help with katana identification(pic heavy)

Shawn fu

Shawn fu

Joined
Dec 10, 2005
Messages
1,207
Hi guys,I was hoping someone could help ID the sword-the story is,I have a buddy who was given this sword by his uncle,who had it given to him by his father(a WWII vet)who picked it up in the Philippines.(I am repeating the story as it was told to me)The sword had been stored in his uncles gun safe for many years.After some internet research it seems to my untrained eye that it has some distinct characteristics of an Imperial army commissioned officer's sword,meaning the intact fittings(tsuba,fuchi,menuki,and kashira)seem to match.There are a lot of bad repairs and "add ons"-I couldn't find any makers marks of any kind under the tsuka-and no visible hamon.One interesting thing is the base of the saya is wrapped with leather with some faded markings.I don't know-what do you guys think?

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any help is appreciated
thanks,Shawn
 
The blade looks authentic from what I can see but can't say anything more than that.
Any chance of some pictures of the nakago, kissaki and a full length shot of the bare blade?
 
The overall shape and the kissaki look to be correct. As Lee Bray pointed out, there's no way to tell without pix of the tang. Better shots of the overall blade will help as well.
One thing to note is that the habaki is not a typical type for a WWII sword. There might be more history to this blade then you think. Looking forward to the next set of pictures.
 
more...
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This is an older, most likely pre 1600's blade that has been shortened about 4 inches or so in a WWII era Japanese Army officer's mounting. Can't tell you more without closeups of the blade.....
 
here's a try at some close up shots of the blade...

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thanks for your patience...
p.s. any advice or direction on maintenance would also be greatly appreciated-thanks
 
Some good maintenance tips here - http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/faq.html

Shirogane is right that this is an older blade than the WW2 mounts suggest.
Personally, I'd say 17th or 18th century based on the nakago patina. Difficult to judge the age from the blade as there is no overall shot of the blade shape.
The blade looks to be O-suriage. I see two shades of patina on the nakago which makes me think the blade was shortened again for the ww2 mounts.

The condition it's in, it will very difficult to pinpoint maker, school and period.
The ware(open grain) and the pitting I see in the edge might make this sword financially not worth restoring so I'd advise getting the sword to a show and into an experts hand for a decent appraisal.

The mounts make for an interesting collection of .... ;)
They are in too poor condition to be of any value to collectors. The leather tag at the end of the saya is possibly a connection to the Japanese owner who surrendered the sword. This was commonly done at the end of the war.
 
Thank you for all the responses-The information has been very helpful-as soon as I can,I will get some pics of the overall blade.
 
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Looks to be Koto period blade, shortened *significantly* at least once, and polished several times since then. What's left of the mounts are standard WWII.
 
Question: If it is an old blade, wouldn't it have a hamon? I'd think you should still be able to discern it if it exists.

Dave
 
It may still have a hamon, may not. It could have been through a fire at some point, wiping out the heat treating. More likely, it looks like maybe someone tried to 'clean it up' by rubbing it down with sandpaper or steel wool or something that might obscure the hamon. The hamon on a lot of older blades are not so flambouyant as we see on modern blades, they can run quite close to the edge and be very even natured. Lot of variables here.

I wouldn't necesarily write it off either. The guy I'm learning stone polishing from specializes in restoring ww2and older blades that others have given up on. Some amazing before and afters there.

Dan
 
There is a hamon I can see it .... the middle photo on right hand side of blade . very faint .. Bubba
 
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