Japanese Sword Question

[HGCollector]

My Grandfather brought back a Japanese sword. It has a wooden handle comprised of separate pieces. It does not have the ornate "wrapping" I see on most of these swords.

What is your take?

Thanks

[Budo45]

??

hard to take without pix.

[HGCollector]

I can post pics later........but thought maybe someone could give me a vague idea of what type it is.........like NCO, late war, etc......

[Budo45]

well it does sound like NCO late war, but there are a few wood tsukas out there.

do you see it on this page?

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/military.htm

[HGCollector]

Can't access it here at work...........what is a tsuska?????

[Budo45]

handle

[Steve Flanagan]

Sword

Many vets cut the wrapping off the hilt to get the fittings underneath, which would leave a wooden core as well, so without photos we cant do much..

[HGCollector]

what was underneath?

[Bob Coleman]

what was underneath?

Except for the menuki, or handle ornament, there was nothing. Many vets dismantled the sword handles looking for "the hidden jewels," a myth that circulated at the time. Over the years of meeting many vets, I met a number who swore that a friend of a friend picked up a sword with emeralds, rubies and diamonds in the handle. This was all nonsense but the myths stil persist to this day.
You may also have a blade mounted in a storage scabbard, known as a shirasaya. The handles are glued together with a rice paste. In our drier climate, it was not unusual to have a handle fall in to two pieces as the glue evaporated.