WWII Japanese Officer's Sword

[JustSomeGuy]

Waaaay off topic...

My father was in the Philippines during WWII and brought back most of a Japanese Officer's sword. The tang (or whatever it's properly called) looks like it was shortened and another hole was punched/drilled through it. From my limited "research" I found that this was sometimes done when an officer had a family sword they wanted to have re-fitted into military configuration. In addition, it appears that the original blade length, forward of the tsuba, is just over 23" inches which I believe is shorter than the military standard. It also has lines on the blade that indicate which "school" polished it.

First: Dang Dad, you couldn't be bothered to bring back the whole thing?

Second: Does anyone know of a somewhat local (PNW) dealer or appraiser who could identify the blade? I emailed pics to an outfit in Bellevue but never heard anything back from them...



Any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you ☺

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[Chee-to]

You might try here, friendly, knowledgeable......
Japanese Collector's Boards

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Thank you. I will give that a shot.

 

[Member 5605]

Thank you. I will give that a shot.

Looks worthless.

I'll give you $10 to cover part of shipping to my house.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Just in case anyone was curious...
Based on 40 high resolution photos I sent to a dealer, he concluded the blade is of better than average quality and from the mid to late Muromachi Period (1336 - 1573). I'm working on getting it to him for a hands on appraisal.

 

[Medic!]

You have something special there.
A two foot razor. With history.