or soft cloth. Welcome to the NMB.

[mike76us]

oh yea how do u search members i’m in charleston wv

[vajo]

Could be a nice sword.

I like it.

[mike76us]

done little research on few things i think i’m pretty close on the details if it can be trace to a certain school this way but it is a okissaki shinogi zukuri hamon style looks to be gunome-midare both mune is lori nakago is futsu haagari mei is kesho srry for bugging u guys just trying too teach myself on how to research these swords i never knew how cool Japan’s history is untill i got this sword but very interesting stuff

[ChrisW]

You've only just begun to go down the rabbit hole!

[mike76us]

lol i know thats fosure i learn something new every time i google Japanese sword really fascinating stuff the history behind these

[mike76us]

also forgot the steal look like a wood grain style

[Bugyotsuji]

Advice by SAS (above) to oil it only applies to the blade, i.e. the shiny part.

 

The Nakago (tang) should be a nice dark rust patina, so ok to hold in the fingers, but otherwise leave completely untouched.

[mike76us]

thanks for the advice yea only thing i’ve done to it was wipe the blade with oil i can remember those surface spot on the blade when i was a young kid they have not changed in 35 years still looks the same def a good blade can’t wait to get it polished up