Help with 1600's era katana?

[kkeeps]

Looking for opinions on what this sword is. I'm getting "Noshu Seki ju Kanekage" does that look correct? Could this be from around 1590's, or does it point to a different era?

 

 

[SteveM]

Noshū Seki-jū Kanekage looks right.

That last kanji is pretty badly worn down so it is hard to say definitively what it is. Anyway, Kanekage is a strong possibility. 

Yes it could be from late 1500s. Nice sanbon-sugi hamon. Pretty scratched up - you might consider giving it a professional polish if you don't mind the expense. In the meantime, keep it off the ground, avoid touching the blade with bare hands, don't try to polish it yourself, etc... 

[tbonesullivan]

Definitely looks like the last character could be Kage. If you search online you might be able to find other examples marked like that to compare the mei on.

[kkeeps]

Thanks Steve and Dave. I dug through the Nihonto Index and ShoShin websites and it seems to match the Hachiya Seki group, and the last Kanekage in that lineage ends with Kanekage in 1573. Of course, digging through the Nihonto Index, there are a bunch of Noshu Seki Ju Kanekage's from 1300s to 1573, but I can't seem to find any past those dates.