WW2 Japanese sword;need help with identification, please .

[BOB COLEMAN]

Kanenori was quite active and numerous swords of his have survived.

[Stu W]

I've been asked a question that leads me to believe I should expand a bit on my comment above in case it has been misunderstood.

In short, No, I do not feel that anyone should catagorize a sword as Showato or Gendaito exclusively through the presence or absence of a stamp on the nakago. In my view it is just a first step, but one that is easily accomplished through the study of photos so a good place to start. Ultimately the blade must stand or fall on it's own merits regardless of stampings.

Regards,
Stu

[ghp95134]

Not when it is so well deserved.

Regards,
Stu

Blush-blush

(no emoji for a blush-face)

--Guy

[Alan M]

By the way .... is it "bold" of me to "like" a compliment? Thanks Al.

Ha ha , not at all Guy ! i believe its like Ying and Yang , you accept the good when it comes along because there is always plenty of the opposite !! LOL !

[Destroyah]

First let me thank all the people who posted, took an interest into this post, and especially those who provided valuable information.
I think I may have found a mark on the side of the tang and one above the signature;It may be wishful thinking on my part, but I would never have thought to look more closely,if not for the information provided to me on this post.
I thought,originally that this was a machine made blade because of the lack of forging flaws and a temper line, however when one holds the blade in the sunlight,it appears it may have a very faint , straight temper line.It may also be wishful(hopeful), thinking!
Here are some additional pictures .
Regards,
David

[BOB COLEMAN]

The hurry up arsenal polish was intended to sharpen the blade, not bring out the jigane(grain) or hamon(temper line). The artificial hamon has an unnatural non dimensional brighteness that water temper blades do not have. A true hand forged blade will also exhibit a grain in the steel, not found in factory made blades. A well made blade will not contain forging flaws so flaws are not a definite indicator. For your further information, when photographing the tang of a Japanes sword, it should be shown with the tang vertical with the top being the part closest to the cutting edge and the butt the bottom of the tang. In this case, the signature was well cut and readable sideways. It is not always that easy when reading it sideways or upside down.

[Stu W]

Thanks for the additional photos. Being honest though, my eyes can no longer pick out details that were once clear to me. As you have it in hand perhaps take a moment and see if that mark on the spine is the Nagoya Arsenal mark as depicted to the right in the attached photo.

Regards,
Stu

[Destroyah]

The pictures are clearer than actually holding it in hand, and alas my eyes are not as good as my imagination; it could be that arsenal stamp or not.The only thing that keeps me from thinking that it is not a blemish is that the same "mark," appears to be repeated on the flat of the tang and the side of the tang.
Once again, gentleman, thanks for the education.
Regards,
David

[ghp95134]

Thats the Nagoya stamp: 名

Reposting from my initial post:

Nagoya arsenal stamps are seen on gendaito, both star stamped and otherwise. They indicate that the sword was forged by the smith at the arsenal, rather than at his private forge. In short, the stamp just indicates where the sword entered the military supply chain, in this case at Nagoya. A non-traditional sword of this date would have an additional stamp, such as a Seki or Gifu stamp.

Stu and Papa and others can tell us if the above quote is accurate or not -- I'm just posting what another Kanenori owner wrote.

--Guy

[Destroyah]

Thanks again,
David