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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/28/2020 in all areas

  1. I don't know if this is appropriate to be posted here since this "trench knife" is half Japanese, half Chinese and used by an American who fought the Japanese in China. If this is not appropriate please delete. This Knuckle knife is made from the hilt of a Japanese army dress saber with the blade, scabbard and hanger from a Chinese dagger. The pommel has the name R.A. Tully and the date 1945 for his service in China. I believe the EGA on the pommel was added for a reunion of S.A.C.O. members since it dates from the mid 1950's. The U.S. Naval Group China, S.A.C.O. had reunions from 1955 to 2015. The Chinese belt was with the group. The dealer I bought the group from said it came from a Good Will Store. Richard Arthur Tully served in Company D, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division in July 1942. Tully participated in the landing operations and capture of Guadalcanal Island, British Solomon Islands. He was involved in offensive operations against enemy forces from 7 August until 21 December, 1942. The First Marine Division received the Presidential Unit Citation. He then participated in landing operations against Japanese forces at Cape Gloucester, New Britain where he participated in the capture of the Japanese airdromes. Tully was engaged in offensive and defensive operations against enemy forces from 29 December 1943 to April 23 1944. In March 1945 Tully joined the U.S. Naval Group China (S.A.C.O.) and he served in Calcutta, Hankow, Shanghai and with the Yangtze Naval Unit. The Yangtze Naval Unit attacked river and rail traffic and ultimately severed Japanese supply lines in central China. Platoon Sergeant Richard A. Tully was discharged from the United States Marine Corps on December 29th 1945.
    5 points
  2. I think i read at usagiyas website that choji heads can become tobiyaki after a polish because the big heads are deeper hardned then the lower part. After the polish they get disconnected from the hamon and become tobiyaki. In my opinion that means that a hitatsura blade dont have to lose its "felx" because the hardening could be mainly on surface. Also many blades have a lower carbon content in the core what makes it less likely to harden. I dont think you can say how durable a blade is just by looking at hamon.
    2 points
  3. For your convenience:
    2 points
  4. Nothing special? I think it is quite nice!
    2 points
  5. As l said before, koshirae sorta compensated for it, nothing special, but l kinda liked them.
    2 points
  6. Keep the blade as the Tsunagi....
    2 points
  7. And also in the beginning as well. It was during the time frame of May 1939 to May 1945 that the lower ranks were prohibited from wearing non-regulation swords. https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/f216/short-development-history-type-95-gunto-676112-post1751561/#post1751561
    2 points
  8. Some tosogu came up at a recent auction, i was lucky enopugh to pick up these pieces. I am not sure what the finish is on the tsuba, too light for , it looks like shibuichi but i dont remember seeing this on a copper base before. chris colman
    1 point
  9. Here is a tsuba purchased earlier this year from the NMB For Sale section off Tom (LEPORELLO). It is not big being only 64 x 60 x 4 and I would have liked a katana sized example but for all that think that this one is a great piece in showing the great skill of the brass wire inlay artisan. I am interested in the opinions of other members here about these thoughts which are about these great skills and the ability to chisel such fine, convoluted channels, twisting and turning to create this design and then to inlay the fine brass wire into such twisting channels. Pretty amazing work for mine ? And their regularity and evenness is impressive. The patience and skill producing well executed nanako is of course possibly the ultimate. There are so many ways to appreciate the artistry and history of tosogu. Roger j
    1 point
  10. That is outstanding , Semper Fi if you ever have any interest in selling it let me know. As a Former Marine who grew up in China and collects Japanese militaria, this particular dagger really intrigues me
    1 point
  11. Those dome hangers on a Type 94: https://origami-token.ru/catalog/arkhiv-mechi/katana_fudzivara_masayuki_v_oprave_armeyskogo_mecha_obraztsa_1934_goda/
    1 point
  12. 1 point
  13. That’s what what I saw immediately: the background screams Komonjo... the mei too!
    1 point
  14. Typical komonjo gimei
    1 point
  15. Tom, welcome to the NMB! You are in beautiful NAGANO, so there should be some knowledgeable TOSOGU people around to advise you directly, I hope! Other than that, if you have red rust, this is of course an iron Tsuba. You could also check with a magnet. Red rust is bad and should be carefully scraped off with a soft tool (a pointed piece of ivory, bone, bamboo, or antler. You could also try a piece of pure (!!!) copper. The TSUBA looks gorgeous, but the pics cannot be magnified, so we don't see details. Please be aware that SOTEN TSUBA have been copied by many TSUBASHI, so there is a chance that the signature might be GIMEI. On the other hand, if SHOSHIN, these TSUBA have a high market value! Enjoy your TSUBA and keep us informed with better photos!
    1 point
  16. John, I think you're right. I checked some other blades with stamped numbers and they all had the horizontal base to the "1". These two one's are just low and the base isn't fully struck. Thanks!
