Japanese knife expertise sought

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0000

Forager
Sep 25, 2013
245
124
Scotland
www.instagram.com
Are there a pin through the handle (tsuka) holding the tang (nakago) in? If there is and you push the pin out and remove the handle, the tang will probably be engraved with the smiths name, the province or prefecture and date. This would be helpful. I have a very old papyrus book that was in the library of some emperor that is filled with the rubbings of sword tangs and information about them.

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brambles

Settler
Apr 26, 2012
771
71
Aberdeenshire
I thought it had the look of a kaiken, a dagger carried in the kimono, ususally by samurai women, but a quick search shows a few similar late Meiji period tantos that have been up for auction.
 
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Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,776
1,510
51
Wiltshire
Id say kaiken, but, contrary to popular belief, I have little knowlege on the subject.

Are the To Ken society still going? Last I heard, they were moribund.
 

Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,766
Berlin
For me it looks old.

Because it looks old I simply would ask the question what it is and how old it seems to be to the biggest museum that has a fitting collection.
London, Paris, Berlin for example.

Your chance to get a fast and free answer is pretty high.

The value could tell you Sotheby's. The current sell price you know after an international auction. Such stuff goes up and down.
If there is a Japanese multi millionaire who wants it, the price is different to what I would pay you because I need a sharp kitchen knife.

No, better, you need several Japanese and American multimillionaires...

Some stuff develops incredible prices, other stuff doesn't.

Byzantinic coins for example they throw behind you, if they aren't gold or silver.
 

brancho

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 20, 2007
3,788
714
56
Whitehaven Cumbria
I would love to see it better.
Can you retake the photos and either clean the lens or keep your finger (or whatever is obscuring it) away from so it doesn't cover the lens
 

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