Information on Sword my Grandfather brought back from WW2

[Andrew G]

Thanks, I’m not a collector at all.

[Wolfmanreid]

Great job on the briefing! I hope a polish works out and the original letter can be found.

[Jamie]

 

I find cutting tests particularly interesting.

I have one, but I’m not sure of the actual cut

[Babu]

Can i ask a question about the ranking system for smiths? Is this not a reference to the potential of specific blades produced by the Smith rather than all blades would be of this quality?

Eg his best work would be Jo Saku but some may be mediocre??

Often wondered.

Regards

[PNSSHOGUN]

It is more or less an aggregate of the smiths works.

[Andrew G]

Never ruin a good story for the sake of the truth!  So I did some more research and I found some letters my grandfather wrote home. Not I have direct evidence on how he acquired the sword. Turns out he bought it off of some guy in Tokyo. Here is a link to the letter: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8as6dj9fep0nba8/Sword_Letter.PDF?dl=0

[SteveM]

Andrew, thank you for posting that wonderful letter from a most historic moment in time. For me, the story of the sword's acquisition is a million times more fascinating and charming than the original tall tale, and much more precious because your grandfather documented it so eloquently. Coming from the Bay Area myself, I felt a connection hearing him describe the Imperial Palace grounds as being comparable to Golden Gate park. And how funny to hear him initially lament that other soldiers had shinier, newer-looking swords, and that his own looked like a dull "toad-stabber", when in reality the shiny stuff tends to be junk. Interesting also the time of the letter, just months after the end of the war. We get a sense of how close to starvation the country was, when your grandfather describes the scarcity of food in Tokyo. How fascinating it must have been to browse the black markets of Tokyo then. You have a true samurai sword, whose reputation is, in my opinion, enhanced by the letter. 

[Surfson]

Very interesting Andrew!  

[Dave R]

Hi Andrew, would you be OK posting the photo's on here, or having someone else do that. The problem with imgure and other sites like it, is that the link dies in time, and then a very interesting thread dies as well.

 

 As for how your grandad got the sword, I like the story, (we always take the battlefield pickup stories with a spoonfull of salt), and he ensured that you have avoided some nasty "yurei yokai" haunting the family.   

 

 

[Andrew G]

On 8/1/2020 at 3:20 AM, Dave R said:

Hi Andrew, would you be OK posting the photo's on here, or having someone else do that. The problem with imgure and other sites like it, is that the link dies in time, and then a very interesting thread dies as well.

 

No I don't mind at all. I'm not sure how to do that though.  You have my permission to take them and upload them.

[mtexter]

That's an amazing letter Andrew, it's such an interesting snapshot of history.  Thank you for sharing!

[Andrew G]

I finally got the sword from my dad.  I'm going to take it to a few polishers for evaluation.  Anyone know where I can get a good (or custom) mount for displaying the sword?  Anyone know where I could get new furniture made for it?

 

[Geraint]

Dear Andrew.With your permission I have grabbed at least the signature and cutting test.

 

 

 

All the best.

 

 

[SteveM]

Hello Andrew,

Regarding restoration of your sword, you may find this thread informative:

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/29769-if-i-buy-custom-fittings-will-they-fit-on-a-new-sword/?tab=comments#comment-302760

It discusses the process from the starting point of having a new sword made, but if you skip that step, the rest of the steps still apply.

 

Look at the links at the top of the page under "Nihonto Info" for commercial sites that offer various aspects of restoration. I think a couple of dealers will walk you through the entire process, which is probably the best option (rather than you trying to coordinate the various craftsmen involved). 

 

I don't know if its already been mentioned in this thread, but the polish is more important than the bling. This absolutely must be handled by a professional, as an amateur polish will certainly destroy this centuries-old treasure. Beware of the dude who says he knows how to polish Japanese swords because he saw some guy do it on youtube. Better to leave your sword alone with rust patches, rather than hand it to some guy who apparently bought some stones off the internet and "self-trained" as a restorer of Japanese antiques. 

 

[Grey Doffin]

And if one of the polishers is in San Francisco and it is not Jimmy Hayashi (who is a classically trained polisher and who does excellent work), don't go there.  There is an organization in San Francisco that advertises restoration but they have a well deserved terrible reputation.

Grey