Sword ID help again please

[Ledheadforlife]

So, I'm thinking about buying this sword but of course since I'm a noob I don't know if it's legit. It's being advertised as katana but looks more wakazashi to me. I'd be grateful for any input as to legitimacy, age, value, etc. It appears to be signed but the signature is impossible(for me) to figure out. Thanks in advance!

[Ledheadforlife]

[Geraint]

Dear Andrew.

 

Well it is a Japanese sword though these pictures don't allow much more to be said.  If you are not sure then the katana/wakizashi question is simple, if the nagasa, length from the tip to the notch on the back of the blade where hte habaki sits, is 30cms/12" to 60cms/24" then it's a wakizashi, longer tan that and it is a katana.  Fittings look to be OK but the kodzuka looks quite nice, shame that it is actually one that has been repurposed as a table knife and then again to fit the koshirae.  Look at the point where the kodzuka and the blade meet and you will see a rivet.

 

Really can't see enough from these images to tell if there are problems with the blade other than that it is out of polish.  If you are buying this from someone who knows what they are talking about, (as opposed to someone who thinks they know), then maybe, but don't pay too much for this, you will either be in for some serious restoration costs or you will have to be content with leaving it as it is.

 

Oh, and someone else has already asked for a translation in that section of NMB.

 

Hope this helps.

 

All the best.

 

[Ledheadforlife]

On 8/26/2022 at 3:34 AM, Geraint said:

Dear Andrew.

 

Well it is a Japanese sword though these pictures don't allow much more to be said.  If you are not sure then the katana/wakizashi question is simple, if the nagasa, length from the tip to the notch on the back of the blade where hte habaki sits, is 30cms/12" to 60cms/24" then it's a wakizashi, longer tan that and it is a katana.  Fittings look to be OK but the kodzuka looks quite nice, shame that it is actually one that has been repurposed as a table knife and then again to fit the koshirae.  Look at the point where the kodzuka and the blade meet and you will see a rivet.

 

Really can't see enough from these images to tell if there are problems with the blade other than that it is out of polish.  If you are buying this from someone who knows what they are talking about, (as opposed to someone who thinks they know), then maybe, but don't pay too much for this, you will either be in for some serious restoration costs or you will have to be content with leaving it as it is.

 

Oh, and someone else has already asked for a translation in that section of NMB.

 

Hope this helps.

 

All the best.

 

Thank you so much for the feedback, you've been a great help! It was an auction and I ended up passing on it, but thanks again.

[Jacques D.]

The sugata of this sword with its koshi-sori and the shape of its nakago seriously tends towards the Bizen province. Nagasa would have been informative.