Type 98(?) ID request

[CowboyVittles]

I recently came into possession of some Type 98's. The previous sellers didn't know much about ID'ing them as it was part of an estate sale for the deceased. The man was a bit of a hermit from what little I knew of him. I felt good about his collection & pulled the trigger on some. 

 

The others seem a lot less weird, so I figured I'd share this one to kick off my little adventure. A bit suspicious of this blade, to tell the truth.

 

No signature on nakago from what I can tell. But there is a stamp on the exposed mune, which seems worrisome from what ive been researching? The blade has seen some poor attempts at polishing as well, unlike the others, which are all clear enough to see hamon.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, tried to compress the pics of the tsuka & tsuba close-ups but looks like they're still coming out too big. Will post those as soon as It let's me. 

 

But, definitely more curious about this blade more than anything. Any help is greatly appreciated. 

[robinalexander]

22 minutes ago, CowboyVittles said:

A bit suspicious of this blade, to tell the truth.

Good reason for that Brandon.... Chinese I reckon not Japanese.

[CowboyVittles]

15 minutes ago, robinalexander said:

Good reason for that Brandon.... Chinese I reckon not Japanese.

Ah well, suspected as much for this one. Thank you for the reply. Any thoughts on the stamp?

[robinalexander]

But take my word for it Brandon.  I have been wrong before even when it appears 'so obvious to me'   ....  hang in there, hers will confirm or otherwise.

 

I don't recognize the stamp or the position its used in ...but if you have a quick look at the attached download, you may see something.... its a great reference tool anyway by NMB sword guy Bruce Pennington 

 

[Conway S]

Brandon, 

 

Can you also post additional pictures of the saya and tsuka? If you search “island sword” on this forum you will see similar types of swords. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if these are modern fakes or WW2 period. 
 

Conway 

[robinalexander]

32 minutes ago, robinalexander said:

have a quick look at the attached download, you may see something.... its a great reference tool anyway by NMB sword guy Bruce Pennington 

 

sorry mate .... forgot to leave the link.

 

 

 

 

[CowboyVittles]

2 hours ago, Conway S said:

Brandon, 

 

Can you also post additional pictures of the saya and tsuka? If you search “island sword” on this forum you will see similar types of swords. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if these are modern fakes or WW2 period. 
 

Conway 

Here we go, able to upload these now. Can provide close ups tomorrow for saya. But it's late in my neck of the woods so it's off to bed for me. Thanks again, guys!

 

[CowboyVittles]

Sorry guys, been a busy day, didn't get around to getting pics of the saya. Will update asap. Even if the blade is a stinker, I have a sneaking suspicion that this guy could have Frankenstein'd some of his gunto, so who knows, saya may have some authenticity so I'll upload more pics when I can. 

 

I'll start a thread on one we should have some more fun with soon enough, though. Gonna need a signature translation on the next one!

[Bruce Pennington]

Been seeing a lot of this style lately.  You've got a 50/50 shot at either island sword or fake.  The quality of both are pretty much the same.  They do tend to have stamps, but no one knows what they are, or if they point us toward one side or the other of the issue.

 

The late Nick Komiya swore he knew a guy on one of the Japanese islands that was making these fakes.  It's certainly possible.  Best person to say is you, as you have it in hand.  Look it over for real signs of wear & tear, or age.  Fakers can artificially 'age' a sword, but there are often telltale signs of that.

 

For what it's worth, from the photos, the ito on yours looks pretty new.  If so, it could support the "fake" side of the issue.

[CowboyVittles]

10 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Been seeing a lot of this style lately.  You've got a 50/50 shot at either island sword or fake.  The quality of both are pretty much the same.

...

For what it's worth, from the photos, the ito on yours looks pretty new.  If so, it could support the "fake" side of the issue.

Definitely what I'm leaning towards. I appreciate the info. The overall craftsmanship of the tsuka is very unimpressive compared to the others. Have reason to believe the guy had some of his ito re-wrapped, but the rest of this tsuka is poor enough for that to be negligible, IMO.

 

Ah well, island sword or no, as far as my interests go, I'll just chalk this one up as "nowhere close to nihonto", and I'm satisfied with that assessment. Appreciate the help, guys!