Up for sale is this choice WWII Japanese Army Officer sword mounted with an old signed katana blade. It has recently surfaced after over 70 years in storage. I have some knowledge of Japanese swords but I am not an expert. I do, however, recognize a good sword from a bad one and this is a good one. The blade is an early Shinto katana mounted in quality Army shin-gunto mounts.
BLADE:Cutting Edge: 24-7/8\" - overall blade is 31\" - very sharpForging Pattern: itame and mokume - hada is somewhat coarse - kasane is thick - sori is shallow - overall bright old polish.Hamon: gunome midare with misty nie/nioi line - temper runs the entire length of edge with turn back in kissaki.School: Bungo Takada - also known as \"Fujiwara Takada\" as many of the smiths of this school used Fujiwara as a family name in their signatures. Smiths of this school made blades in various traditions and styles. They made, for the most part, strong, practical fighting weapons and are known for their sharpness, strength and cutting ability.Nakago: ubu with mei - single punched hole and has visible file marks.Signature: \"Fujiwara Shigeyuki\" worked circa 1620\'s-1650\'s. He is listed as a 30 point smith in \"Japanese Swordsmiths Revised\" by Hawley. He is also mentioned as among the best of his school in Kokan Nagayama\'s book \"The Connoisseur\'s Book of Japanese Swords\" (page 259).Condition: in old polish with light surface scratches from use and normal in/out wear. Everything that needs to be seen is visible. A bit of coarse forging in the kissaki. No forging flaws. No hagiri. No bends. Several extremely tiny edge nicks. Not re-tempered. Not shortened. One side of the blade has an area of streaked black rust pitting (please see photos). The worst of it is 2 small pea size spots 5mm across just above and on the edge. Overall, this three hundred and fifty plus year old blade rates a very good+. Grip:silk binding 100% present and tight. Same\' (ray skin) 100% present and of good quality. Standard cherry blossom menuki both present. Fuchi / kashira in excellent condition. Kashira has the character \"yoshi\" inlaid in it, translation: \"duty\". Cord sarute. Retention button works fine. Grip is very tight to the blade and I suspect that it has not been off the blade in a very long time. Tsuba & seppa: Early open-work variant Army tsuba. Tsuba, seppa and bottom of grip are all marked with a \"7\". Tsuba also has characters engraved on it. One piece gilt metal habaki. All mounts are an excellent fit to the blade.Scabbard/saya: regulation metal scabbard with early smooth flat field brown paint finish. Saya is covered in brown leather combat cover with 4 snaps. Cover is in very good condition with minor scuffing and crazing only. Scabbard beneath cover looks to be in minty condition. Cover has shrunk to the point to where it cannot be removed and the top 2 snaps cannot be fastened.
This is a quality fighting sword that has literally been through a war. It has surfaced from storage very recently and this is the first time it has been offered for sale since it came back from WWII. This is an honest, unaltered piece that has not been cleaned. Additional photos on request.
Will ship to U.S. addresses only. Will ship via USPS Priority Mail. PayPal only accepted. Please ask all questions prior to offerding buying. I will send additional photos upon request. There is a 7 day inspection/return period beginning on the day of delivery. Returns and refunds will be given if the item is not as described in text and photos. Thank you.
