Information on my Grandpa's sword

[aabderson]

Hello all, I am looking for your thoughts on this sword that my grandpa brought back and how old this sword could be or any other thoughts you may have on it! I know it's not in the best shape but I hope to get it restored. Thank you in advance! Its not as heavy as I was expecting. From my research I am thinking late Koto or early shinto. Thoughts? 

[aabderson]

More pics

[aabderson]

more pics

[aabderson]

[ChrisW]

Looks like your grandfather had ideas of restoring the blade himself. Hopefully he did NOT carry through with it!

Restoration is best left to a professional, do keep those stones away from the blade as irreparable damage can be done to them by a person without the proper decade-or-so long training in Japan that is required to be knowledgeable and skilled enough to carry out such work.

 

It does appear to be an older (not WWII) blade, possibly Koto as you suspect.

Could you give us a measurement of how long the cutting edge is? (From notch to tip)

[aabderson]

The sharpened area of the blade is 23".  The length of the blade including tang is 29".  The length of the sword with tsuka is 33 5/8".

[ChrisW]

So your grandfather's blade is a mumei o-wakizashi (long wakizashi, not a katana). For it to be a katana, nagasa should be around 24" or greater. You could ask a polisher about the feasibility of restoration work and barring a fatal flaw, it would be possible.

 

However, it would be a passion project to protect family history. In terms of financial viability, mumei wakizashi are generally not worth restoring. BUT, this is just my opinion based on a general consensus and only a polisher can give a definitive statement. Financial viability could change if the workmanship of the blade is judged to be of someone of merit.

 

It does appear to have some interesting activity and doesn't appear to have any obvious fatal flaws.  You can check for the definition of FATAL flaws here: http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kizu.htm

 

Those stones, if they are high quality, could be of interest to a professional polisher as the really good quality stones are rather scarce these days. Again, do make sure that no one attempts to use them on any swords as that could ruin both the sword and the stones.

[aabderson]

Thank you Chris! I will keep all this in mind! My family wants me to ask you what the value of the sword would be currently?

[Rivkin]

The pictures are not great, but a good guess would be late Muromachi, uchi-gatana. If there will be a good photo showing activity on the blade one can venture further in the attribution. Or possibly date it earlier.

[aabderson]

okay, I will try to get a picture of the activity on the blade for you. What is an uchi-gatana? Ive never heard of it. Is it a type of katana? Was it always this length or has it been shortened?

[David Flynn]

I would vote for Shinshinto. Maybe shinto.

[aabderson]

@Rivkin here are some photos of the activity as best I could get it. its easier to see by the tip but harder to see by the handle. @David Flynn Thank you for your opinion! I would love others opinions as well until a consensus is reached. 

[Rivkin]

Can we see the boshi? Its outline, hamon line is very important.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Alex,

Try taking your pictures on a black background with a raking (from the side) light.

Grey

[aabderson]

[aabderson]

my (untrained) eyes don't really see an outline on the boshi. 

[Stephen]

15 minutes ago, aabderson said:

my (untrained) eyes don't really see an outline on the boshi. 

Pix three shows it well runs right along the edge....

[Stephen]

[Rivkin]

Hamon seems to be in gunome and there is some evidence (how crack propagates etc.) there is masame hada in shinogi ji, so its likely to be Mino type, but taking nakago into account I would say Echizen seki, end of Muromachi.

Frankly its a big stretch for a blade in this condition, but I see nothing so far to dispel this attribution.

[aabderson]

Wow! That's a lot to digest! I'm going to have to do some research on what you found out. But you are thinking its age is around the early to mid 1500's? Also my family would like to know the value in its current condition?