Samurai Sword Tragedy number 1

[90th Light]

Probably the veteran or someone he knew who sadly chromed the blade on this Samurai sword, the Tusba and some of the other fittings. Is it worth getting the chrome stripped off ?

Does the signature makes sense or give any history ?

Such a same he chromed it but that WW2 generation loved to chrome things in the 1950's, 60's and 70's. I have come across this before where the veteran chromed some matching numbered German WW2 bayonets,

Chris

[Steve Flanagan]

Swords

Wow what a bubba job! Just the damage to the tangs lets you know how much the blades themselves were prepped before the chroming process, and heat put the temper into the blade and heat will also take it out, Im not familiar with chroming process but I would definitely say no it would not be cost effective. All things of value have been ruined

[90th Light]

Wow what a bubba job! Just the damage to the tangs lets you know how much the blades themselves were prepped before the chroming process, and heat put the temper into the blade and heat will also take it out, Im not familiar with chroming process but I would definitely say no it would not be cost effective. All things of value have been ruined

Thanks for your post Steve,

I am not sure if they have "prepped" it. The tang file marks, characters etc are simply chromed over and thus filled in by the thick layer of chrome which has not been polished/ buffed to a mirror finish like the actual blade.

I am told that when you remove chrome, they just reverse the process and the chrome layer liquifies/ lifts/ flakes to run out of the file marks and grooves. Leaving you with the bare steel again,

Chris

[Steve Flanagan]

Sword

In Japanese swords, any cleaning or damage to tang is a huge devaluation all by itself. Ive often considered chrome removal on German firearms, just figured the prep work unseen underneath would make it not worthwhile

[BruceP]

I believe the smith is "Kanemasa" (Kane masa made this), but I don't know if his work is valued or not. Don't follow the smiths.

[BenVK]

Hi Chris,

Even though both are genuine Japanese swords, I don't see anything particularly desirable or valuable about them unless I'm missing something.
The tangs were definitely messed with before chroming IMO because original file marks never run parallel as far as I'm aware, they should be at angle across the tang and quite precise and deliberate. Most probably the rust/crud was sanded off to allow the chrome plating to work.

I had a quick look online and to remove chrome usually involves some kind of nasty chemical, hydrochloric acid for example so I think the end result would be a dull, matt grey blade that would need to be polished and to do that properly needs an expert hand which will be expensive. Actually a pro polisher would probably prefer to remove the chrome themselves using wet stones rather than risk chemicals and that will no doubt add to the expense.

Do you own these swords or thinking about buying them?

[GHP]

I believe the smith is "Kanemasa" (Kane masa made this), but I don't know if his work is valued or not. Don't follow the smiths.

Good job Bruce!!
兼正作
Kanemasa Saku

[nickn]

I have bought lots of chromed and nickel plated swords
My local platers remove the plating while I waited normally for a drink
The heat involved isn’t high enough to effect the temper
I would have the chrome removed
The nakago will not have any rust but this can be “reapplied” if you want

[BenVK]

Interesting..
How did they look after the chrome plating was removed?

[nickn]

In the white
If the polish was reasonable before plating it will look the same
I bought a emura that had been nickel plated blade and fittings
Once the nickel had been removed a had a commercial touch up polish and it looks fine
The nakago can be re-patinated I use iodine but I am sure the Japanese have a better formulae
Mask the habaki-ji (I cannot remember if that’s the correct word) paint once or twice a day
It can take a few weeks for the rust to get “deep” enough the bone off

[Luis22]

trophy sword,,,a lot of veterans used to chrome plate all the stuff they got during WWII ...I have a luger all chrome plated too

[BenVK]

Good to know Nick, thanks!

[90th Light]

Hi Chris,

Even though both are genuine Japanese swords, I don't see anything particularly desirable or valuable about them unless I'm missing something.
The tangs were definitely messed with before chroming IMO because original file marks never run parallel as far as I'm aware, they should be at angle across the tang and quite precise and deliberate. Most probably the rust/crud was sanded off to allow the chrome plating to work.

I had a quick look online and to remove chrome usually involves some kind of nasty chemical, hydrochloric acid for example so I think the end result would be a dull, matt grey blade that would need to be polished and to do that properly needs an expert hand which will be expensive. Actually a pro polisher would probably prefer to remove the chrome themselves using wet stones rather than risk chemicals and that will no doubt add to the expense.

Do you own these swords or thinking about buying them?

Thanks Ben, and to everyone else who has commented or shared their experience.

I purchased the swords for a very fair price before I started the the thread. Now I am wondering what to do with them. Leave them as is or remove the chrome ?

The fact that there are no nicks, chips or dents to the blades is good

The logical starting point seem to be finding out who the makers are and when the blades were made.

Can anyone tell me the dates that "Kanemasa Saku" made his blades ?

Are his blades worth getting restored ?

Many thanks,

Chris

[nickn]

I have had lots of Japanese swords ,guns and German daggers, de-nickelled/chromed
I found a colt saa that looked like someone had painted the nickel on it was so thick all the markings were unreadable it came back a uniformed grey colour with crisp clear markings and a 4 digit serial number I had it restored by tommy hass
The Process has never damaged a blade they do come back in the white ie grey
But some uchiko normally makes them look a lot better
So take it to your local platers mine specialises in motor bikes and find my projects very interesting
The cost should be very little if they are running a nickel/chrome tank as they just but it in with the other jobs

[BruceP]

There were many "Kanemasa" smiths through the centuries. I don't have the reference materials to help you figure out which one this is, but there are guys who should be able to give you an idea. If you don't hear from anyone soon, try a PM (personal message) to Beater. He's pretty knowledgable with the smiths.