Signed Ujifusa Kai Gunto for viewing.

[bmoore1322]

Okay Here is a really nice, with an perfect blade, and beautiful hamon, and the tusuka is flawless, and has the original tassel, and the saya is in beautiful condition also.

 

I believe it is signed by Ujifusa.

 

Thanks

Brian

[bmoore1322]

More pics.

 

Brian

[Lindus]

Beutifull set of kai gunto mounts with a mint Showato,rare to find in this condition,lovely piece of militaria. Any war time history with it?.

Well done Brian

[bmoore1322]

It was owned by a retired Marine Major that was in the pacific theatre, they said it has been wrapped up in old newspaper, and laying an old military footlocker wood chest since he brought it home, sat there, and was forgotten, I would say that is why the condition on it is so perfect.

 

The blade really is beautiful, I thought it was a complete polish, but no, all original.

 

I just wished it had the more traditional style wrapped Ito on it, besides that, it is perfect in every way.

 

I know I said no more buying until I do some good reading, but when I saw it, I could not pass it up, would you, once you saw the blade.

 

Brian

[Lindus]

The ito is as it should be,most Naval swords were wrapped as yours is.

[bmoore1322]

Yes, I like the more traditional type wrapping, but nothing wrong with this type at all, I just like the more traditional better.

 

 

Brian

[bmoore1322]

Does anyone know if any of this swordsmith's blade were traditionally made or all were made the way most Showa blades were made?

 

Plus any information on this swordsmith also.

 

 

Brian

[Brian]

The "chippy" style mei almost always indicates Showato, but the hamon doesn't look as uniform as many Showato I have seen. Perhaps a higher grade of Showato or hopefully a Gendaito. Militaria collectors do pay a premium for good condition swords like this though. Enjoy.

 

Brian

[bmoore1322]

@ Brian

 

The guy I bought it from, said it does have Hada on the blade, so hopefully it might be Gendaito, do you know if this swordsmith has made traditionally made blade, or not.

 

I paid 2350.00 for it, I think it was a steal, with the perfect blade and all, and it is signed, and the Ito is perfect on it, I cannot see any flaws on it, could you from the pics ?

 

thanks, Brian much appreciated.

 

Brian

[SwordGuyJoe]

Brian,

Man, it's very nearly like you refuse to listen. This is another example of poorly made wartime showato. I've been trying my best to try to show you high quality blade but you defer to subpar pieces. Well, more power to you sir. Good luck.

[bmoore1322]

Brian,

Man, it's very nearly like you refuse to listen. This is another example of poorly made wartime showato. I've been trying my best to try to show you high quality blade but you defer to subpar pieces. Well, more power to you sir. Good luck.

 

 

No, quite the opposite, I was just asking about this blade, as I need to know the difference, this blade is in excellent condition, as others have said the same thing.

 

Before I buy an traditionally made blade, I'm going to read some books on them first, but in the meantime, I still do like these war time swords. As my 3 books from Amazon wont be here until next week sometime.

 

I have been told that some war time blades were family blades mounted with combat fittings.

 

I do listen to what people say in here, and there is nothing subpar about this sword, nothing at all.

 

Please explain to me how this is a poorly made wartime showato.

 

 

 

Brian

[David Flynn]

Brian does this sword have an arsenal stamp on the tang? If so, it's probably 99.9% it's a showato. Even without the stamp, it's still probably a showato. Can you see the Hada yourself?

This sword is probably worth the money. The only thing is, if it's a showato, it is only really militaria. Another way to tell if it's a showato, is to check the Habuchi with a Jewelers glass. Water quenched blades have individual crystals, compared to oil tempered blades which appear homogenous.

[bmoore1322]

@ David, there is no arsenal stamp on it, just the signature of the swordsmith.

 

Yes, I think it is well worth it, with the blade being in such beautiful condition.

