ww2 sword help

D

davidl13

Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
3
Hello al,

my much older cousin gave me this sword that his fellow officers gave him as a discharge present, sometime near the end of WWII while stationed on an island in the pacific...

i have no interest in selling it, but i am interested in finding out about it, its quality, history etc...

thanks in advance,

David

















 
Hello.
From your pictures, it's impossible to say anything about the blade itself.
We'll need to see pics of the full blade without fittings to judge its shape and a picture of the whole tang on which there maybe an inscription.

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm - this is a great guide by one of the members here which will cover the basics of care and maintenance, plus a lot more if you wish to pursue it.

The fittings all look to be authentic. None of it looks to be WW2 style but from an earlier period, probably mid to late Edo, 1700's to 1850's.
Quality looks to be good though not top level and the condition is good.
The habaki looks to be interesting with the wave pattern carving. The rain fall pattern on the lower part is common but the waves on the upper part are unusual.
 
here are some more pics... when you say full tang, do you mean to dismantle the sword?

thank you for your help









 
Yes, a complete dismantle. It's best to see the entire bare blade to be able to judge the shape, therefore approximate period.
Then a picture of the entire tang, from the notched area to the butt end, with the inscription, if there is one, in focus. Some swords will have a date inscription on the other side, some won't. Please include pictures if there is one.
A google search for Japanese sword dismantle should provide safe instructions on how to take it apart.
 
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