Leather covered sword

[bestmsdt]

What do people make of this sword? I will let the pictures do the talking.
Cheers,
Tony
(Gosh, been a while since my last post!)

[Nick Komiya]

What appears to me to be gibberish writing on the tag certainly does not bode well for the rest of the sword.

[Geoff Ward]

I would say it is likely a mixture of original and mixed parts cobbled together... To Deliberately Deceive...

[Bruce Pennington]

Is it yours? If so, can you take the handle off?

[bestmsdt]

The hilt came off easily enough (solid wood with the leather cover). Here are pics of the tang.
Cheers,
Tony

[Bruce Pennington]

Well. Definitely not Japanese-made. The aging all looks real, so maybe a sword made by one of the occupied territories? I'm aware that fakers can do artificial aging, but from the photos, to me the aging looks legit. If it were a fake, I don't see why it would have multiple holes in the nakago. The larger one is from this set of fittings, right? The 2 smaller ones look to be from a first set of fittings.

[bestmsdt]

Thanks Bruce. Actually it is the smaller hole that matches the present hilt. Perhaps I should have said that I was told that it was probably from Java, but I didn't want to influence people! The tsuba likewise is supposed to be locally made (well, of course, it is not Japanese).
However, I am disappointed that the surrender tag seems to be a fake, so I am going to see if the dealer will take it back.

The nicks on the blade seem to look 'real', like it has been hacking through undergrowth.

Cheers,
Tony

[Kiipu]

The last character on the tag is 長 which simply means boss or chief. In this case, the tag is probably just a last name and job title or position.

[Geoff Ward]

Hey Tony, Can you check the bands under the leather of the Grip to see if they are Ferrous? metal (Magnetic) Here is a little "Hack" for all those who wear glasses or readers and are always lying them down somewhere! When you run across that EK you stumbled on and want to check but forgot your magnet, or your wife has your magnet, or the Magnet Depot is closed on Sundays or... The glasses clasp together with magnets and hang around your neck so you can wear them without taking them off! and you always have a magnet!

Regards,Geoff

[Nick Komiya]

The last character on the tag is 長 which simply means boss or chief.

Nope, I assure you it's all fake writing. With such tags, which you write in the wish that, with luck, the sword might find its way back to you, it is human nature to clear print name and address, so anyone can read.