 

thanks

Brian

[SwordGuyJoe]

No need to ask about the stamp on the nakago. This is clearly showato. I don't follow the logic of what you are trying to do and the comment on not buying a traditional blade until you learn is great but you still bring us these showato blades to look at and render our opinion over and over again. What are you looking for? Would you like us to tell you this is a phenomenal blade? It's not. It's a run of the mill showato piece that is valuable from the standpoint of militeria and that's it. If you are only interested in militaria, there may be other areas that would give you high praise for what you are building for a collection where as this board will just be very skeptical about your direction as you clearly don't care or are interested in traditionally made swords. I'll keep my mouth shut moving forward as my advise is just a waste of time and I'll not waste my time.

[bmoore1322]

What is so wrong with liking to collecting showato, I like them, It's what I want to collect for now, I'm just happy about it, and want to share with other members, as this is the correct section for these swords, I did not post this in the Nihonto section.

 

I will eventually start collecting traditionally made blades, but now until I read the books I have ordered from Amazon, I don't think I have done anything wrong with posting this here for viewing.

 

I know a lot of people do not like these, but I do.

 

I apologize if I offended anyone, as that was never my intentions, I like this forum way too much to do that, as I believe in treating people the way I want to be treated myself.

 

Brian, the owner of this site, was nice enough to allow us this section to post these swords, so I did.

 

Thank you

Brian

[Brian]

Just remember one thing: This section of the forum was intended mainly for the discussion of Gendaito, or interesting and rare variants of wartime blades. It is not intended as a showcase of machine made or mass produced blades. This keeps them out of the other sections, and since some collectors also have an interest in militaria, it is convenient. However they are not the priority, and consider them of very, very limited interest here. There is not much discussion that can occur around Showato. "Look what I got"... "Yeah..nice. Next!" :?

If there are people who have a huge interest in WW2 swords that are non-traditionally made, they should perhaps start a forum for them, as I don't know of any dedicated forum to mass produced Japanese swords.

Keep in mind this is a (semi) serious forum dedicated to the ART of the Japanese sword. Everything comes back to that. The weapon aspect is not our focus, although the purpose is never forgotten. All topics will steer back to that guideline.

 

Brian

[bmoore1322]

@ Brian

 

 

in your own words ;

 

This new section is a trial category for now, and is intended to be a place to identify and get basic info on all non-traditionally made Japanese swords. These include machine-made and partially machine made swords between 1876 through 1945.

If you know the sword to be Gendaito or Shinsakuto (fully traditionally made from tamahagne during or after the war) then those still belong in the Nihonto section.

However if you are unsure, then this section can be of some use. Swords that are found to be Nihonto will be moved to the appropriate section.

Conversely, if you post a sword in the Nihonto section and you can't find the post later, perhaps it was identified as a Showato and moved here.

 

 

Then why allow others to get in here and trash talk, and make comments that are unprofessional, you put this section here for us to talk about these war period swords, and at the same time that we post pics, and put info down about them, in a section that you allow us to do so, others that don't like these swords do nothing buy trash talk them, or the members, and make rude comments.

 

I'm not being rude, or dis-respectful, not at all, this is your forum, and and I would never do that, but it seems like you allow others to do, and say as they want to in a manner that is counter productive, and would make some people shy away, and not want to post any Showa type swords.

 

I was told a long time, if I had nothing nice to say, then don't say anything at all, and always act in a professional manner, out of respect for others.

 

I know this comment will probably piss others off, and I'm not trying to do that.

 

You say this section is for war time period swords, and there seems to be a backlash on members for posting these type of swords.

 

 

Thank you

Brian

[Brian]

Ah,

Thanks for reminding me that the intro to this section is outdated. The section itself was an experiment, and now after it has been up a while, it is time to refine its purpose and terms of use.

I'll be updating the terms later tonight to reflect that this is for all military sword discussions, and that Showato info will be mainly focussed on quick identification and basic information. We don't really need a showcase of mass produced swords unless they are of a rare or unusual variant such as some of the more obscure manufacturers or materials. Posting pic after pic of swords that are the same as the last one except for differing conditions is pretty pointless and not why we are here.

It will be mainly of use to those considering a purchase and wanting to know if their sword is a Gendaito or Showato.

