anybody have any ideas about this?

[dazr4]

I'm not a sword guy, but this was left in the attic of the house we moved into last year. I don't know what I have here, any advice would be helpful.

 

[dazr4]

more pics

 

[dazr4]

Still more pics

 

[nagamitsu]

Interesting japanese katana.......... From the pictures posted, it is most likely of non japanese origin

 

[dazr4]

any ideas on the steel or the value? I don't want it, not interested in swords. The steel has an interesting grain, folded maybe? I dunno

 

[dazr4]

There is a makers mark on the tang that I tried to show in the pics, but I don't have a clue about it.

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Japanese swords don't usually have that groove in the back of the blade. The signing on the tang aren't Japanese characters, so is false or made-up. It has all the hallmarks of being a Modern Chinese copy.

 

[dazr4]

Is it worth anything or should I throw it in the lake?

 

[Bimmer1]

I wouldn't prematurely throw it in the lake until you identify it with some sort of certainty.

 

[Triton]

Bo-hi or that "groove" on the back of the blade aren't exactly unheard of. What's really needed are some full length shots of the blade and some good shots of the blade tip. Also some more shots of the furniture i.e. the tsuba (guard), wrap, and menuki are in order. Also did it come with a scabbard (tsuka)? *Note that my command of Japanese sword terms is a bit rusty so if I've mislabeled any of the Japanese names above my apologies. What I would really suggest would be wandering over to www.swordforum.com and asking for an i.d. there.

As some of the other posters have suggested I suspect that this is yet another flavor of the ubiquitous chi-tana that are all over the place these days but I certainly wouldn't hazard a guess without more pictures. There are folks over at swordforum that keep track of every nuance of every type of piece banged out by the chi-tana shops and can probably identify this one fairly quickly for you if it is such a piece.

 

[HolyRoller]

Judging by the awful Hada (grain pattern) and cheap, shoelace Ito(cord wrap), this is a Chinese fake.

The market has been flooded with them for the past several years.

I've spent too long on SFI.

 

[RobertJ]

this blade seems authentic http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=597864. has the same style of characters used on your blade. Do some more research on your sword. you might have a paper weight or you might have a piece of history.

 

[Steve Wolf Shimanek]

Cheap chinese fake, ebay is flooded with them. Not even as good as some of the ones i have seen on ebay. Keep it for zombies and hedge trimming.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I see nothing to make me think it is anything worth while. Sell it on ebay starting at $10.
Stacy