Japanese Tanto

[hotempered]

Greetings all. I have had this knife for decades and am curious about it's approximate date of manufacture and any other information that might be available or discernible from the attached photographs. Unfortunately the patina on the blade and rust on the tang have been stripped except the bits still showing. I include some magnified shots of the blade if it should help with identification. Thank you in advance for your responses. George 

[Baka Gaijin]

Hi, George,

 

Without labouring you with obscure Japanese terms.

You have a Fan Dagger.

They appear in the late Bakumatsu era (1853 - 1867)

This was effectively the ending of the Samurai as a Social force.

Fan Daggers continued to be produced in the Meiji era (1868 - 1912), and beyond as tourist trinkets.

It is rare to fine a blade of any real value in such mountings.

However as an example of an artifact of extreme Social Change, they have an importance.

Folding Fans were briefly banned in the new Tokyo, from certain areas such as Performance  Arts and Sport events including  - Kabuki and Sumo.

 

Hope this helps

 

[Babu]

It's yoroi Doshi so I might suggest it was re-purposed as its design is clearly armour penetrative. It's tempered and looks mino den to me but that's just because it looks like a mino den tanto I once had. 

I like it but shame about the Nakago. 

It's Unikubi-Zukuri ( Cormorants neck) aka Nagamaki naoshi

 

[hotempered]

Thank you both for your input. I always thought it was intended for armor piecing given the mass of the blade point and its shape. I also felt that it was re purposed in that it is doubtful that someone would go to the trouble to make a blade like this (to me appearing as a very complicated/complex shape due to its facets) for the tourist trade. I held these opinions without any real knowledge about Japanese edge weapons. The handle (Nakago?) I think, can be easily repaired the rest of the scabbard is in, as was, condition and intact.

I did contact aoijapan for an opinion and their's is that the blade dates to the late Edo early Meiji era. My posting at an other site, thereafter, seemed to raise some questions about the authenticity, hence my post here. 

Assuming the blade is intended for armor piercing and re purposed: Would it have been polished in its original state and what would the mounting have looked like? Also, would it be worth to have the blade re polished? 

[Grey Doffin]

Hi George,

If it is repurposed it would have been polished originally, there is no way to know, other than general tanto mounts, what the original mounts looked like, and a properly trained polisher (not a self taught amateur) can tell you if it would make sense to spend the money for polish and shirasaya.

Grey

[Ken-Hawaii]

I rather doubt it's a yoroi-doshi, George, as those were made mostly during Muromachi Period for armor-piercing. Yours looks much newer than that.