Sword Identification and Info Help

[Crankytoaster]

Hi, I need help identifying this sword I got from the pawn shop for $350. I have a post on reddit here and they said I can come here for more help https://www.reddit.com/r/Katanas/comments/x203o4/350_pawn_shop_sword_help/

 

 

Apparently the tang says its from the tenpo era from about 1836-1837. Can you guys help to confirm this? I was thinking of sending it off to this guy that was recommended to get it polished Katana Restoration. If its prohibitively expensive, like 300+ ish I think I'll probably keep it as is and just get a brand new sword instead with that money.

 

[Wolfmanreid]

Sword looks genuine but paying for a proper polish would likely cost you several thousand dollars.  Not worth it from an investment standpoint most likely. 
 

I’ll leave it to more knowledgeable persons than I to provide a translation of the mei. 

[ChrisW]

Polishing work from anyone who is worth trusting to do it right is about $120/inch or so. Do NOT let anyone who claims to know what they're doing touch it before you check out their work and see their credentials. It takes only one bad polish to render a blade beyond saving. I recommend Bob Benson or any of his apprentices if you're deadset on polishing work. But as Reid points out, it may not be worth it in a financial/investment sense. I would investigate the smith and see how well-regarded their works are to see if this blade warrants the treatment. If you're patient, I am sure some others will chime in on that and what the translation is!

[Brian]

Can't make out the first kanji properly. Anyone?
x-shu ju Kanehisa?
Looks like it's dated second month Tenpo something....maybe 6th year  of Tempo meaning 1835? Somewhere close to 1830 anyways.

[Bruce Pennington]

Yes, 1831.

 

Nice gunto! And quite a steal on the price!  Type 98 fittings, except the tsuba, which is civilian.  Pretty normal mix for a civil sword brought to the war and re-fitted.  The seppa (spacers) are a bit out of order.  They should look more like this:

[ckaiserca]

The tassel (tosho) should be attached to the loop (sarute) at the end of the tsuka, not the obi-tori loop. 

[Brian]

Bruce, you see a 2 for that 3rd kanji making it 1831? It confuses me, as I see 3 strokes there...can't make it out.

[george trotter]

53 minutes ago, ckaiserca said:

The tassel (tosho) should be attached to the loop (sarute) at the end of the tsuka, not the obi-tori loop. 

Just for general info, I can remember seeing a few WWII photos over the years where the Japanese soldier is holding a sword with the tassel tied to the scabbard ring. Probably not "regulation", but it seems it was done.

[DoTanuki yokai]

https://nihontoantiques.com/project/katana-kanehisa-fss-685/
 

Kashu KaneHisa

Kinoshita Jintaro 木下甚太郎

 

[Crankytoaster]

Turns out that doing basically anything beyond oiling the blade with mineral oil is a bad idea so I'm going to leave it as is. However, should I go do something to the handguard or should I leave that as is aswell? Its extremely loose right now with around an inch of play and wobbles easily if I touch it. I think all of the pieces seem to be in order its just super loose.

 

Also, I was thinking of getting a modern day katana to compliment this antique. I heard motohara is pretty highly recommended but I am super confused on what exactly the differences between each different options for parts. If anyone could help me out that would be great.

 

I also have family in korea and apparently they sell for 3x less than it costs in America which seems insanely good. I however can't seem to access the korean site (onesword) to check the prices. I also can't check the prices for USA aswell but people are saying it costs around 2k.

 

I need some info on which is the best shipping carrier to go with that allows the shipping of swords and for the lowest price. 

[Bruce Pennington]

11 hours ago, Brian said:

you see a 2 for that 3rd kanji making it 1831?

Two strokes, 2 'arrow head points'

 

4 hours ago, Crankytoaster said:

Its extremely loose right now with around an inch of play and wobbles easily if I touch it. I think all of the pieces seem to be in order its just super loose.

Nothing wrong with getting extra seppa to tighten things up.  I'd say it's missing the extra seppa that would have been there.

[Brian]

All the "modern" swords you mention will be made outside of Japan, and basically be functional repros.
Outside the scope of this forum that only deals with "real" Japanese swords.

[Crankytoaster]

21 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Nothing wrong with getting extra seppa to tighten things up.  I'd say it's missing the extra seppa that would have been there.

Is there a place where I can get some real antique seppa? Also how many should I get? As many as I think would fit to make it tight because it would need alot? I think I would probably need 4-6, but I think it might be bad to overstuff the handguard.

 

Also I'm worried that if I pull apart the handguard I might break something since I have no idea how to properly do it and its old. Is this something that I should do anyway since this is just gonna be a display piece and I've been hearing that basically doing anything to the original would be bad.

[Bruce Pennington]

Jonathan,

Your concerns are normal for someone not used to doing these things.  I can assure you, though, these swords were made for easy disassembly and cleaning.  There is one small bamboo peg (mekugi) horizontally placed through the handle and tang (tuska & nakago) that holds everything on.  Simply push that peg out, sometimes they are tapered and only come out in one direction, and everything else slides right off!

 

As to adding seppa, this is always difficult to answer.  I've had a number of my gunto that needed extra seppa, over the years.  I bought a bag of 8 or 10 seppa and picked out the ones that looked good and fit.  The rest I've given away already, or I'd send them to you.  I checked ebay and didn't see any WWII seppa currently for sale.  You could try posting your need for seppa on the Want to Buy forum.   Dan Watson, at Crimson Mist Military Antiques has a bunch of them, but he's asking $20 each!  I've been able to haggle a bit with him, though.  The difficulty is getting something the right size.  You could ask him if he'd send you a bunch, let you pick the ones that you like and send the rest back to him.  Don't know if he'd do that, but wouldn't hurt to ask.

 

There are guys at NMB that carry parts, too.  Don't recall who they are though.

 

I should add that the number of seppa can range from 2 to 8.  Here's an example from the Ohmura site: