A curious Japanese? sword

Norman McCormick · 11th June 2021, 08:04 PM

Hi,
First of all as I know next to nothing about 'samurai swords' I always stay away from the rarified minefield of Japanese steel but I unintentionally picked up this odd Japanese type sword as nobody else seemed very interested in it. A crudely mounted 59.6 cm Wakizashi length blade with an overall length of 82.3 cm and a scabbard length of 68.8 cm. Everything is tight and the hilt peg hole aligns perfectly with the most forward one in the tang. The blade fits snugly in the scabbard and firm thumb pressure eases it out of the scabbard ready for drawing. The tip as you can see is swollen akin to armour piercing type points on some Indo-Persian weapons. The blade has been bent at some point and straightened and there are mild ripples in the blade as a consequence it also has numerous nicks on the edge. There is in hand what appears to be a hardened edge but I'm having difficulty capturing it on film. This sword does not pretend to be what it is not but I am curious as to why what I think might have been a reasonable blade in its youth has such crude fittings. Of course it may not be Japanese at all. The obvious other choice is Chinese fakery.
A forumite has kindly given me some suggestions but I am keen to hear some other observations.
Regards,
Norman.

P.S. I have added a close up of the tang which appears to show file marks and the peg holes are not drilled but look to have been made using a punch/drift.

11th June 2021, 08:04 PM	#1
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,597	A curious Japanese? sword Hi, First of all as I know next to nothing about 'samurai swords' I always stay away from the rarified minefield of Japanese steel but I unintentionally picked up this odd Japanese type sword as nobody else seemed very interested in it. A crudely mounted 59.6 cm Wakizashi length blade with an overall length of 82.3 cm and a scabbard length of 68.8 cm. Everything is tight and the hilt peg hole aligns perfectly with the most forward one in the tang. The blade fits snugly in the scabbard and firm thumb pressure eases it out of the scabbard ready for drawing. The tip as you can see is swollen akin to armour piercing type points on some Indo-Persian weapons. The blade has been bent at some point and straightened and there are mild ripples in the blade as a consequence it also has numerous nicks on the edge. There is in hand what appears to be a hardened edge but I'm having difficulty capturing it on film. This sword does not pretend to be what it is not but I am curious as to why what I think might have been a reasonable blade in its youth has such crude fittings. Of course it may not be Japanese at all. The obvious other choice is Chinese fakery. A forumite has kindly given me some suggestions but I am keen to hear some other observations. Regards, Norman. P.S. I have added a close up of the tang which appears to show file marks and the peg holes are not drilled but look to have been made using a punch/drift. Attached Images Last edited by Norman McCormick; 11th June 2021 at 11:29 PM.