Passed on Sword

[jarger22]

I was checking through my old aikido gear and noticed i still had a sword that had been left to me by my teacher before he went overseas. Now i remember originally trying to track down what it may have been and whether it was worth getting polished for either training purposes or display.

 

Now the Blade is in its WW2 mounts, and isnt in the best condition, a few small chips out of the blade. In the top right the picture of the Tang looks like it bears a stamp, which judging from what ive read mean it is not hand made. The Tang is also quite dark and hard to make out the signature. The history of the blade as far as i know was that it was brought back to Australia from Papua New Guinea after the War and sat at this Diggers house until he passed away and his wife was getting rid of his gear. Which is when it came into the possession of my teacher.

 

If anyone could take the time to have a quick look and perhaps point me in the right direction would be great.

 

 

Cheers

 

Jarrod

[Bugyotsuji]

Would it be possible to move the Mekugi ana to the top of the frame so we can read the Mei from top to bottom more easily? The shadow obscures the Mei in some way, so in an ideal world I would love you to take a clearer photo...

[Stephen]

croped rotated and brightend

 

 

Noshu Seki Ju.......

[jarger22]

Thanks very much Stephen for fixing that photo, ive been wrestling with this damm camera for a few hours trying to get decent shots .

 

If it helps here is another one i have taken, still not the clearest.

 

Thanks again for any help.

 

 

Jarrod

[Nobody]

Maybe;

濃州関住人吉近作 – Noshu Seki ju-nin Yoshichika saku

 

Ref:

http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/yoshchi4.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/yoshchi3.jpg

[Bugyotsuji]

Looks like someone has tried to remove some of the rust...

[jarger22]

  Bugyotsuji said:

Looks like someone has tried to remove some of the rust...

 

Perhaps its the way the light is reflecting? The Tang/ Nakago ( is that the correct term?) are very dark all over and to my untrained eye i cannot see any signs of it ( wire brush etc). That was also one of the reasons i have had trouble taking a clear picture because of the dark surface corrosion.

 

Plus it has been siting wrapped up with me for 5 or so years and hasn't been touched, unless it had been done well before either myself or my Teacher had it in our possession which i couldn't rule out.

 

 

Jarrod

[jarger22]

Thanks again for the information guys. I had a few more questions if you will indulge me. Now i would like to restore this sword back to its former self, being that it was given to me. In people's opinion would that be worth the expense. And secondly can anyone recommend where this can be done, im in Australia and realize that they need to be sent overseas to get work done on them. Im also assuming that the blade is made non traditionally and that it may not be accepted to polish or restore on that basis? is that a correct assumption.

 

 

Oh and sorry if any of these questions sound clueless, as im just starting to delve into the world of the Japanese sword ... so much information to digest. :D

 

Cheers again guys

 

 

Jarrod

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Jarrod,

Pretty much every newbie decides he wants to restore his 1st sword; it usually doesn't make sense for a number of reasons. Chances are you'll never be able to recapture the cost of restoration when you decide to sell the sword; gunto are almost always worth less than the cost of polish.

Grey

[jarger22]

  Grey Doffin said:

Hi Jarrod,

Pretty much every newbie decides he wants to restore his 1st sword; it usually doesn't make sense for a number of reasons. Chances are you'll never be able to recapture the cost of restoration when you decide to sell the sword; gunto are almost always worth less than the cost of polish.

Grey

Thanks for the input Grey, i laughed when i saw your post, because it is exactly what i was thinking after i posted that question ( see i knew i was clueless :D ). I guess its like the first car you buy, whether it is a POS or not you always have ideas to fix it up and you are oblivious to the fact that it may not be worth half of what you spent on it.

 

In the end though this particular blade is more of a sentimental thing to me than anything i would invest in for profit so cost didn't particularly faze me.

 

Thanks again for the input.

[Dave0258]

Grey,

"Pretty much every newbie decides he wants to restore his 1st sword; it usually doesn't make sense for a number of reasons."

 

If it makes you feel any better, I'm one that goes against your comment above. I (admittedly reluctantly) decided not to restore the first sword I found for the very reason that you stated. However, I will give credit to you and the other members of this forum (you, Peter, Stephen, Mark Green) for all of the comments and advice that allowed me to consider the decision somewhat rationally. Not one of you actually suggested that I not restore it, but your observations, both direct to me and via other threads and in other situations, helped considerably in my decision process. Of course I may make a different decision on the next one, but at least I have some solid foundation and understand the risks and rewards much better than I ever could on my own. Echoing what others have said, this is a GREAT forum.

 

Dave

[Dave0258]

Sorry. I should have included Mark Jones on the above list as well.

 

Dave