I have a "totaled" 17th century Wakizashi - what should I do?

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Yeesh, that sure is all scratched up. Have you removed the handle? Pictures of the tang may very well help. Depending on who this Japanese gentleman is, you would likely be well served looking for a second opinion.
 
Scotchleaf,
Glad you were able to post more photos.
Here are my thoughts / recommendations:

First, I would think the gentleman who evaluated it for you was pretty close in his valuation. What you may have misunderstood is that he likely meant $800 as is. Along with the koshirae, the sword polished could be worth more in the range of $2000. Please note that is as long there are no unseen flaws. Possibly more depending on if it is signed, by whom and if it is shoshin.

The fittings look to be fairly decent. The kashira judging by the wrap, I would bet is horn. The fuchi is shakudo and the menuki look to be shakudo with gold highlights. The tsuba i can only tell is iron, but would like to see a photo of it.

Did the gentleman remove the tsuka to see if it was signed ? If so, was it and do you remember the name ? If not signed was the sword ubu or original ? If you do not know, please remove the tsuka and post a photo of both sides. While you are at it, a photo of the other side of the blade along with a photo of the tsuba and menuki would be helpful.

From what I can see the sword doesn't look beyond repair and depending on how you look at it, worth the cost of polish. Of course keep in mind that I have only seen photos and only of one side. An "in hand" evaluation by a polisher would be a must, as only so much can be derived from your photos. The polisher will be able to ascertain your best course of action.

Think of it like this, you have nothing in it. I'm guessing from the photos that the nagasa is approximately 18-20" in length. Let's say you spend $1000-$1200 on a polish, $350 for new shirasaya ( an option is to sell the fittings to cover the cost of shirasaya). You have a nice polished blade for less than what it is worth.

The key in your situation is that you inherited it. Where people get upside down on these things is when they pay too much in the beginning and then opt for polish, shirasaya, habaki, papers etc., etc.

Only my opinion, and worth every bit of what you paid for it.
 
He did remove the tsuka - it isn't signed. Does "ubu" mean "cut down?" I don't know if it was.

Can you define kashira, fuchi, shoshin, shakudo, shirasaya, habaki, and menuki? The carved band below the tsuba is the best part, it does have gold highlights. I'd rather leave it as is than sell part of it. I'll try to get some better pictures soon. Thanks very much.
 
SL,
It is good that you want to keep it together, I threw the "selling" option out there in the event cost might be a prohibitive factor.

Keep in mind that if you decide to have it polished, you will need to have a shirasaya made. A shirsaya (see link below) is a resting scabbard which is custom made for your sword to protect it. After polish you should not place it back into the original saya(scabbard), as one tiny grain of sand lurking within the old saya can scratch and ruin the polish you just paid dearly for.

This is perfectly acceptable and if you plan to display the sword you put the shirsaya or blade on the top rack of your katanakake (sword stand) and the koshirae on the bottom. If you plan to do this you will also need a tsunagi blade for your koshirae. A Tsunagi is a filler blade made of wood in the shape of your blade which allows you to put your koshirae together, mounted for display. There are craftsmen who can make exact replica of your sword in wood or your can make one yourself. I have seen them made from an old yardstick.

Ubu means original or uncut. I can tell you whether it is ubu or suriage(cut down) when i see a photo of the nakago (tang).

Here are a couple of links which may help you.

http://yakiba.com/beginner_page.htm

Found this on Wikipedia, it has definitions and photos:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_sword_mountings
 
scotchleaf said:
I took it to the blade show and showed it to a Japanese Gentleman who had a variety of Japanese swords. He said it was 17th century and worth $800.
Click to expand...

When I first saw the pictures and read the above quote, the first thing that popped into my head is the same thing Southern Comfort said. The gentleman who looked at it likely meant it's worth about $800 in its present condition. With the scratched up polish, it's about impossible to see all the details in the blade steel (the grain, hamon, etc.), so it's hard to say whether the blade is really good, or not. I'd expect its value could actually increase quite a bit if it had a decent polish. (though there's always a chance the polish job could uncover a serious flaw.)
 
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