Posted: 11/3/2011 6:47:26 AM EDT
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Howdy -
My Father gave me a Japanese samurai sword he brought home from the Pacific during WWII. The leather handle wrapping needs some restoration work along with the scabbard. Do you guys know of any one in the cities that has the expertise and knowledge about these weapons to restore it? I would prefer not to ship it off somewhere outside of the state but am willing to do so. Any suggestions or pointers in the right direction would be most helpful! Thanks! Jeff |
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just my first thought- sometimes its best to leave antiques / war souvenirs as is- unless it REALLY needs to be fixed. good luck ! +1 I would be absolutely certain of exactly what you have, before doing anything to it. You could end up spending a lot of time/money to turn a sword that's worth several thousands of dollars into a $50 "bubba" piece. Find an expert that can help you identify it, first. Then, go from there. I'm not too well versed on Japanese swords. However, I do know that they made them in large quantities for the military during WW2 and most of those, spare some rare variations, aren't worth so much. However, an older, family owned piece, or one made by certain makers can be worth thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of $$$. |
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+++++1
I've seen $10,000 antiques reduced to a $1,000 nice piece of furniture because someone had refinished it. If it has any significant value look for someone that specializes in samari swords anyone else may just destroy it's value. http://japanese-swords.com/ |
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Pull the handle off.....normally, these swords used for military duty were family swards that were shortened. Typically, you'll notice that the script is somewhat cut off, or non-existant. If so, it's gonna be worth about $600 to $800. If it's actually full length and has a name that is recognizable (and tracible).....it may be worth a lot more....then don;t even tink of messing with the scabbord.
Believe it or not.....alot of Japanesse swords used in WW2 were confiscated Chinnesse swords......as the families did not want their swords messed with. Atleast that is what I remember from dealing with a sword I sold on Ebay 8 years ago.........might not all be true....sometimes my memory leaves out the little things. Anyways....google is your friend. Tim |
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FYI, the tsuka (handle) and tsuba (guard) *should* be held in place by a little peg called 'mekugi', typically made of a bamboo chopstick. Drive it out and then gently try pulling off the tsuka. The saya (scabbard) is usually made of two pieces lightly glued together with a rice flour & water paste. It's typical to see them separating, and that's no big deal - dis/re-assembly of the saya is matter-of-course work in conservation / cleaning.
Incidentally - IIRC, Japanese swords are not "sharpened", they are polished. Polishing includes blade conservation, and sharpening as required. The tsuka wrapping (forget the name) may be cloth, but leather and/or sharkskin and rayskin are found on finer pieces. And as others have said, Do NOT attempt to fix or "improve" anything, without first having it looked at by a qualified person. Also - if this is a real sword, it's likely to be very sharp. For this, and other reasons, never touch the shiraha (blade) with bare hands - use a cloth. There is at least one member of the Nihonto society here in the Twin Cities, who has a fairly decent collection and sufficient knowledge. I was in touch with him briefly, but I've forgotten his name. I'd advise going to their website and seeing if you can locate him, or another member. About the only thing I'd suggest, if the blade is dry, is to put a little oil on it. Choji oil is used in Japan, but you can make a very good approximation by mixing ten parts pure medical-grade mineral oil with one part pure organic clove oil. Apply very lightly, stroking in one direction only, from tsuba to kissake (tip). Watch the clove oil, it is very strong and if highly pure I believe it can burn skin. |
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Quoted: Samurai swords, unlike just about every other antique in the world, actually gain value (or at least come closer to what their value would be in equal original condition) upon a professional restoration. Don't ask me why. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Keyword being "professional" If you find someone how says he can do the work for you ask him for some references, maybe past customers who will vouch for his work.
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just my first thought- sometimes its best to leave antiques / war souvenirs as is- unless it REALLY needs to be fixed. good luck ! +1 I would be absolutely certain of exactly what you have, before doing anything to it. You could end up spending a lot of time/money to turn a sword that's worth several thousands of dollars into a $50 "bubba" piece. Find an expert that can help you identify it, first. Then, go from there. I'm not too well versed on Japanese swords. However, I do know that they made them in large quantities for the military during WW2 and most of those, spare some rare variations, aren't worth so much. However, an older, family owned piece, or one made by certain makers can be worth thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of $$$. I was told by a pacific vet that the Japanese made what amounted to a cheap sword for kamikaze pilots because all officers had a sword and all pilots were officers. He had one of these and also a "real" sword from a Japanese army officer. The difference in quality and craftsmanship were obvious. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
just my first thought- sometimes its best to leave antiques / war souvenirs as is- unless it REALLY needs to be fixed. good luck ! +1 I would be absolutely certain of exactly what you have, before doing anything to it. You could end up spending a lot of time/money to turn a sword that's worth several thousands of dollars into a $50 "bubba" piece. Find an expert that can help you identify it, first. Then, go from there. I'm not too well versed on Japanese swords. However, I do know that they made them in large quantities for the military during WW2 and most of those, spare some rare variations, aren't worth so much. However, an older, family owned piece, or one made by certain makers can be worth thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of $$$. I was told by a pacific vet that the Japanese made what amounted to a cheap sword for kamikaze pilots because all officers had a sword and all pilots were officers. He had one of these and also a "real" sword from a Japanese army officer. The difference in quality and craftsmanship were obvious. There's no doubt a difference in quality between the wartime swords and the more traditional katanas. However, the Japanese did, in fact, have enlisted pilots. |