Sword Identification

[EB1911]

I am trying to gather some information about 4 swords that belong to a friend. His uncle brought them back after fighting in WWII. These have been stored in less that ideal conditions for the past 60 years and two of them were "played with" some 50 years ago when the owner was a child and have some blade nicks as a result. I am a complete newb when it comes to this kind of thing but have a friend who knows a little about them so I know a little about how to handle them, no bare hands, etc. I was thinking of giving them a very light coat of mineral oil to help stop the rust.

 

Any information would be appreciated and if better or additional photo's are needed just let me know.

 

Thank you, Justin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tsuba is still around somewhere, the owner couldn't find it though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brian]

Justin,

The tang pics with signatures..you need to flip them 180 degrees as the writing is upside down.

 

Brian

[EB1911]

I'll get right to it, like I said I'm a noob when it comes to this.

[Stephen]

Quick look without turning it around first sword Kanemichi? second Hidetoshi third Yoshinaga.

[EB1911]

I rotated them on photobucket are they not viewing properly? I will reload if that's the case.

 

ETA: I think that fixed it.

[Stephen]

the first tang is still upside down

[EB1911]

Strange, it appears properly to me.

[Mark Green]

Justin,

Looks like he could have some nice swords there.

YES! Get some oil on these asap, often.

Search above for info on sword care.

Mark G

[Veli]

Hidetoshi seems to have a Seki arsenal stamp.

 

BR, Veli

[EB1911]

So, I am fairly clueless about the value of these swords but would any of them be valuable enough to warrant restoration? The Hidetoshi's blade is by far in the best condition.

[Veli]

Tokushu tetsu Ido Hidetoshi saku? Can anybody enlighten us about Tokushu steel? 特殊=special?

 

This is a gunto, i.e. an arsenal production blade from around WWII. The more knowledgeable guys may tell you whether the steel is somehow special. Looks nice for a gunto. It is a hand made but not a traditionally made (tamahagane) blade, however.

 

BR, Veli