Recently bought what looked like an old nihonto for cheap

[MessengerofDarkness]

The deep sori was what caught my eye at first, as the seller told me it was a WWII vet bringback. Most gunto blades that I've seen aren't nearly as curved as this, so I bought it on a hunch that it might be an old tachi that had been shortened.

The tsuka wrap looked like someone DIY'd it themselves after the ito wrap came undone, and the seller wasn't able to take the tsuka off to get me a photo of the nakago. So it was a bit of a roll of the dice overall, but once I get it in-hand I'm hoping that it doesn't turn out to be a complete dud. Like I mentioned I did get it for cheap though, so it was a gamble I felt comfortable taking.

There's also a decent chip where the kissaki tip broke off, though from what I've been able to tell the boshi is still fairly wide, so I think it could be reshaped.

Any thoughts on what else I should do once it arrives? I'd definitely like to get some impressions by people that know more then I do.

Thanks in advance.

[MessengerofDarkness]

Here are a few extra photos the seller sent:

[Rivkin]

Without seeing the nakago or boshi its a lottery. 

[MessengerofDarkness]

6 minutes ago, Rivkin said:

Without seeing the nakago or boshi its a lottery. 

I will certainly be taking photos of the nakago once the sword is in-hand, and once I am back home I can try and outline what the boshi shape is in a drawing program.

[Rivkin]

The problem is that sugata is "classic", which can by anything and not too specific to any period. Wide hamon and it looks like its a heavy blade suggest Edo (possibly late Edo) or later. But its a speculation.

[Brian]

Repairing that kissaki is going to be challenging. Looks like there maybe enough boshi, but it will be close.

[Grey Doffin]

If the sword is salvageable and worth the effort and expense, to reshape the kissaki and save the boshi the polisher can bring the mune forward to limit the amount of reshaping necessary. Only a properly trained polisher should be considered for the work.

Grey

[MessengerofDarkness]

If it helps, this is about the shape/size of the boshi, from everything I have seen of the sword in other photos.

[Brian]

Saveable, but not cheap to have done.

 

[GeorgeLuucas]

I am looking forward to the nakago reveal.

 

Glad to see you’ve posted the sword here.  
Best of luck,

-Sam 

[ROKUJURO]

Alex,
 

to help you  getting the desired information, I suggest you post photos in an appropriate way. Generally, to be of any use, they should be:
 

- well focused, not foggy or blurry
- made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast
- made with light from the side (may not apply for HAMON photos)
- made directly from above (not at an angle)
- made with correct orientation (vertically tip-upwards, especially NAKAGO photos and TSUBA) 
- without HABAKI but showing the MACHI and NAKAGO JIRI 
- made in high resolution to see details
- showing details (in magnification) like BOSHI, HAMACHI, HAMON, HADA, NAKAGO JIRI etc. or the fine work on TSUBA
- presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown
 

If you cannot supply good photos (..."these photos are all I have from the dealer...."/..."I do not have a good camera but only an old mobile phone...." ), DO NOT POST BAD ONES. They will not be helpful.

[MessengerofDarkness]

21 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Alex,
 

to help you  getting the desired information, I suggest you post photos in an appropriate way. Generally, to be of any use, they should be:
 

- well focused, not foggy or blurry
- made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast
- made with light from the side (may not apply for HAMON photos)
- made directly from above (not at an angle)
- made with correct orientation (vertically tip-upwards, especially NAKAGO photos and TSUBA) 
- without HABAKI but showing the MACHI and NAKAGO JIRI 
- made in high resolution to see details
- showing details (in magnification) like BOSHI, HAMACHI, HAMON, HADA, NAKAGO JIRI etc. or the fine work on TSUBA
- presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown
 

If you cannot supply good photos (..."these photos are all I have from the dealer...."/..."I do not have a good camera but only an old mobile phone...." ), DO NOT POST BAD ONES. They will not be helpful.

