Tanto: What do we have here?

[Andrew]

This is owned by a friend of mine who obtained it in a lot of three Japanese swords. He brought it to me to examine and handle earlier this week.

The blade has been seriously abused by someone with a belt grinder, but it is quite "beefy" and heavy, so there is plenty of metal left to polish. The horimoto (carving on the blade) is detailed and deep.

All the fittings are either horn or iron inlaid with gold. Even the seppa are horn covered in gold. It is complete, with the exception of a missing kozuka (scabbard knife).

We removed the handle and examined the tang, which was devoid of any maker's marks or mei. However, it was covered in thick, dark stabalized patina. (He didn't forward photos of the tang to me yet, but I'll post them when he does).