Is this tanto authentic?

[mbs]

Hello, I'm new here and this might be one of those newbie "did I mess up?" posts but here goes anyway.

My area of interest is mainly European swords so I'm not too experienced in Japanese blades but I made a rather impulsive purchase of a tanto from a presumably reputable auction house, only to discover it has a few details that make me question its authenticity and/or value. It was described as late edo period and the listing somehow managed to hide the fact that it's pretty badly scratched on one side (which already made me lose a lot of trust in this auctioneer). The nakago also looks kind of short to my untrained eye and I'm not sure what to say about the Takeda mon on such a late piece.
Can it be authentic but just mistreated by some previous owner or is it even worse?

Thanks in advance for any advice or information.

[ChrisW]

Authentic but it has been messed with by someone who thought to 'improve' the sharpness or appearance of the blade by treating it like a western sword and grinding it. The nice habaki and decent mounts suggest it could be worth putting it in front of a professionally trained Japanese polisher (togishi).  Do not let anyone who isn't trained as a togishi touch it for that purpose.

 

[Grey Doffin]

This looks to be put together for a western (non Japanese) customer no earlier than late 19th century and possibly as late as after WWII for occupation forces to have a trinket to take home. The nakago is wrong for real Nihonto. Nothing to bother a polisher over.

In my often humbled opinion. Grey

[ROKUJURO]

M,

please sign all posts with a first name plus an initial so we could address you politely. It is a rule here on NMB.

Your own assessment is quite on the spot. While the blade looks authentic, It is probably a very late blade, maybe later than MEIJI JIDAI, and it is in bad condition. In addition to that, it has a very simple KOSHIRAE in my opinion.

But all comes down to the price you paid. If it was really cheap, you could possibly recoup your money in a resale.

[mbs]

Thanks everyone for the answers. I've added a name, didn't realize it was a rule.

The tanto wasn't cheap enough to warrant the headache of trying to resell it myself, I will try to return it to the auction house since their code of ethics says it should be possible in case of misrepresentation. But I do expect some pushback from their part.