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Please help me evaluate this Katana

G

gdfisher

Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
14
This Katana was recently was left behind by a deceased tenant who was an antiques collector. Most of the items that his family deemed not valuable were left behind. I did a little research on line and it looks to me that this is a genuine antique, which I'm guessing is from the EDO period. I believe that the tang is signed, but it's very faint. I'd appreciate any info that you could give me to help identify it's value. The peg on the handle was broken so it was easy to take apart. Also, the rope on the wooden sheath is attached by a nail. I don't know if it was attached that way originally. Thanks for you help.

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Doesn't look like a Katana. Looks like a Wakizashi. What leads you to believe it's from the Edo period. That's pretty old.
 
You're right. It is a Wakizashi. I thought that Katana was a generic term for sword, either long or short, but I see that Katana is used for a long sword and Wakizashi for a short one. I'm guessing Edo because of the wear and it's resemblance to other Wakizashis I found on line. I could be totally wrong, as I'm a newbie and know next to nothing about these swords.
 
What will tell you the most about it is getting the signature on the tang figured out. Read a few "Help me identify this sword" threads in this forum. There will be websites listed where you can have the mei (Signature) looked at by people in the know. Once you figure out who made it... then you can start to unfold when, where, and how well it may have been made. Wear doesn't always equal age. Sometimes it can represent a short but hard and neglected life for a sword. However I will say the saya definitely doesn't look like it was made anytime recently.
 
Your sword looks genuine, though in poor condition.

Good luck in reading that mei. It is possible that if positioned correctly and if you were to use a tripod and better lighting, it may could be figured out, maybe !! (see example) It is so deteriorated that it may be beyond translating accurately.

BTW: When posting a photo of the nakago(Tang) it should be oriented up and down, with point up. (see example).

The blade is likely Edo period (1600 - 1867), but could be later.

The fittings are mediocre at best and in poor condition. The tsuba(guard) is junk and is a good chance that it is a cast repro which may have been added at some point.

The knot on the saya (turks head ?) does not belong. It may have been added to keep the saya together.

No idea why the kozuka pocket was cut away.

The family was right to consider it to be not of much value. It's hard to say what it is worth, as it is worth whatever someone will pay for it. Personally I wouldn't give $50 for it. However, you may put it on flea-bay and with the number of people with more money than brains who buy there, who knows, millions maybe :-)

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Hmm, would it be possible to put a sheet of paper over the tang and then scrubbing it with the long side of a crayon to get a better trace of the lettering? Or at least that's the idea I had anyhow, patterns might be more obvious in black and white.

Would agree with the flea-bay comment given that I haven't been able to find old and used Ka-Bars for much less than the new ones.
 
If you can confirm that it's Edo period you could get some money for it on ebay. There are people that would buy it just as an antique. I've seen stuff like that go for between $300.00 and $500.00. Don't clean it up... for an antique lover they age and patina will be part of the charm.

As for a sword collector... I couldn't tell ya what kind of action you'd see on it with them.
 
Late Edo era, low quality, wakizashi mounting with a low quality blade maybe a bit older. Blade is signed Kunimitsu, though it is more scratched in than properly chiseled and was probably added later.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...MBERS-Please-read-this-WHAT-IS-MY-KNIFE-WORTH

From Bladeforums rules:

WHAT IS MY KNIFE / GADGET / SPATULA / TUNING FORK WORTH ?!?!?!?!

In order to curtail potential abuse of membership privileges associated with the forums, questions regarding valuation of knives and collections are limited to those with a membership level which permits selling on this site. Accordingly, registered and basic members may not start or post in threads with such requests whether with the intent to sell or for informational purposes only. This rule applies throughout the site.

In other words, without a paid Gold membership, you don't get to ask about sale values. Too many people abused this question to hint they had a knife for sale, which you need that membership for.
 
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