    1 point
  17. The first kanji reads Tatsu or Ryu it’s the complicated form of the kanji for “dragon”. Sorry can’t copy it across as I can’t work my phone.😳 me too Pietro - keep chipping away at it, it does get easier - sometimes. 🤣
    1 point
  18. I think it is a nice blade and worth a polish. Fittings are good. Its not a bad package.
    1 point
  19. I agree with John, keep it as tsunagi. This sword is already pretty tired, unsigned and of poor workmanship. It's not worth the cost of a full polish.
    1 point
  20. Nothing terrible here, nothing to bin. It is typical of the tens of thousands of acid polish swords. But nothing fatal, nothing that can't be fixed. It has a nice hamon, no major flaws. Plenty of these being enjoyed in collections. Let's not get carried away. I have swords like this myself. Uchiko over time helps a lot too. Mino maybe?
    1 point
  21. Gwyn, Despite the blades past I think the blade is recoverable and worth keeping so please don't "trash it". While not a great work with the right polish I think it could be perfectly acceptable and something that can be learned from. cheers Paul
    1 point
  22. I love the tsuba, the nanako is excellent, [ not perfect ] the delineation of the seppa-dai is sharp and well done. They all look like good acquisitions. Namako [sea cucumber] and nanako (fish eggs) - fishy!🤓
    1 point
  23. A few here: http://kajiyahiroshi.com/nihonto/gunto/ka357072/token-ka357072.html
    1 point
  24. Keep it as a discussion piece.
    1 point
  25. Maybe edit to Tsuba.. common error. Welcome to the board.
    1 point
  26. Some, but not all, of the 兼正 (Kanemasa) made swords have Arabic numerals stamped beneath the date. In some cases, this consists of two rows of numbers such as illustrated below. 5 95 The example above would be rendered as 5/95 in text. My initial thoughts was that these numerals were a sequential serial number starting at 1. However, upon charting the swords out in chronological order, this did not appear to be the case. The only order that appears is that the swords with the same number on the first row, seem to have the second number increase on swords made later on. I am thinking it is possible that these numerals could have been applied sometime after production. One such possibility that comes to mind would be some type of unit inventory number. However, I have no evidence to support such an assumption. As always, comments welcomed on this conundrum.
    1 point
  27. Well, if Chris is right, that this isn't possible (nearly impossible?) with any steel other than tamahagane, then this supports the theory that the large Seki stamp is Gild stamp that has nothing to do with the regulatory stamping system. Hmmmmm.
    1 point
  28. I frequent a few antique arms sites, and in the context of American Black-Powder rifles, they seem to refer to the ram-rod as an "arm". So reading this chaps passage, "The overall length is 38 1/2'', there is a bamboo dowel within the ramrod recess and the arm is likely more contemporary than antique." He is speaking of the bamboo dowel rod, or ram rod, and that is it in the ramrod recess (American's call it a ramrod and it's usually Hickory), so this may have led the seller to believe this is a contemporary replacement since it was bade of bamboo.
    1 point
  29. I would like to add my voice to those expressing the sadness about Paul's passing. He was always generous with thoughts and ideas with me, and was clearly a student of the sword and a real connoisseur. He will be missed greatly. Peter did a good job describing some of the important work that Paul did for all of us. RIP
    1 point
  30. Paul's passing is a tragedy. I will miss him personally as dependable friend and wise advisor. We worked together on a couple of adventures that I recall with fondness. He had a wonderful manner and a common touch but Paul was also a deep and real expert. His collection is amazing and his library without par. A sword visit to Paul involved systematic presentation of pieces arranged and curated to address the topic at hand. Paul responsibly supported sword collecting in ways that will be hard to replace. He was advisor to the JSSUS and was also, of course, President of the NBTHK-AB. He was also the rarest kind of serious collectors. He built an amazing collection of high quality blades, fittings, and armor. And he did so at the highest level. Everything in Paul's collection was just right, fully documented, and appropriately preserved. His contributions to sword appreciation absolutely need documentation. He was also hale and dynamic and the exact image of someone who would last forever. We all assumed that Paul would be there when we would need him. I truly can't understand what American Japanese sword collecting will be like without him. Peter
    1 point
  31. Far too many great losses in this community. Our overall age ratio is waaay off, and there is too little new blood. Very sad to lose someone as helpful and skilled as Paul. RIP, and condolences to all who knew him.
    1 point
  32. Had the swords out today (Spring is finally here!) for cleaning and oiling. I fitted the Yamato Hosho/Tegai to it's Tensho koshirae (not sure why I had not done that as yet). It's well fitting and looks very dangerous when this sword is in full mounts, was a fun couple of hours. Also took a few more hada pics because, well I can't resist heavy nie and masame but you all knew that......
    1 point
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