|
Post by charlesarthuriii on Oct 9, 2018 20:59:44 GMT
It was brought home after WWII by a friends father. I don’t know much about it other than he got it during or shortly after the war. He was stationed in Japan after the war as part of the rebuilding process. imgur.com/gallery/cCxqyNtAny help would be greatly appreciated. I can get better pictures if needed.
|
|
|
Post by randomnobody on Oct 9, 2018 22:24:26 GMT
Not really much to identify other than it's a Japanese wakizashi in what looks like hira-zukuri (flat sides, no bevel/ridge) in pretty rough shape. Complete koshirae with kozuka and kogatana is a nice extra but they're also in pretty rough shape.
Couldn't guess at age or school, never mind smith, as 1) I've not got nearly the study hours necessary 2) the condition of the piece is not conducive. If you can safely remove the tsuka there may or may not be a mei which may or may not identify these things.
In its current state, though, it's not much.
|
|
|
Post by charlesarthuriii on Oct 11, 2018 4:56:21 GMT
So not very valuable I am guessing? The guy that is trying to get rid of it said he had an offer years ago for $850. I’m guessing he probably should have taken it. I can remove the blade from the wrapping around the handle to see the tang and there are some markings.(I have no ideas what any of the Japanese words you said were). I have been trying to find a similar one but I haven’t seen any that have the small knife that comes out of the scabbard. Sorry I only know the western terms for these things.
|
|
|
Post by Adrian Jordan on Oct 11, 2018 5:49:19 GMT
Images of the markings on the tang would be a great help to anyone here who is able to research them. They often include the name of the maker and other valuable information.
|
|
|
Post by charlesarthuriii on Oct 11, 2018 13:43:21 GMT
I will try to take pictures of the markings on the tang today. Thanks for helping everyone I truly appreciate it
|
|
|
Post by randomnobody on Oct 11, 2018 13:43:32 GMT
So not very valuable I am guessing? The guy that is trying to get rid of it said he had an offer years ago for $850. I’m guessing he probably should have taken it. I can remove the blade from the wrapping around the handle to see the tang and there are some markings.(I have no ideas what any of the Japanese words you said were). I have been trying to find a similar one but I haven’t seen any that have the small knife that comes out of the scabbard. Sorry I only know the western terms for these things. Hard to say for value. Currently, it needs work. Cleared up, it still depends on smith/school, era, etc. As for words, koshirae = furniture/fittings (handle, scabbard), kogatana is the little knife blade and kozuka is the metal handle for the same. Tsuka = handle, Mei = signature, but I think we covered that already. I have a wakizashi in old polish that was remounted from a naginata with kogatana etc, as well. It's in better condition, overall, than what you have but hardly at its own peak anymore. Picked it up from a retailer a few years back for something like $1800, which I thought was fair. I have another bare blade wakizashi in bad amateur polish that I bought for $400 several years ago. Your sword, without smith attribution, as-is, probably wouldn't bring $800 and may get more as parts than whole. Polishing would cost several hundred to maybe over a thousand dollars, and you'll want new furniture after to not mess it up, so that'll run hundreds more. If it's not a famous smith or school, or not particularly old, you probably won't recover the cost of restoration. Best to preserve it as it is, get it cleaned up if you want to, but don't expect to turn it around for a profit.
|
|
|
Post by charlesarthuriii on Oct 15, 2018 15:54:31 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Jussi Ekholm on Oct 15, 2018 18:41:02 GMT
Only thing I'd dare to guess based on your pictures that the handguard (tsuba) is signed 重強.
|
|
|
Post by randomnobody on Oct 15, 2018 19:31:54 GMT
Those (chrysanthemum?) stamps in the seppa are interesting to me; never seen it before.
|
|
|
Post by charlesarthuriii on Oct 16, 2018 1:24:58 GMT
Anyone know what the markings mean? Is this the smith’s signature?
|
|