paul griff

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Thanks to everyone for the information and comments…Blade is in superb condition,seppa and tsuba are numbered 49 and the saya is the lightweight wooden type….Nakago has had the active rust treated and stabilised… Regards, Paul..

Thanks to all for the information..much appreciated….Couldn’t believe people were picking it up and putting it down and to be honest I thought it was an old blade which is my preferred choice…I won’t say how how much but every sword was under 1k… Regards, Paul..

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Hello, Picked this one up today amongst at Birmingham amongst a pile of Gunto…I’m not very good at reading mei but think it’s Yasunori….Always a good sign with silver habaki ,pierced tsuba and gilded mounts…Blade is very elegant and beautifully balanced with a deep suguha hamon…. Regards, Paul..

Hello Myles, Just to add…good find,a very nice sword.. Regards, Paul..

Hello Justin, It’s 100% genuine Type 95 Japanese NCO’s shin Gunto 3rd pattern and probably made at the Nagoya arsenal ( need to see the little stamps on the metal ring around the hilt to confirm this )…Nice to see it’s original paint on the hilt ( tsuka ) and scabbard ( saya )….Best to get that screw back in and with NCO most swords don’t undo it and take it apart as 99% have arsenal made blades… Regards, Paul..

Hello George, You’re welcome and to answere your question ….A seasoned collector and dealer showed me what he believed was the best way to approach a new find or potential purchase before the excitement clouded your judgement ..Look at the sword in it’s saya and see if things match up…In the case of this sword they don’t,this type of saya needs a retention clip that goes through the tsuba which it cannot plus there appears to be a jumble of seppa both retention type and solid..Without better photo’s of the saya I cannot say it is genuine or not but the poor casting to the ashi and the material of the shibabiki look wrong..The tsuka has been badly painted and the kuchi-gane is missing it’s retention button enabling the solid tsuba to be fitted..The sarute looks ok so does the kabuki-gane with evidence of a mon…The blade has a silvered habaki which is nicely fitted onto a blade that is definitely genuine but to me looks oil quenched although heavily cleaned or polished with it’s rounded edges and loss of definition at the yakote…….From the photo’s the blade looks a good length and if it slides nicely into the saya then they are most probably mated….Hope this is helpful and not too negative.. Regards, Paul..

Hello Adam, It’s a reproduction…Colour is too dark,round bullion above tassel too big ,the material is too thick and the sliding barrel is probably off another different shade reproduction knot.. Regards, Paul.

Hello George, It’s a “Frankenstein “ made out of different gunto parts…..It’s not all fake but not really worth much either and a bad sword to start any collection.. Regards, Paul..

Hello, Both fakes I’m afraid….The type 95 has poor detail to the hilt most noticeable in the small dots that copy a ray skin effect , arsenal stamps on the fuchi poorly stamped distorting the metal ,the saya ( scabbard ) looks recently made and the number on the blade should not start with a zero.. The type 94 Officers sword again has poor definition when compared to an original type 94 which really do have quality fittings…Tsuba is the wrong type of metal and is poorly cast,washers ( septa’s ) are again the wrong material and poorly finished with too many numbers of the wrong font , hilt binding is a rough material , the menuki looks wrong and the sarute ( sword knot ) loop is the wrong design….The blade nakago ( tang ) is lacking file marks and the kanji ( letters / characters ) look like they are have been done with a dremel type tool..Saya looks too new… Regards, Paul

Hello John, Yes, the drag is extended….A lot of nice touches to this sword my photo’s do it no justice.. Regards, Paul..

Hello Mike, Here is one,type 98 ,custom mounts,long nakago and a lovely blade signed Tada Yoshi ( gimei )… Regards, Paul..

Hello, It’s a genuine sword that has just been overcleaned and overpainted with a modern reproduction knot from the London uniform company… Paul..

Hello Brian, 100% fake….Very crude moulding to the tsuka,the detail is awful especially the wobbly join line plus the securing screw and sarute fitting is modern brass by the look…that bohi is also dreadful…..One for the scrap pile I’m afraid…. Best Regards, Paul

Hello Tom, I have only seen one other Gunto painted white , a first model nco with the copper hilt....That paint had also turned to ivory and appeared to be oil based.....The sword was 100% original and I still kick myself for not buying it ! I have no doubt it was period done and probably for Manchuria... Regards, Paul...

Hello, Stephen got it first time....modern fake ......not the worse but pretty bad ! Regards, Paul..

Hello, Just picked this one up locally…..Nice dark patina to the Saya which I believe to be period….Sword had those specks of early oil based paint splashed on it when it had been mounted on a living room wall, blade was covered with a really nasty sticky grease….Sword has all the pointers of being well used i.e razor sharp with sharpening marks and plenty nicks and scars towards the kissaki and interesting repair to kuchi-gane.. Regards, Paul..

Hello all, Thank’s to everyone for the information and to Dale for pointing out my error ( two feet tsuba ! )..ha,ha Regards, Paul.

Hello all, I recently acquired a tired old wakizashi because the tsuba looked interesting and would appreciate any information any members could provide i.e age ,signature etc…….The tsuba is 70mm in diameter with a blade cutout of30mm.. Regards, Paul..

Hello Markus, It’s a fake 100%..... Regards, Paul..

Many thanks for that Ray,much appreciated... Paul...

Hello, Appreciate a translation of the attached... Regards, Paul...