Help in identifying a sword

[srselby]

Honoured to join this group. I have no previous knowledge of Japanese sword blades. I have the blade in the picture. The length of the blade itself is just under 3 feet. The tang is 2 feet long, housed in a plain, modern wood grip. You may not be able to see that there is a pronounced shoulder on the back of the blade before it curves upward. The blade is heavily corroded but very sharp. I understood when I bought it that it was unearthed in North Korea and was smuggled into China.

 

Stephen

[Veli]

Hello Stephen!

 

I am sorry to say but in my opinion, based on the shape, quality of workmanship and the country of origin, this is definitely not Japanese.

 

I hope your interest in Japanese swords will prevail and your next blade will be a genuine and beautiful one. Please, study hard, and success shall follow :D

 

BR,

 

Veli

[IanB]

Stephen, Before condemning this out of hand, let us have another look. You say the blade is around three feet long with a tang around two feet. Obviously not a sword but a staff weapon and possibly a nagamaki, the thinning of the blade towards the point being consistent with that idea. You say it came out of Korea and ended up in China. Now we all have a Pavlovian reaction to anything from that latter country, but in this case I think we should just exhibit a little caution and not jump to our usual assumptions. I am probably wrong but it is just possible that this might be interesting.

Stephen, could you show us a photograph of the whole, including the tang as well as a few close-up shots of the point, the habaki (copper collar) and the tang itself?

Ian Bottomley

[srselby]

I'll do what I can with photography. I actually bought it in the hope that it was a Korean blade. But somone said it was something Japanese left behind in Korea after the Hideyoshi invasion. When I say that it was 'unearthed' in North Korea, I mean that literally - that it is said to have come out of the ground.

 

I'm not sure I can extract it from the grip to photograph the tang. I'll try. The part that I call the 'guard' in English, is modern. The only part that is old is the blade. Everything else was put on by the chap who put a grip on it for me.

 

S

[Veli]

Hello Ian and Stephen!

 

The reasons why I do not think this is Japanese:

 

- Never seen that kind of sugata (shape) on a Japanese blade

- The curvature looks uneven, it seems to have undulations

- Constant mihaba (width)

- The shoulder on the mune

- Kissaki (tip) shape is not right

- There is nothing that speaks of high quality

- It comes from China

 

These are my personal opinions only! However, should this blade be proved to be a genuine Japanese nagamaki, I'll donate 50 USD to NMB as repentance. Brian, take note!

 

BR, Veli

[IanB]

Veli, You are probably correct. I too thought the shape very odd, but it was the dimensions that interested me. Clearly it is not a fake sword having a two foot tang and the general condition suggests it isn't new. I have never seen anything like it, so let us wait and see what else is revealed.

Ian Bottomley

[Veli]

Ian,

 

Yes, I agree with you that producing such fakes would not really make sense due to tremendous logistical problems.

 

Veli