Discolored blade?

[Stan S.]

You are right, I should wait until I am able to personally examine the item. However, other than the tip of the blade, it does not look like an old oil resedue (a. k. a. "Gunk"). If you look at the area from the hilt to approximately middle of the blade, you will see what appears to be a black oxidation. This is what concerns me the most...