Nihonto Club

Hi, the signature is "Toshitada saku" ("made by Toshitada").
The blade is stainless steel, which makes it somewhat unusual, but it is definitely NOT a traditional Japanese sword. Rather it is an interesting piece of militaria from the later part of the war, most likely.
This blade was machine-made - a real Nihonto cannot be forged from stainless steel. The hamon (temper line) is not real - it was likely done with acid etching or abrasives.
However, it was obviously signed by hand, but the signature is ugly and choppy.

Pete

Have a look at this web page http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/military.htm
There's a brief outline of Japanese military swords and a couple of paragraphs about Kai-Gunto.
I've not seen one quite like this before, but I'm no expert and there does seem to have been a lot of variation, especially later in the war.

thank you for all the leads and help!! Is there any known places that restore said swords? I am thinking i would like to get it put back to the way it was without damaging its history.

My feeling would be to leave it as it is.
The blade looks to be in good shape, and most good polishers wont work on machine made blades.
The mounts are fairly rough, and while there are plenty of people who can do the work it would remove the history, and possibly harm it's value.
With most antiques originality is very important.

I agree with Looper. Since this is not a traditionally made blade, its value is because it is WWII militaria. Any restoration work would LOWER its value.

Pete

Where would one begin to look for someone who could find a value to the weapon, and history. I have been able to find any information on the smith aside from a name and birth year.

Also I am not finding any other Kai gunto swords with a tsuka shaped as mine. The scabbard also does not match other photos that I have found. This sword has become quite the boggle.

You would really need a specialist in Gunto. Many Nihonto collectors are not interested in them as they are militaria rather than art swords.
There is huge variation, and in seems that especially at the end of the war many swords were produced that don't fit the norm.
As for value, ebay is good place to look. It will at least tell you what people are asking for them.
You could also try these forums.
http://www.swordforum.com
http://www.nihontomessageboard.com
There may be someone who can tell you more.