Need some help with sword identification please.

[chino556]

Hi All,

 

I am a newbie here, but have been a Nihonto enthusiast and martial artist for many years. I have finally broken down and purchased my first sword. I am hoping someone can help me identify what it may be, real or fake, time period and ball park value. I do not plan on selling this sword and purchased it mostly because it "looked good". It looks to be in civilian style mounts. I was disappointed that while it looks to have a decent polish to it, it is not sharp enough to cut paper...at all. It is a little on the short side with cutting edge being approximately 22 1/2 inches and overall length being 33 1/2 inches. After poking around here for the last couple days, I am hoping I haven't made a bad choice, but for what I paid, I am probably ok either way. Pardon my ignorance of proper terminolgy and Thanks in advance for any help. Anyway, here are the pictures:

 

Cris H

[Nobody]

I am afraid it looks to be a clear fake to me.

[Brian]

Yep, afraid it is a Chinese fake. These become more and more obvious as you look at a few real swords, so that is my recommendation to you at this point. Look for sword enthusiasts near you, check out the recommended books and read as much as you can.

 

Regards,

Brian

[loiner1965]

sorry to say but its a fake...please look up mr rich stein excellent site on swords which is a wealth of knowledge to newbies

[hybridfiat]

First look closely at the grain of the steel. The grain is obviously enhanced by the acid process. The nakago (tang) is poorly shaped and has poorly executed file marks. You have to appreciate how fussy the Japanese smiths were about shape and form. They would never have allowed this to pass muster. These are just 2 very obvious points, there are more. Search, look closely at pics of the real thing. Dont let your heart rule your head, be patient and ask questions BEFORE you buy.

[chino556]

Thanks for the gentle let down guys. Much appreciated. Well, like I said unfortunately, I didn't examine it close enough until I already had it in hand. After spending the last week here poking around I suspected that it was indeed not real. As you say the characteristics of the hada and the tang stuck out for me also. Oh well...it was cheap enough and serves my purposes for now. Thanks again.

 

Cris H.

[Toryu2020]

Chris -

As a fellow martial artist I would caution that these blades cannot be trusted for cutting and the handles do not stand up to regular practice. A failure of the tsuka at the wrong time could prove tragic. If it is just for looking at then you are OK.

-t

[chino556]

Thanks for the concern, yes it will be on wall hanger duty until I can find something better. I have been poking around and looking at the Hanwei and Bugei blades for Martial arts practice, but of course would like to still find a nice reasonably priced nihonto just to own. I have been looking at the info about the Koa Isshin blades, what other blades fit in the "milled steel" gendaito catagory that could possible stand up to light cutting use? Not that I really need a cutter, but would like to know it could if needed. Thanks again.

 

Cris H

[David Flynn]

Showato (Showa and Seki stamps) are good cutters and a better proposition than Hanwei etc. Buy a paul chen and try to sell it later, you will be lucky to get half your money back. Whilst showato continue to rise in value.

[moss]

But be careful Chris ,

 

There are heaps of chinese knockoffs in disguise as showato gunto.

Complete with badly executed arsenal stamps and even worse blades.

 

I reckon a bit more research first would help.

 

Cheers

Moss

[estcrh]

Meanwhile....here is a link to a glossary of Japanese sword terms and a link to a new book on Japanese swords that Brian just reviewed, check it out as it might be of interest to you.

 

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9228

 

 

http://members.shaw.ca/nihontonut/glossary.html