Tight noi guchi interesting possibilities. Aoe?

[Utopianarian]

Just purchased this koto blade dressed in WW2 Gunto. Tight noi guchi with bright nie with what appears to be saka ashi. Looks like fine mokume hada with tangles. Deeper curvature. Blade 70.5cm. Looks like okissaki. Have not received blade yet to inspect closer. What do you guys think from the limited photos so far. 

[PNSSHOGUN]

I would be leaning more towards Shinto Hizen To, it is a very nice sword though, if there was a Mon I may have nabbed it myself!

[Utopianarian]

Hmmm.. I would think the noi line would be a bit wider if Hizen. Yes I wish it had a mon as well. I love the older blades with Gunto!!

[Rivkin]

I personally don't think Aoe is in the cards here.

More detailed pictures of just single area showing hada would be very helpful.

 

A guess from a non-expert who wishes to be corrected as always:

Hamon is glassy with very little vertical variation and tight nioguchi, there is masame in shinogi ji which sort of suggests shinto , but the hada is quite coarse and large featured which is quite unusual for shinto, and strongly hints towards koto, and possibly later Muromachi.

Mino would fit well, but suguha Mino like Kanenobu etc. tends to be with stronger yamato flavor and more nie. Echizen Rai.... does not exactly feel like it. Sue Mihara tends to have very prominent mokume and overall quite standing out hada. Sue-Bizen...

Lots of maybes without better pictures.

 

Kirill R.

[Japan2112]

Very handsome sugata and I like that kissaki. I do not think Hizen Shinto, though.

[Utopianarian]

Ko-mihara might be more plausible especially looking at the end of the nakago which looks katayamagata or yamato influenced. Tight bright noi guchi also. Hada looks similar to a lot of their works as well

[Rivkin]

Can be simply Yamato Tegai from the very end of Nambokucho. Hard to say without seeing large pics of hada.

 

Kirill R.

[SAS]

File marks on the nakago seem to indicate a kesho pattern, suggesting Shinto (early). Any indication of suriage and reshaping?

[Utopianarian]

I don’t see a kesho pattern but file patterns are difficult to discern from photos. It appears ubu and has end of nakago finished but once again cut down swords sometimes had end of nakago refinished. It does have one mekugi Ana which points toward ubu. Hard to be absolutely sure if it was reshaped. Once I receive the sword and evaluate in hand might give better indication. The hamon might give a clue if it runs into nakago supporting signs of shortening if that was the case