WW2 sword

[Nicholas]

Hello everyone,

 

I am in the possession of a ww2 Japanese sword that I really don’t know anything about. It looks traditionally made. There is no signature. The tang looks like it’s been scrubbed clean. Can anyone suggest a round about age of the sword. Photos in link. I’ll post more photos if needed.  
 

https://imgur.com/a/UlevsIi

[Nicholas]

Also the nagasa is 26 inches. And 35 and 1/4 overall length bare blade.

 

[John C]

Nick:

Looks like there may be a stamp (anchor in a circle??) on the tang near the base of the blade. If so, can you get a better picture of it?

 

John C.

[ROKUJURO]

Nick,

all photos should be shown tip upwards.

Does not look like a stainless steel blade or even a war-time one, but better detail photos (HAMON, HADA, HA-MACHI, KISSAKI....) are needed for an assumption. Please upload them here in the forum. 

[Nicholas]

10 hours ago, ROKUJURO said:

Nick,

all photos should be shown tip upwards.

Does not look like a stainless steel blade or even a war-time one, but better detail photos (HAMON, HADA, HA-MACHI, KISSAKI....) are needed for an assumption. Please upload them here in the forum. 

Jean, Thank you. Here is a gallery of hopefully better pictures. Looking forward to hearing all opinions. Couldn’t post pics on site because of size.

 

https://imgur.com/a/fVEnwOg

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

Nick,

the condition of the blade is not so good, but I think I can see a NIOI based SUGUHA HAMON and O-ITAME HADA in places. The NAKAGO seems to have lost some patina, so determining the age (especially with photos) is difficult. All in all it looks like a later blade (SHOWA or MEIJI) with some potential if you could have it professionally polished by a traditionally trained TOGISHI. 

But I am unable to tell if the costs would be rocovered in case of a re-sale.

[Okan]

Hey Nick..Very hard to guess in this polish and with cleaned nakago but I would say(guess) late  Shinshinto in Kanbun style...

 

 

 

 

[Nicholas]

8 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Nick,

the condition of the blade is not so good, but I think I can see a NIOI based SUGUHA HAMON and O-ITAME HADA in places. The NAKAGO seems to have lost some patina, so determining the age (especially with photos) is difficult. All in all it looks like a later blade (SHOWA or MEIJI) with some potential if you could have it professionally polished by a traditionally trained TOGISHI. 

But I am unable to tell if the costs would be rocovered in case of a re-sale.

Thank you Jean. I think the person I bought it from scrubbed the tang clean. I don’t think the sword is worth the cost of a polish to me. My personal opinion on the age of the sword would be somewhere in the late 1800’s.

Does it look like the Ha mache and mune mache have been moved up on the blade slightly to you? 

[Nicholas]

17 minutes ago, Okan said:

Hey Nick..Very hard to guess in this polish and with cleaned nakago but I would say(guess) late  Shinshinto in Kanbun style...

 

 

 

 

Hey Okan, I would bet on Meiji. But yes very hard to tell anything about it in it’s current state. Sad someone cleaned the nakago.

[Okan]

3 minutes ago, NickC said:

Hey Okan, I would bet on Meiji. But yes very hard to tell anything about it in it’s current state. Sad someone cleaned the nakago.

Well early Meiji swords still counts as shinshinto so..

 

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

10 hours ago, NickC said:

....Does it look like the HA MACHI and MUNE MACHI have been moved up on the blade slightly to you? 

That is a difficult question with only photos to work with. I have the impression that the blade does not show UBU HA, so it might have had a second polish (at least) after a possible MACHI OKURI. So my answer to your question is yes. But this is just a guess.