Late war type 3 in my local antique store, need advice

[Bridges]

Hello all,

as the title states a late war shin-gunto has somehow made it to my remote antique store and I need an opinion on the piece. The seller is asking 1,500 but has negotiated it down to 1,000 flat (cash USD). However, as you can see, the saya is severely damaged and he has noted the blade unsigned. The mekugi looks to be replaced and I am currently in my car outside this shop without my references in hand. I did not expect to see this so I did not attempt nor have the tooling to remove the mekugi to see for myself. My question is, authentication (first time seeing something other than a type 19 in the wild), his price point, and the tsuba looks oddly like the iron ones on “souvenir swords”. Whatever input anyone has would be greatly appreciated as I’ve never seen anything other than what I mainly collect (parade swords) in hand.

[Bruce Pennington]

Noah,

The saya and tsuba are civil, with the RS tsuka added, to "militarize" it for the war.  It's likely to have a civil blade in it too, could be something old?  Interesting piece!  I think you got a decent price there.

[Bridges]

Thanks Bruce, I appreciate the feedback. I was a little cautious due to the saya being partially destroyed but the blade is in great shape. With this being a civil sword, I’m assuming it’s likely machine made and less likely hand forged? I apologize for no pictures of the tang, that would’ve been a great help

[ChrisW]

29 minutes ago, Bridges said:

Thanks Bruce, I appreciate the feedback. I was a little cautious due to the saya being partially destroyed but the blade is in great shape. With this being a civil sword, I’m assuming it’s likely machine made and less likely hand forged? I apologize for no pictures of the tang, that would’ve been a great help

 

What Bruce means by "civil blade" is a sword that was made prewar and not in a large factory setting, AKA probably hand-forged by a blacksmith. Dismounting the blade from the tsuka and looking at the nakago would be the tell in this case.

[b.hennick]

Look at the tang.. Remove the habaki as you do not want to find a  hagire at home.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Looks like a headache!

[mdiddy]

@Bridges I have had several of these and they have always had a low quality, crude blade in them (see attached photos). I think the chances of scoring an old nihonto in this kind of koshirae is extraordinarily low. I think it's more accurate to call the tsuba and saya 'crudely mass-produced' instead of 'civil'.

 

23 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Noah,

The saya and tsuba are civil, with the RS tsuka added, to "militarize" it for the war.  It's likely to have a civil blade in it too, could be something old?  Interesting piece!  I think you got a decent price there.

 

@Bridges I don't like to comment on other peoples deals, but I would recommend being wary of some of the valuation advice you may be getting here. Feel free to reach out directly with questions, happy to help.

[dwmc]

Geez Matt, had I the misfortune of the swords you shared above, I would most definitely be wary also...

 

Dave M.

[mdiddy]

20 minutes ago, dwmc said:

Geez Matt, had I the misfortune of the swords you shared above, I would most definitely be wary also...

 

Don't feel bad for me Dave, I paid a lot less than what I sold them for. Cha-ching. But that does give me some extra insight in knowing what they are truly worth.

 

Not really what I collect per se, but if one is sourcing late war variants, ya kinda gotta embrace the misfortune? 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Boy that Nakago would be a real bummer to see.

[mdiddy]

33 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Boy that Nakago would be a real bummer to see

 

Yeah, I can think of about 1000 reasons why.

 

Here's another one I dug up. Similar, but a little different flavor, yet with another crude nakago.