A Wakizashi for comment.
 

The guy who owned it for decades told me that it was brought from ASIA by a military officer in 1939.
The blade is Circa 42cm and overall is 58 cm .
I would like to remove the handle to see if there is any inscription on the Tang but it ‘s seem impossible without damage.
I would like to know more about this sword and may be a member already seen a similar handle.
Any comment on it will be welcome.

I am no expert on Japanese weapons, but as you must already know , the grip , and probably the scabbard too, are replacements . Looks to me as though the sword has been in tribal hands and been re hilted . It all depends what your objective is , ie to preserve it in its 'tribalised' form or to restore it to its original Japanese state . If the latter , then any damage to the grips during their removal is of no consequence and replacement Japanese grips are easily obtained .

HELLO
It is a difficult choice ,first I need to know how old this blade could be .May be we could estimate a range of age from the tsuba ?

Best
Cerjak

You can only estimate the age of the tsuba, its not going to be an indicator of the age of the blade. Japanese sword furniture was often changed as fashions changed , but the blades were handed down through the generations.

I agree that handle and scabbard are not original. Hard to tell the age of the blade just by its shape. Seeing the nakago could give hints. At least it looks like a legit pre-meiji nihonto.

I would not change anything, all belong to the history of this sword. But I would look if you get polished the blade again when possible.

Regards,
Detlef

many thanks for your comment ,also is it possible to estimate the tsuba age ?
Best

Cerjak

Dear Detlef

I agree with you and I will let it as it was.

best

Cerjak

Not my area , but looking at the habaki fit, Id guess the blade is from a cut down katana. Probably nothing of interest, under the grip.

Who makes such ethnographic tribal grips in Asia though?

As an aside, Im told many surrendered Japanese sword were snapped in half after ww2 in the some Philippian islands & used at half length as agricultural knives... 2 for the price of one.... :eek:

Dear Spiral
May be if your thought is based on the pictures but If you had it in your hand you will see that it is not is from a cut down katana. Even with the actual grip you can have an idea of the tang shape.
best

Cerjak

I have a Vietnam era Dha, with a twist wire grip. If you post on a Japanese sword website, some of the "experts" can determine age, and possibly smith, by blade configuration alone. Then, it can be determined if further investigation is warranted. It's cool as is, and wearing it's last uniform. However, if it's a good blade, papered, and polished, it could be worth thousands.

You cant truly tell that Cerjak, many Wakis & shorter katana were once longer. Normally if you shorten something you turn the blade part you use into the required shaped tang.

But my thought were based on the habaki, its not flush with the shape of the blade, but it is the right size...
;)

All the best,
J