A friend recommended this site as a place that might be able to answer what and where these came from. These were passed down from my boyfriend’s grandfather, who would be in his mid 70’s now.
Unfortunately we know very little about them, I’m hoping the pictures will do the talking. If you can provide any information on what these are and possibly where they came from, it would be greatly appreciated.
Merely a very amateur interest here, but I’d guess they’re faux-Japanese. Hira zukuri shaped blades with no tsuba (guard). Looks like a machined copper collar. If its not a Chinese imitation (there are lots of them at the Mongkok Night Markets in Hong Kong) given the length and shape it might have been used by a merchant pre- or during WW2. Can’t identify the engraving but its certainly not kanji. Seems vaguely familiar though.
Sorry if that has burst your boyfriend’s bubble of acquiring an expensive family relic. This happened to me - my grandfather gave me a katana which he took off a dead Japanese soldier in WW2. Turns out the damn thing was mass produced and made of rail-line. Bummer.
There are so many reproductions out there, that you’d have to take them to an appraiser, who specialized in oriental swords, to be sure. I’ve seen a few on Antiques Roadshow that looked fake or funky to me, but they turned out to be very valuable.
Well, I’m pretty sure that they are not japanese or faux-japanese. Dunno what they are. My WAG would be something south-east asian. I check some books when I get home.
I agree that they’re not Japanese, possibly not Asian. Without the guard these look less like swords and more like machetes. At first I would have said they looked like something used to cut sugar cane or tobacco, but the stud on the end of the scabbard looks like something that would be used on horseback (top of the scabbard secured to the saddle, bottom slipped into a loop either on the stirrup or somewhere down there). The style of the markings look kind of familiar but I can’t place them either, they look almost Indian (Hindu) or African. Any good appraiser with sword experience should be able to better identify them, but don’t limit yourself by assuming it is Asian or weaponry. An African or Caribbean artifact from some plantation might have more history and greater value than an average katana.
A-ha! I consulted Internet and found them. My WAG was bullseye, apparently. They are dha (also known as darb) - south-east asian, moslty Burma and Thailand.
Here and here are two similiar swords. More about them on this page.
