Good afternoon gents
Seeing as there is a wealth of knowledge from people who actually know, I thought I would post the last one that I have, for some opinions on date etc:

I bought this a couple of weeks ago, as an "untouched" sword. Looking at it you could say with certainty that it has been un-loved.

The wooden scabbard has split on the top with a piece missing, there is no "plug" and the blade is shorter than the scabbard by some 7 inches!! So is it a cut down Samurai or a Wakizashi- or a Katana- or a pile of poo

The Habaki is somewhat more ornate than I have seen before ( admittedly that’s nothing to go by:)) The Tsuba is not plain, but not ornate, the blade is signed, but is in need of a polish by a professional - not me!…….. I believe the date of the blade to be the mid 1500’s, I have been trying to learn but it is a painful process, and I’ve probably got that wrong.

So any help would be much appreciated by yours truly. This time I have tried to take the "correct" photos - full length blade - collar-tsuba- handle- signature-

Well at least it keeps you lot on the ball

Click to enlarge the picture