Advice on blade authenticity

[Jaxes]

Hello all,

I am here for some expert advice on a blade being shown at my dojo (Iaido) by another member. Pics are attached for clarity.

The concerns I have is this: The claim is that its a blade they bought decades ago in Japan, and just recently sent it away for authentication. The images attached are the ones provided to show us the blade before it arrives back itself to show us for real.

After some reverse image searching, the pictures look exactly like the pictures from 'Katana boutique' (same background, set up, double-sided images etc.), and are fairly poor quality poor quality images (likely from a website, not directly from a camera). The description provided also word-for-word matches some of the descriptions from that same website. Description states 'antique blade from hundred of years ago'...'visible rust and a chip on the blade, however please pay attention to the elaborate inrou-kizami'...etc.. 'age from Muromachi era'. Its signed Yoshisuke as per the image, but I dont think there are any papers to go with it.

What do you think is going on here? I think most likely the story of where & when it was acquired (and then evaluated) is 'exaggerated' and that it was likely bought from said website. Does the blade seem legitimate overall? Is it really that age? Claim is its worth a 1-2000 $.

honestly I'm not looking to buy it (I'm not sure its for sale, they just want to show it off at this stage), but I suspect shenanigans and generally feel when it comes to old Japanese blades that its guilty until proven innocent. Then perhaps to politely let anyone I may know who might end up wanting to purchase it (potentially), there's enough people being hoodwinked by less than honest sellers online, let alone from a community we know. 

Or maybe i'm just being paranoid?

 

Thanks so much for your assistance.

Jak

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

The blade is genuine from those pictures, the signature is questionable. Original value was likely far less than is currently being asked. Definitely best to give the current owner a wide berth if he's spinning that sort of BS.

[Jaxes]

PNSSHOGUN, so you think the blade could be genuinely that old, but the signature itself is questionable (and hence the original maker)?
Do you also think its likely a recent(-ish) purchase from that website, and the origin story is BS? Is there other possible sources?

 

Thanks, I kinda feel paranoid, but I don't want to make false accusations (even to myself), and could potentially inform others as well.

[Brian]

It's real, although nothing fantastic. There are literally thousands like it available anywhere. Hundreds of years old is not really old or remarkable. This is a 1000 year old tradition, so even 1700's swords would be considered "newish" so don't get bogged down by the Western idea of age of a sword.
No idea if he bought it in Japan or bought it from a dealer. To me, doesn't really matter as it's real and you can buy them anytime from any country. You can go to a US sword show and choose from 100 if you like. Or go online and buy from many dealers. The signature would be considered as not verified unless it has papers. No big deal, signatures were faked all the time.
In the end, if that's the tanto that he shows when it arrives, then doesn't really matter where it came from, does it? It's real. Value would be around where he said it is.

[John C]

15 hours ago, Jaxes said:

but I don't want to make false accusations

Just to add my two cents...I agree with all of the above; that the blade is real, and the signature probably not. The saying you will read often is "buy the blade, not the signature." I would extend that to "buy the blade, not the sales pitch." It's like what the guy says who is selling a dead horse - it never runs away and doesn't eat much. If the blade is legit, and you like it, and you can afford it, then go for it. 

In addition, I have a different take on "older" blades. While the smith may not have been a household name, he still poured his heart and soul into making the thing, which I can't do, so I tend to give them all a little respect. 

John C.

[Jaxes]

Thanks all for the replies. 
I completely agree with Brian's comment about the blade: if its a good blade, the age, the history and (as John mentioned) the effort into making that in a traditional style, then that's all great. 

Honestly, I was just put of by the story of where it come from and then seeing it almost certainly came from this website, it made me suspicious of the whole thing.  Which then made me suspect the blade itself. If they had of just said they bought it from this website in the first place I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought.

Basically, just forget the story and appreciate the blade for what it is, nothing special, but still a decent piece of work and history within the subject area.

 

Again, thanks for your expert opinions

Jak

[DoTanuki yokai]

Story is BS the pictures are from eBay seller katana boutique. 
edit: have missed the part where you found it yourself 

 

I think it looks late muromachi but I don’t trust that Nakago and I need some time to find out why 

[NewB]

IMHO-tough hobby 😀

 

J