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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;the blacksmith, post: 9419919, member: 20148&quot;]The blade is usually best photographed vertically against a dark background, perhaps even black.</p><p>There are a few things that just don&#039;t seem right, and I am thinking that this blade is a Chinese copy. Difficult to say for certain without examining it properly.</p><p>The <i>yasuri mei </i>(file marks) on the tang seem far to rough for a blade of this quality, and the two character signature, lack of a date, together with the Showa stamp, just don&#039;t seem to go with this quality of blade. The <i> hada </i>(grain of the blade) is a bit too obvious, and extends to the <i>mune </i>(spine of the blade). Normally the hada is only&nbsp; obvious in the <i>jigane </i>(lower portion of the blade nearer the edge), and it is not normally so obvious anyway. All this makes me think it is a Chinese blade.</p><p><br /></p><p>By the way, DONT EVER touch a Japanese blade with your bare hands! The acidity in your fingers will stain the blade very quickly, which is impossible to remove unless the blade is professionally polished, which costs a fortune! ( last blade I had polished took two years to get back, and cost £25 an inch, and that blade was 27&quot; long. And that was forty years ago! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie56" alt=":jawdrop:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />&nbsp; That was the sword I mentioned earlier that was surrendered in the POW camp in Malaya).</p><p><br /></p><p>I haven&#039;t collected Japanese swords for some years now, so my knowledge is a bit rusty to say the least. I&#039;d suggest posting this on Gunboards forum in the Japanese section, there are some knowledgeable folks there who can give you a far better appraisal than I can. If you wish, I can post it for you. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie49" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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