Type 98 authenticity?

[hale1940]

Hey there! 
 

Been a long time since I’ve been around. Hope this forum is doing well. 
 

Recently this Type 98 came up for sale near me. I’m interested to get so far more experienced eyes on it and see what yall think. The seller’s description says it was made by Minamoto Akikane in 1928 and its ‘traditionally made’. 
 

Any thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. 

[David Flynn]

Good smith, good sword.  However, I think your date maybe 1938.

[hale1940]

11 minutes ago, David Flynn said:

Good smith, good sword.  However, I think your date maybe 1938.

thanks for quick reply David. 
 

do you believe this would actually be a proper nihonto or a gendaito using non-traditional techniques? 
 

and if any of my terminology is incorrect please let me know. Its been a while since I’ve been in the sword game haha. 

[Kiipu]

Better pictures would help with the reading.  The text in red below would need better pictures to confirm the translation.

源昭兼 = Minamoto Akikane

昭和二十年一月 = 1945 January

 

Blade started out as a Type 100.  Note the second hole toward the bottom.  I would carefully check it for a "star" stamp and/or inspection marks on the nakago mune.

[Bruce Pennington]

Hale, welcome back!

I have that one on file from a Craigslist sale page, and the seller claimed it was star-stamped.  I'd really appreciate a shot of the stamp if you don't mind.

[hale1940]

53 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Hale, welcome back!

I have that one on file from a Craigslist sale page, and the seller claimed it was star-stamped.  I'd really appreciate a shot of the stamp if you don't mind.

Thank you Bruce! Its nice to stop by. Its an excellent forum. 
 

May I ask, what area were these craigslists pics from? And were they in the same style?

[Bruce Pennington]

Hale,

I couldn't say what area of Craigslist, as I didn't record that.  My file was created Dec 8, 2024, and the photos are exactly the same.  Here's one from my file:

 

Did you buy this from a Craigslist sale?  If not, maybe I've mislabeled it.  I've done things like that before.

[hale1940]

On 1/21/2025 at 6:42 AM, Bruce Pennington said:

Hale,

I couldn't say what area of Craigslist, as I didn't record that.  My file was created Dec 8, 2024, and the photos are exactly the same.  Here's one from my file:

 

Did you buy this from a Craigslist sale?  If not, maybe I've mislabeled it.  I've done things like that before.

unfortunately I now believe that these posts I found are a scam. Likely got the pics from the craigslist posts you originally were talking about. 

[Bruce Pennington]

Wow!  I have heard of, I forgot the term, but people that copy sales and imitate them. You buy the sword, and maybe they can get it from the original seller, maybe they can’t, but it doesn’t matter because they have your money.

 

I don’t search craigslist from other countries, so it had to have been from the USA. I suppose there is a chance that someone in the UK bought this from a USA seller, and is reselling it with the same photos. But that seems like a stretch.