Seller claiming he has “Japanese Naval Sword”, is he correct?

[Bridges]

This item, is being offered as a, “ Authentic Pre WWI Japanese Navy Naval Sword ( 23 1/4” Long ) Very Rare“. But, appears to have the similarities of a brass handled artillery sword. However, those swords as outlined on page 92 of Dawson’s are not ornate and have serial numbers on the cross guard, which this sword has neither of. The sword is also not accompanied with the leather frog that would help bolster this blades claim to Japanese heritage. The blade is also missing the Bo-hi that runs down the center of artillery blades. If this sword is legit, the youngest it can be is 1898 but so far, legitimacy is in question. The saving grace is, Dawson has made a note on page 218 of the Naval section that his book does not cover the “experimental designs” during 1883 the navy used. The foreign crest on the back of this blade could make sense as the Japanese did a similiar order for type 8s from Germany that still had Solingen marking on it and the Japanese merely placed Imperial acceptance marks on the blades. It’s is plausible this is an experimental contract sword but the odds are EXTREMELY against this sword. The casting is also sloppy and not crisp. Please let me know what y’all think. The item has been up for a while.

[Scott JM]

This appears to me to be altogether too crude and unrefined to be any kind of Japanese sword.   Perhaps a Victorian era decorative sword?

 

---Scott.