A Question About This Kyu Gunto Sword

[Bill D.]

Removing the handle revealed an unsigned tang that had five holes.

I don't recall ever seeing a tang with that many holes.

Would this reflect multiple re-mountings of the sword, or something else?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[gunto]

Very old sword shortend and remounted many times.

[Bill D.]

Removal of the grip is always interesting to me.

It's fascinating to see the gleaming gilt that is evident on a spot of the handle that was protected from the elements.

[Beater]

O-suriage, Koto....can we see more please? Looks lovely. How long is the blade, tip to habaki (but not including habaki).
The backstrap appears to be minimally decorated, so a lower grade officer's sword.

Nice one Bill.

[Bill D.]

Thank you, gentlemen, very much

The length, from tip to habaki, is 26 1/2 inches, or 67 1/2 centimeters.

Anything in particular that you would like to see in photos?

[Beater]

Bill,
A full length shot of blade (out of all fittings) is useful...shape can help determine age.
Close up of hamon (temper line) shape and, if possible, a close up of the grain structure of the blade surface.

[Bill D.]

I've always found it a challenge to obtain decent photographs of blades, whether swords or daggers. There is always a conflict between getting enough light for a photograph without ending up with a photo that is simply light being reflected off of the blade.

But here are some attempts:

[Bill D.]

*

[Bill D.]

And one more for the moment...

[gunto]

Nice blade , love the large kissaki.

[Beater]

Thanks for photos Bill. I'm sure people will chip in with their thoughts and opinions and as amateurs I think a reasoned discussion is a good way to reach a concensus. I'll begin with what I'm seeing and perhaps it will lead somewhere.
Firstly, as has been said, your sword is greatly shortened and any signature that may have been present, is now gone. As a rough rule of thumb, you can assume the lowest hole was once the main mekugi-ana and therefore the distance between it and the upper one is about the amount by which your sword has been shortened. The ha-machi, or notches where the habaki rests, would have originally been much lower. I would guess, if it is now 26", that originally it was at least 28/29", so possibly a tachi?
Looking at the position of the grooves, I suspect these were not an original feature but added later, which is not uncommon.
The point is slightly longer than normal, towards an o-kissaki. The boshi appears in tact. The hamon is still visible and reasonably wide. The hada, or grain structure, isn't so easy to see but appears fairly straight and although it is tired and slightly open in places, I would not consider that too bad given the blades obvious and considerable age.
Perhaps the most important feature to establish is the sugata and where the point of greatest curve (sori) is / or was, in relation to the original blade length. This is tricky...ideally you need to know where the ha-machi was before it was shortened. So it involves a bit of judgement. My eyes are seeing some saki-zori but in truth, I'm not sure.
I believe your sword to be from the Muromachi period but notwithstanding what others may suggest, it is a very old Koto blade which is interesting and a great find. Many old blades found in kyugunto mounts were important family blades and I suspect you are holding some true Samurai history there.

[Bill D.]

Many thanks, Beater.

I'm very grateful to you for the insights and opinions.

Thanks as well to the other contributors to this thread!

[oldhonda]

I've always found it a challenge to obtain decent photographs of blades, whether swords or daggers. There is always a conflict between getting enough light for a photograph without ending up with a photo that is simply light being reflected off of the blade.

Don't think too much about photography. That's not what we're here for. Natural, and clear picture is all we need.