Nihonto Club

Hello All,

I am brand new here although I have read a fair amount of books on Japanese blades and have collected some fine examples of Bronze and middle age swords. I've always wanted to add a Katana or Wakizashi to my collection but everything I have liked has exceeded my current budget and I do feel like now is a good time to look. This is not the reason for my post. In talking with a friend who knows of my passion for swords, he kindly offered to give me a sword sitting in his basement which his wife wanted him to get rid of (kids in house) and he tried to sell on Ebay and got offers but buyer bagged out. He kindly offered it to me and I would love anyones advice if this is just some junk his dad had that's a rusty paperweight, fun plant whacker or something I could at least put with my collection as real. I've included photos that i took with my regular camera and a micro camera of the signature to see if it was machine stamped, it looks like triangular chisel marks, but they also look like some white material or paint is in the signature to make it visible). The inscription reads 守家造 (Moriie) and when I looked it up on the sword database it seemed to match. That being said I know it means nothing. The sword itself is not in very good shape with what looks like a series of blisters, some close to edge with edge chipped, lots of scratches and wear. It is in a wood saya and has a japanese police card (if real). I am obviously not expecting much, but I would like to know if it is a real piece and I do have to say that it balances very nicely in hand. It is about 2o" to the protector and an additional 6 " through tang. It is relatively sharp. The tip looks small but I know little about relative size of a wakizashi. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Someday, I would love a Katana sword with proper provenance, but not right now. The pictures I've included have a few 200x magnifications of where the edge damage is (it is obviously much smaller in relation to a real blade). I also included the only signature I could find of another Moriie blade from a very Expensive and reputable japanese dealer website (It's the last image and is silver vs the rusted tang on mine)and the strokes look completely different adding more likelihood to my little basement gift. Would love a surprise but I'll leave that to those of you with knowledge. Thanks for any help. D (I'll gladly add any photos needed if helpful)