Does anyone know of a place in Mid-Tennessee or Northern Alabama that is qualified to appraise a Samurai Sword?

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Regards,
Windjammer

I don't know of any place in that area, but beware, fakes abound.

there are MANY places online that don't sell but basically blue book them, these people are all collectors so they know their stuff if you can put up a good pic or email me one I can help had to do one a few months ago

windjammer:
Contact David Pepin at www.samuraisword.com. He will send you everything you need to have him appraise the sword for you. He is a VERY UPSTANDING dealer to work with. While you are on his site, take a look at some of the swords he has for sale..especially the ones listed at 80K and above.

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Have Canon, Will Travel

Be prepared to take the sword apart. You will need to remove the handle to see if there is a signature on the tang. If there is you will need to take an in-focus picture of it or take a piece of tracing paper and pencil and create a copy. If there is a serial number on the sword, it's not a samurai.

DO NOT unwrap the handle. DO NOT try to polish or sharpen the sword. Your best bet is to take pictures of the sword and it's furniture first and email those to the appraiser. He/she will tell you if you need to remove the handle and how to do it properly.