Naval sword

[Garandrew]

Any opinions?

[earlymb]

Can't say anything about the sword, but on the War Relics Forum are some specialists on these... I would also post it there

[Garandrew]

I did!

[Tonomachi]

I'm not an expert but the furniture surrounding the blade looks period WW2 Japanese Navy.  What I don't see is the temper line on the blade.  The blade looks like it is in really good condition and hopefully someone hasn't taken steel wool to clean the blade of surface imperfections.  Sometimes you can make out in the metal where is had been folded numerous times during the forging process but I don't see this either.  It is hard to tell from photos alone.  You need to punch out the tiny bamboo pin in the handle which is tapered so it only goes out one way I believe left to right.  Once you take the handle off you can supposedly get an idea as to how old the blade is by the color of the rust.   There may be Japanese characters stamped on the blade which is a way of telling how old it is and who manufactured it.  They made folded blades during WW2 which are not as valuable as a family blade going back generations which is what collectors look for.  

 

 

[SARGE]

I agree with all of the above and I don't see any red flags from the photos.  Wartime Naval swords like this often had stainless steel or "railway" steel blades rather than traditional or old forged Japanese blades.  Some will have a fouled anchor within a circle stamps on the tang of the blade beneath the grip.  Some have maker markings and/or dates. 

 

This blade without a temper line is what the blade looks like to me.  

 

[Garandrew]

Ok thanks I understood someone removed the handle and discovered a 1939 date. I don’t believe it’s been steel wooled