what's the value of this japanese blade?

R

RUSTSPOT

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Aug 20, 2008
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hi, this blade was given to me by the family of a japanese restaurant owner who had die 2 weeks after receiving this blade. they believe this blade was cursed so they wanted to get rid of it. it's been 2 weeks since im in possession of this "cursed" katana and im still typing this msg. :jerkit: . i was wonding what's the value of this. i was told the previous owner had spent good money for this but from the looks of it, it's not high quality at all. it's a forged blade for sure but it's not sharp and the handle seems to be cheaply made. i was told this was used in WW2 and it's a Chinese capture. and it seems to be so because of the number stumped on the brass (military issue blades has this number, not sure if it's legit ) . the blade was also signed by it's maker .

here are some picture. it's be great if some one could tell me the rough value of this or point me to the right place to find out the history of this. thanks!

katana1.jpg

katana2.jpg

katana3.jpg

katana4.jpg

katana5.jpg

katana6.jpg

katana7.jpg

katana8.jpg

katana9.jpg
 
Most likely if the story's true an officer's katana. Towards the end of the war they were turning out all kinds of them, some that were really great, others that were cut down from older swords that didn't have pedigreed smiths...Plus there were mills that were just grinding out very poor quality swords , just so an officer would have one. As far as value it depends on history and provenance. Best bet is to do some research on the names and info on the tang.
 
those Katanas produced for bullet recievers for that time, Im sure they arent as pricey, because they say they werent made "traditionally".
 
That's a strange looking sword for sure. I've never seen mounts like that on any officer or NCO or Russo Sword. It would seem they are redos. The stamp on the habaki means that it's not got much to do with anything. Though you might be right about a capture stamp. The tsuba seems to have fitting marks which would suggest it's not a modern fitting unless it's a repro of an older Tsuba. You really need to have that looked at by a pro. Someone that can translate the markings on the tang. The shape of the blade and kissaki make me wanna say it isn't traditional. But that steel grain looks very interesting to me. You could be sitting on something of note or a piece of junk. Definitely gotta ask a pro. Start here http://www.nihonto.com/contents.html?24,13 and read as much as you possibly can.
 
The Steel looks like it was really forged and hand made. But the Odd thing about it. (I'm Not an Expert, but I have 2 from my Grandfather taken off dead officers in WW2 at Guadalcanal He was A Marine with the USS Enterprise battle group and went ashore after the first waved where being killed), And I am heavily into Kendo, and they have old Katanas on the wall) Point is. the Kissaki and Yokoti looks to me more like an American Tanto. Like a cold steel. It's really squared off. I Don't know the History. But Mine and the 100+ year old ones on display have a tips like this.-http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Taezh4ULlfw/SM1IqxulgDI/AAAAAAAAABQ/8TZRkddNYK4/s400/katana-guide.jpg

So either you have a Super bad ass REAL handmade Katana. or a handmade weathered modern made one, but still sweet for free!!. Thats still Nice. Just Polish it and sharpen it and keep it on the wall or in the closet for home defense. Either way it's nice. As long as it's not cursed.lol. Just have a Priest bless it and kill the curse.
 
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try to find japenese sword markings out of print was in 40s. dont try to sharpen or polish .keep fingers off blade in old times tang was smiths name and province try to find expert in your area i found only 1 in austin tx. area. not a piece of junk.one was found in cisco tx in 70s was worth 70 to 100000 dollars collector club in dallas tx
 
DennisStrickland said:
try to find japenese sword markings out of print was in 40s. dont try to sharpen or polish .keep fingers off blade in old times tang was smiths name and province try to find expert in your area i found only 1 in austin tx. area. not a piece of junk.one was found in cisco tx in 70s was worth 70 to 100000 dollars collector club in dallas tx
Click to expand...

Agreed, do not polish it or clean it or sharpen it until you find out more about it. NEVER clean the patina off the tang. Such a thing can ruin the value of a japanese sword. It's ok to put some oil on it to keep it from rusting further. But don't change it until you know what you have. If it's a milled NCO sword with altered fittings... then you can sharpen it and do whatever you want to it as it's value isn't going to be all that grand. But I've seen even those swords sell for $500 to $1000 before.
 
Sorry, but it looks like a Chinese "knock off". There are thousands of them being made in rural villages of China nowadays and are flooding the world via places like eBay. They are not China capture swords.

The steel looks like pattern-welded damascus, not machined steel or true folded steel made by Japanese swordsmiths and the tip of the blade looks like it was cut with a metal stamp and finished on a buffer. Other tell-tales is oversized habaki that is roughly-finished with a military number on it while rest of sword does not use military fixtures. The uneven rusting of the tang looks like it was done with a wet rag. Never seen that weird cloth grip instead of wrap either.

I own 4 Japanese swords and a Yari spear, one of them is a "late war" military officer's sword and even though the fixtures are hurredly made and the rayskin barely fills the gaps in the wrap, the blade is still reverently-made by the smith.
 
clw may be right.i dont notice any dings in edge. this is unusal.oxydition on tang doest look like other swords ive seen.
 
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