Civil katana?

[rood]

Hello,

I need some opinions on this sword, the man who owns it said he got it from a veteran who served in indonesia in ww2. I learned never to buy the story, but the item

Thx in advance for the help.











http://s78.beta.photobucket.com/user...12575.jpg.html

[Stu W]

Interesting sword. At first glance I was inclined to say it was a post war made reproduction but the more I looked at it the more I began to wonder if it may have been made in theatre. I've read of other theatre made pieces. Hopefully we can get a comment from Bob Coleman.

Regards,
Stu

[sturmann]

Salut,

I agree with Stu and have a gut feeling that it could belong in there :
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=638111

The blade & patina look ok to me but I have not got enough knowledge and experience . The scabbard and leather cover look good . The tsuba style is plausible as a "field hand made" substitute for an original that would not be available. The kashira bear similarity with the one in my post which is an "accepted variation" in the Fuller book .

The wrapping/ito on the other hand puzzles me a bit. Why was that material used ? Why was the retention strap nailed in such an amateurish way ? Could it be because it is all hidden under the leather cover or because it was "restored" ?

Could it be a late NCO sword (from the shape of the blade +no #) that has been given an "officer" look ?

I am looking forward reading the conclusions of a more knowledgeable member .

[gunto]

There is IMO no traces of use or handleing on the tsuka leather cover. It looks somehow new. It would be nice to black light it , this would tell alot.

[sturmann]

re-

Agreed Tom, it does not indeed appear very used . However I think on the 1st picture it looks like, just above the tsuba, the leather has pressed against the wrapping and left kinda of embossed marks ? Would that be consistent with a hand holding the grip ?

Somehow it looks like the blade lived more than that cover ? Hence the supposition that a used blade was re-dressed ?

[rood]

There is IMO no traces of use or handleing on the tsuka leather cover. It looks somehow new. It would be nice to black light it , this would tell alot.

The person who owns it has it for over 20 years now. He always had it on display in his livingroom. He alway's kept the leather in good condition with some ointment for leather, so it wouldn't dry out. Maybe thats the reason why its not 'greasy' or 'dirty'.

I will ask him what he used for it.

Regards Marcel

[Stu W]

Leather dressings can also effect the way light reflects off the surface when photographed. Particularly when under flood lights or flash. Although most leather will turn a shade or more to the dark side with dressing some of the microcrystalline wax types (Renaissance Wax for example) will override that darkening and cause the object to appear lighter colored when photoed due to the highly reflective quality of the coating itself. I've discovered this from personal experience photographing a number of items over the years.

As to these questions...

"The wrapping/ito on the other hand puzzles me a bit. Why was that material used ? Why was the retention strap nailed in such an amateurish way ? Could it be because it is all hidden under the leather cover or because it was "restored" ?

Could it be a late NCO sword (from the shape of the blade +no #) that has been given an "officer" look ?"

I think that material was used because it was available and the retaining strap affixed in that manner because the package was to be worn more for show as a symbol of authority as opposed to a true combat weapon.

I doubt that it would be a late war NCO type. Had it been I'd expect to see a plain circular black iron tsuba.

We'll probably never know for sure but it's always interesting examining these examples.

Regards,
Stu

[rood]

The person who owns it has it for over 20 years now. He always had it on display in his livingroom. He alway's kept the leather in good condition with some ointment for leather, so it wouldn't dry out. Maybe thats the reason why its not 'greasy' or 'dirty'.

I will ask him what he used for it.

Regards Marcel

I've asked him and he uses wax for waxing horse saddles.

Thanks for the input so far.

Regards Marcel

[rood]

I have gotten some extra photo's:

[rood]

So is it worth to take a gamble? 400 dollars is the asking price

Regards Marcel

[gunto]

Not worth 400usd.

[Stu W]

So is it worth to take a gamble? 400 dollars is the asking price

Regards Marcel

Hello Marcel,

In my view you have to ask yourself two questions. What do you want to collect and can you afford to spend 400 on what may turn out to be a valueless piece?

We each have different collecting goals. I understand that. If your goal is to get a nice iconic item to represent the IJA portion of your collection then I suggest you save your money till a better one comes along. For 700 USD you can a very nice Type 95 NCO sword. For 1200 USD you can get a nice Officer Type 98.

If you simply wish to collect that piece for what it may be, a theater made sword, then the price isn't out of line particularly if you are able to get some sort of written provenance regarding the vet and his service.

Regards,
Stu

[rood]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I already have a type 98 katana. But this sword crossed my path, I like it but I think it's a big gamble cause there is not much information about these 'theatre made' swords. Taking a 400 dollar gamble on a gut feeling is not alway's the best choice. So I have to think about it...

Regards Marcel