Thank you for the suggestions, I will take care to try my best to follow these or any recommended guidelines once I get the sword. Currently it is still in transit, so I am only able to post the few photographs that the seller was able to take themselves, hence why they are not up to my own standards either. I do own several katana already, so I ought to be able to take some better images to share myself.

[MessengerofDarkness]

Just got the blade in. No hagire or fatal flaws as far as I can see, the yokote has some faint signs that it was once very crisp, the boshi is wide even with the broken kissaki, and after just starting to remove the leather wrap on the tsuka it seems to be a full wrap of same with an emperor node. No kashira though. I'll take some pictures shortly.

Along the mune of the kissaki there's also a faint highlight that shows it was once burnished, though I'm not sure what you call that. I know that some modern Hanwei blades have that though.

Can't seem to find a mekugi pin though.

[MessengerofDarkness]

Managed to get the tsuka off and get some pictures of the nakago. The rust is extremely dark and has some pitting, though unfortunatly no signature mei (some gunk from the tsuka is still stuck to the nakago, my apologies). The nakago tip seems to be either kurijiri or haagiri in shape. File marks also appear to be uniformly kiri shaped.

In person the boshi is extremely flamboyant and even wider than I first thought it was, with the hamon reminding me a little of rolling clouds. Some variant of choji?

Very strong sori, just shy of 1.25 inches. The shinogi-ji is also extremely crisp and well defined.

Saya is pretty beat, but the koiguchji definitely was buffalo horn. Kurigata is long gone, and it seems like there was never a kojiri.

Tsuba is also unsigned, and the copper habaki has a faint brassy hue to it. Might have once been plated?

I will try and take some better photographs soon, but right now I am just home from work and don't have things set up well.

https://imgur.com/a/ktsbFjF

[Rivkin]

Congrats - the boshi I think is typical for Bizen circa 1510-1550, and nothing else contradicts the conclusion, quite a few things are consistent. Unfortunately its not signed but the attribution is likely to be along the lines of Sukesada, Katsumitsu or Kiyomitsu smiths.

[MessengerofDarkness]

On 10/3/2024 at 10:47 PM, Rivkin said:

Congrats - the boshi I think is typical for Bizen circa 1510-1550, and nothing else contradicts the conclusion, quite a few things are consistent. Unfortunately its not signed but the attribution is likely to be along the lines of Sukesada, Katsumitsu or Kiyomitsu smiths.

Thanks; for the time being at least I'll probably be looking into seeing if I can find a good US based craftsman to make a simple shirasaya for the blade. Not sure if a repolish would be financially worth it or not (assuming that's what the date/attribution likely would be), though I'd at least like to make sure the blade is well preserved moving forward, so a shirasaya at least would be worth it for me.

[Bazza]

If I might suggest, the present scabbard/saya is sufficient to preserve the blade with a light coating of oil until you decide to (or not) to proceed further with polish etc etc.  Clean the oil off every once in a while and renew it.  IMHO a new shirasaya is an expense better put towards future restoration costs.  Think long and hard about this and consult widely as there are many pitfalls in the polish path.

 

Best regards,

Barry Thomas

aka BaZZa.

[MessengerofDarkness]

48 minutes ago, Bazza said:

If I might suggest, the present scabbard/saya is sufficient to preserve the blade with a light coating of oil until you decide to (or not) to proceed further with polish etc etc.  Clean the oil off every once in a while and renew it.  IMHO a new shirasaya is an expense better put towards future restoration costs.  Think long and hard about this and consult widely as there are many pitfalls in the polish path.

 

Best regards,

Barry Thomas

aka BaZZa.

I will say that while the saya may look good in photos it had been split entirely in two lengthwise at one point in time, and somebody glued it back together. There are still noticeable gaps in several locations, and the koiguchi is also split open along the ha. Ironically enough it still holds the blade decently, though I can't say for certain if keeping it in the saya would cause any damage to the blade in the longterm.