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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;the blacksmith, post: 11820274, member: 20148&quot;]Thank you for the pictures. Unfortunately, the blade has been rubbed and much of the original finish lost already. However, the edge seems to have a slightly black ish finish, which is theresult of an oil quench. Traditional handmade quality blades were quenched in water, which is a very difficult thing to do. Oil quench is far easier, but was never done on quality blade. So, this blade appears to be what we call Showato, which is a semi massed produced item and not traditionally forged. That would also tie in with the unusual and unrecorded &#039;smith&#039; Katsutoshi in Chikuzen; he wasn&#039;t a sword smith as such, he was a metal worker. As the war progressed many Japanese swords were made this way to help keep up the demand.</p><p>Even if the blade is Showato, it would still be worth fitting a hilt to the sword.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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