Need help with authenticity on this Katana, allegedly from somewhere between 1700-1800s

[elusion]

Hi everyone, was recommended to come here for more information on the sword I have! I'll just copy paste the message I posted on the r/SWORDS subreddit:

 

https://imgur.com/a/JUBwsjC

 

"Recently came into possession of this Katana, the condition of the blade was already as is before I was the new owner of it, seller is a very reputable auctioneer in my city so very little doubt of it being fake but you never know, and I'm no expert on this. There were no documents with the blade but it has been with a family here for a very long time until heritage issues forced them to auction it off.

 

The auctioneer only worked on the previous family's words, and they said it was believed to be from somewhere around 1700-1800s.

 

Forgive me if the photos are bad, I can retake some if needed, but this was the best I could do with my iPhone.

 

Also one thing that bothers me about it is the mekugi, the size of it is the same on both sides so I am unsure on how to get it out so I can check the signature of the blade below.

 

Appreciate any help you guys are able to give, I think the only thing I'm most curious about if its an authentic sword, the age of it is a bonus but I expect it will be hard to set a timeline on it."

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hi Tor, this would be considered a Tachi and does look to be authentic. The condition of the blade is quite poor, the glimpse of the Hamon look like Sanbonsugi pattern which would indicate a sword from the Mino province. The Tachi mounts are of pretty low quality, it is more than likely this was put together during the Meiji/Taisho/Showa period for sale to westerners.

 

[elusion]

8 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Hi Tor, this would be considered a Tachi and does look to be authentic. The condition of the blade is quite poor, the glimpse of the Hamon look like Sanbonsugi pattern which would indicate a sword from the Mino province. The Tachi mounts are of pretty low quality, it is more than likely this was put together during the Meiji/Taisho/Showa period for sale to westerners.

 

Thank you for the information! Yeah the blade is sadly in bad condition, I got it as it appears in the pictures. I still love it though, and looks rather decent when its in the scabbard and looking at it from a distance. I tried getting better pictures of the hamon but it was pretty hard to get it on the photos but the one you posted is the best one I managed, and the blade itself is a bit "dirty" and needs a polish to probably bring out the details more.

[DTM72]

i agree with what @PNSSHOGUN has to say. Everything is authentic. Lower grade tachi mounts from late 1800's to early 1900's. To me, blade appears to be Shin-shinto late 1700's to 1800's. Nakago (tang) is original and has not been cut-down, and the color is not a deep brown or black...leading to my guess on age.