Tell me about this Japenese sword

[griz]

First off I'll have to apologize for my lack of knowledge about the subject.
So I was asked to repair a sword that was found at a yard sale. I'm trying to figure out what I'm looking at, is it collectable or just a cheapie, basically what is it? To me it appears to be along the lines of a bargain table sort of thing. The guard and pommel are hollow, pieced together from sheet brass, and secured with a nut on the threaded tang. The blade has some Japanese writing on it but looks as if it was sanded clean after being rusted. The sheath and grip are wood with black lacquer. The sheath also has writing on it.

So is this as it appears, a cheap knock off? Any harm in cleaning it up and doing minor repairs?

Thanks, Griz

 

[Jim March]

Ummm....without pics, it's impossible to say.

However, if it looks old and grip is absolutely disgusting and sheet-stamped tin...believe it or not, it might be worth bucks.

Here's the deal: during WW2, every Japanese officer had to have a sword. It was just one of those things. But towards the end of the war, quality of the fittings wasn't a priority. Stamped steel was common in the grips and scabbard. Those are the ONLY stamped-steel grips I'm aware of, on...well, anything.

And in a lot of cases, the blade itself was still at LEAST halfway decent, sometimes very good indeed...esp. when a newly minted officer took his family's prized sword and mounted in the crappiest fittings he could find to disguise a valuable antique worth...God, the sky's the limit, to make it less of a theft target!

Yes, this happened. A lot.

Odds are, you're looking at a war capture brought home by a serviceman and never properly evaluated. The actual blade might be total crap, or it could be re-mounted into something decent for SCA bottle-chop competition (blade produced during WW2 or shortly before, but well-made) or it could be a "Holy Grail" worth six figures plus .

 

[griz]

I'll take some pictures tonight but I don't know how to post them. Everything that I've seen on Japanese swords showed a full tang. This one has a threaded tang like on the old leather washered knives. That's why I assumed it was new. You've got me curious now.

 

[Wildalaska]

If you post good pics SWMBO can translate the kanji for you.

I drag her to gun shows all the time just for that purpose.

WilddomoarigatoAlaska

 

[Penman]

The threaded tang doesn't sound very promising, that wasn't the generalmethod for securing the handle.

 

[Don't Tread]

No, the threaded tang is not promising at all, my piece of junk, wall hanger, 440 stainless Katana has a threaded tang, in fact the tang is a 6" long 1/4" thick bolt that is crudely welded on to the blade (the handle on mine is plastic),

I wouldn't put to much hope into that sword, Though I may be wrong.

 

[Jim March]

Hmmm. I've seen a couple of late-WW2 Japanese military swords...but I'm not sure if they went to a screw-tang. Anything is possible; Japan's military production was amazingly "small shop" throughout the war, they had a huge number of small contractors for misc stuff so literally anything is possible.

Stamped sheetmetal grips still point me towards that. But you've ruled out a re-mounted (disguised) family heirloom.

 

[griz]

Here is a picture of it.

 

[griz]

And a close up of the guard. Is there a way to attach more than one picture? I'm new at this.

 

[Don't Tread]

That's a Chinese Tai-Chi Sword, Not a Japanese Sword, I have no clue when it comes to those

 

[MrAcheson]

Yup that swords Chinese not Japanese. I suggest you try www.swordforum.com, folks over there will know more than anybody here.

 

[hso]

Chinese Tai Chi

Take a good hard knife and see if it can be pressed into the metal on the midline and then see if it does the same at the edge. If it indents both then it's a soft sword shaped object and not a sword.

 

[Jim March]

Yup, it's Chinese all right. *Maybe* fairly authentic, too...that's soldered brass I think on the guard.

HSO is telling you that the center area of the blade should be softer than the edges. This "differencial temper" is a key to at least an ATTEMPT at making a good blade. If you have somebody with access to a Rockwell tester, that'll tell the tale - edges area starting maybe 4" forward of the grip should be in the 50s on the hardness scale, center in the 30s or low 40s. That's what Paul Chen Chinese-made recent swords are like, using 1060 or similar high carbon steels.

From the dull tone of the blade (not real shiny), it's high carbon instead of stainless...a fairly good sign. Might be old railroad track (basically 1060) which isn't bad stuff and when done right is downright decent (read: as good as an entry-level Japanese blade of 400 years ago or so that might have seen battlefield use...but not a "masterpiece"). You MIGHT get real lucky and it's old auto leaf spring (5160) which is a ROCKIN' sword steel (read: kicks the butt of 80 - 90%+ of all classical Japanese swords - not as PRETTY, mind you).

 

[griz]

Appreciate the info guys. I've never heard of a Chinese sword so I'm learning a lot here. Believe it or not I could get access to a Rockwell tester but the sword would violate our no weapons policy. I'll try the low tech method.

Thanks again, Griz

 

[JShirley]

Yup, to what's been said.

(The oldest) Japanese (kanji) and Chinese characters are the same, but pronounced differently. Interesting, huh?

John

 

[Don Gwinn]

Doesn't leap out at me as any of the cheapo wall-hangers with which I'm familiar, but like the others said, I don't know much about these. The guard looks like a Chi'ing style, but other than that. . . . . http://www.swordforum.com without a doubt.