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I inherited a sword

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UC_Guy 1971

Master Class
For reasons I don't need to discuss, I am now the owner of a WWII wakizashi blade, brought back by my dad from the land of the rising sun in '45 or '46? In any event this sword has no handle (tsuka?) or any of the other related hardware, just the blade. I also have no scabbard (saya?).

I would like to make it whole. It is not in the best of shape either and would like to make it sharp enough to be dangerous. Where do I start?
 
Start by getting it identified / appraised by someone who knows what they're doing. Japanese swords from WWII may be contemporary made and issues OR they could be old family swords, sometimes made up with plain handles, tsubas and sheaths. The older family swords can be worth a lot of money and there are those in Japan that consider them national Treasures to be brought home if possible. The handle part may be marked.
 
Scevaph said:
Start by getting it identified / appraised by someone who knows what they're doing. Japanese swords from WWII may be contemporary made and issues OR they could be old family swords, sometimes made up with plain handles, tsubas and sheaths. The older family swords can be worth a lot of money and there are those in Japan that consider them national Treasures to be brought home if possible. The handle part may be marked.
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This if possible, they can be very old. Who knows maybe the most famous missing sword of all, the Honjo Masamune

en.m.wikipedia.org

Masamune - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
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UC_Guy 1971 said:
For reasons I don't need to discuss, I am now the owner of a WWII wakizashi blade, brought back by my dad from the land of the rising sun in '45 or '46? In any event this sword has no handle (tsuka?) or any of the other related hardware, just the blade. I also have no scabbard (saya?).

I would like to make it whole. It is not in the best of shape either and would like to make it sharp enough to be dangerous. Where do I start?
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try bonafide (legal) pawn shops.

some have people that restore things, and they too call them in for appraisals.
 
Post a pic, I think others here would like to see.
A friend's dad brought back a Japanese flag from the war. Another friend's dad brought back a Japanese rifle and a mortar shell (inert I hope). Army surplus stores were fun places to explore as a kid since they were chock full of WWII and Korea stuff. My wife's dad brought a Nazi dagger back he took off an officer.
 
IMG_20250104_133740.jpg

I ordered some flitz metal polish. Hopefully that will get it to a point where I can de-rust the entirety of it. I'm also getting all of the measurements so that I can order all of the components for the handle and scabbard. Anyone know of a good sword sharpener?
 
Bassbob said:
Tell me more about that shotgun.
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There are actually two long gun's on the bench. The shotgun is a Westernfield 550ABD 12 gauge pump. This is really a Mossberg 500 that was sold by Montgomery Wards. It is another item that came up. It is going to an older brother. It was covered in light rust on the outside, a little more than that on the inside(?). The other bits you can see belong to a 1919(-ish) J. Stevens pump action .22 rifle. I don't have it in front of me or my notes. I believe that it is a Model 70, but take that with a grain of salt and 5 minutes of google research. This belongs to one of my old neighbors. I told him I would fix it for him. Still looking for a replacement buttstock.
 
3L120 said:
As was sad above…before you screw with it, get it appraised! Your shotguns will never be Uber valuable, but the sword just might be, so do yourself a favor?
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Yah, I need to take a few more measurements and better photots. This is for another site (a sword site, imagine that) and I was told what measurements to get. I was also told to look for a signature, not that having one or not is a major issue. I cannot find one. However, the tang has some type of red resin on it, I don't believe that there is a signature under it.
 
Now you got me thinking.....

I just inherited a couple of black powder pistols. I know the .30 Cal rifle was from the late teens and the 30-30 was from the late twenties.

I was just going to put them in a shadow-box, but I'm more curious now that I've had time to think about it....
 
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