Help with swords origin or type.

scotta98 · Dec 16, 2014

Rich S · Dec 16, 2014

I believe you have a Japanese police dress saber from WW II.
Check here:
http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/civilian.htm
Rich S

scotta98 · Dec 16, 2014

Thanks Rich. I forgot to add that it's approximately 24' overall length. Would anyone comment on whether I should clean it or not?

I really appreciate the help.

kaotikross · Dec 16, 2014

Examples in patina, and without large areas of visible surface rust can command upwards of $4-$500, even though the blades are machine made, from what I could find on the web. Having it restored is gonna be up to you, what you're willing to spend. As to cleaning/restoring it yourself, unless you have some experience I'd advise against it. If you DO decide to tackle the project, watch some You Tube videos and go slow. Less is more when it comes to removing any material. From your pics, I wouldn't touch the sword itself other than to lightly oil the blade, it looks acceptable for an antique war bring back from that era.The pics weren't large enough even magnified, but there may be an area near the tip of the blade that will need some attention to get stabilized, but it's hard to tell. The scabbard is a much larger problem, originally it was nickel plated, and to have it fixed and redone and then re-plated would yield something that isn't right for the aged look of the sword and would likely be quite costly. Again, a coating of oil wont hurt, and attempt to keep the entire thing out of humidity. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than myself will have more advice.

Rich S · Dec 17, 2014

Kaotikross is correct. Less is more when it comes to cleaning a Japanese sword even a machine made one such as this. You can remove the active (red) rust with a bone pick or hard wood. I wouldn't use sandpaper or anything highly abrasive. Then just a light coat of oil. Any oil light 3 in 1, WD40, etc will do.
Rich S

scotta98 · Dec 17, 2014

Can you guys comment on the size of the sword? The ones I've seen tend to be longer. The sword overall length is about 24 inches and the blade is approximately 19 inches. Cheers guys. This is very informative!

kaotikross · Dec 17, 2014

Possibly intended for a Cadet? I don't know, maybe someone else will. Most 'real" period Japanese swords are actually quite different in relative size compared to new versions marketed to westerners. Period katana with 24" blades aren't uncommon, whereas the 29" bladed "modern katana" is geared towards a western market.

Rich S · Dec 18, 2014

The scabbard (saya) seems to be considerably longer than the blade. Perhaps the blade has been shortened. Of course since many factories produced these, they came in several lengths. 28" is what I've seen as most common, but have seen them much shorter also. Just a variation in production and maybe (?) made for a person of smaller stature? Just a guess. Not something I'd worry about.
Rich S

scotta98 · Dec 19, 2014

Thanks guys. The scabbard is the right size for the blade so I think it's original length. I was just thinking that they would all be a standard size but from what I understand, even the handles were all different. Same style but all different. I was also wondering if it makes it more or less valuable. I guess I'll find out sooner or later.

horseclover · Dec 19, 2014

These really do seem diminutive in hand compared to western military types. I have a Japanese colonial sword that comes across as tiny, even at close to 30" overall. The blade is only 11/16" at the guard and less than 1/2" wide toward the tip. It looks bigger in pictures.

I have seen other civil and non dress police/prison single ring scabbard examples with blades that short, so I wouldn't regard them rare but maybe less than common. Most of the parade swords I see listed are the army ones.

Interestingly perhaps are that other countries often did use shorter bladed models for the day to day police uniform. Less likely to bump into things and others when moving about, especially indoors.

Cheers

GC

scotta98 · Dec 23, 2014

I wanted to thank everyone for their help. I'll give it a little oil as suggested and see where I go with it from here. I'm sure there is a collector who would appreciate it more than I. Thanks again for all the help. You guys are very knowledgeable.