I'm looking for help identifying a friends katana that he believes in a Second World War Kai Gunto naval sword. I myself have my doubts about its authenticity for a number of reasons that might be apparent;
The wrapping on the hilt looks very new considering the suspected age of the sword
The fittings on the hilt and scabbard look quite crude, and display weld lines
The tang is unmarked
The fishskin on the scabbard looks quite tacky and fake, though I don't know if this was normal for the late war period
That said, the sword appeared to be old from the state of the blade, which was in a sorry state when the sword was purchased. We got a friend who is very talented with swords to polish the blade to the mirror shine it has now. He said that the blade showed evidence of being blunted completely with a file (for practice?), resharpened and badly polished several times, all some time ago.
I've learned a lot from this forum; the knowledge and talent for identifying items is simply astounding, so I was hoping that someone could offer some opinions on the authenticity of the sword. If the pictures aren't sufficient, please do ask for more!
Tom
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