Now with Gendaito and Shinsakuto it is a different story...lots to see and study in many cases.

Consider the terms of use to have been amended.

 

Brian

[bmoore1322]

Thank you, and I will follow the new rules to the letter.

 

I only was asking because I had an Kanezane sword on here, which is a well know swordsmith, mentioned in many publications, and have been told his swords were highly collected, and I asked one of the moderators pull it down, because of the negativity I was getting from it.

 

I followed your rules exactly as you said they were to be followed, and yet so many were trash talking me and the sword, I see some post's in here I don't like, but out of respect for you, and these forums, I would never trash talk anyone in here.

 

I believe we all are mature adults, not a bunch of school children.

 

thank you

Brian

[sil]

Brian, your newly acquired blade looks great to me but is it Showato, machine made, oil quenched versus true gendaito ??? How can you tell ?

 

"The "chippy" style mei almost always indicates Showato, but the hamon doesn't look as uniform as many Showato I have seen. Perhaps a higher grade of Showato or hopefully a Gendaito."

 

"does this sword have an arsenal stamp on the tang? If so, it's probably 99.9% it's a showato. Even without the stamp, it's still probably a showato. Can you see the Hada yourself?"

 

"Another way to tell if it's a showato, is to check the Habuchi with a Jewelers glass. Water quenched blades have individual crystals, compared to oil tempered blades which appear homogenous."

 

Now isn't the above true to the spirit of this forum ? Providing tips and guidance for new players.

 

I vote for the continued and constructive sharing of the vast knowledge base of expert forum members for the benefit of newbies including me !!

 

 

Sil

[Jareth]

Brian, I'm a militaria collector. I've been looking for a kai gunto exactly like yours. Beautifull weapon & thanks for posting it. Regards, Jareth Holub

[Surfson]

Brian, this is an extraordinarily well preserved showato, and as such is very very rare. People won't give these blades a proper polish since it just doesn't pay, so finding one in a mint polish puts it in rare company. It is worth the money that you paid I would say, but it is also true that most NMB members are not interested in collecting showato, as they have no association with the samurai, they are not hand forged and don't have the hamon and hada that collectors enjoy.

 

Having said all of this, I think the machine made blades have appreciated in price the most over the last decade or two for some reason. In the 80s, hand made katanas worthy of restoration could be had for $2 or $3K, and NCO swords were $100 bucks - as many as you could carry. You can still get katanas for that much, but the NCO swords have gone up to $600 and up - a six fold rise. I'm sure that you will make the transition to true samurai swords one day, and when you do you will be able to get your money out of this sword. Happy collecting.

[bmoore1322]

I recently did purchase my first Nihonto sword, it is an second generation Bichu No Kami Tachibana Yoshihiro signed blade, and it has a Kiku on the back of the nakago as well.

 

Brian

[reeder]

Brian,

 

Did you purchase this from a gentlemen in Dallas, TX (can tell from the pictures)? Clay right? He, like the eBay seller Showa shills (bids up from other accounts) his items he posts on eBay. I have been watching his latest posts and it closed at $1,300 (shin gunto) and within the hour it was reposted with a fixed price of $1,695. I have been watching Showa's swords too, just for research purposes, however I have noticed most of his blades are reposted if you watch long enough. For example, he currently has or had a Koa Isshin Mantetsu for sale that I swear sold a month ago. I guess it's hard to determine FMV when it's being manipulated.

 

There is a gentlemen here, Ed (can't remember his user name), that has a pretty good website. I'm new to this and learning myself but he has some pretty interesting pieces IMO. Plus, he's a really nice guy. He's got one piece that I would like to buy but need to sell a couple of K98Ks I'm bored with.

 

I do like that Kai Gunto a lot as I am collecting primarily militaria for now and would like one myself. Don't get me wrong, I would definitely prefer Nihonto over non-traditional blades, I'm just going with what I'm comfortable with for now and trying to broaden my knowledge base, which the gentlemen in this forum are so kind to share with us. Like most I'm sure, need a few more zeroes at the end of the salary to really feed the hunger. :D

 

-Brandon