Ratill

Bugyotsuji, Thanks for the response. I hope that other members will weigh in also. I would especially like to know if anyone recognizes the design motif on the shield currently under discussion as well as those on the similar shields in the previous threads. Sincerely, RTillman

Hi All, There is a recent thread on the vikingsword forum (http://www.vikingswo...owthread.php?t=29601, Strange Shield for Discussion [posted 01/30/24]) that may be of interest to Nihonto Message Board members. Thus far there has been no positive ID for the item. Two prior threads on similar items (http://www.vikingswo...owthread.php?t=14825 & http://www.vikingswo...owthread.php?t=22648) also failed to provide an ID. Origin opinions range from North Africa, to Indo Persian to South East Asia. I speculated that the shield might actually have been a discarded jingasa that was repurposed by non-Japanese craftsmen in South East Asia for the local market. After having obtained the ok from the poster and vikingsword moderators, I decided to post a request for input on the Nihonto forum. Who better to determine whether or not the items are Japanese? Sincerely, RTillman

Bruce Pennington, Thanks for the response. That clarifies a lot. What should I do about the nakago. I was thinking that a little light machine oil and hand rubbing with my fingers might remove some of the loose rust, make the mei clearer, and serve to protect the nakago further rusting. Or, should I just leave it alone? Hopefully, if Trystan knows anything more about the smith, he will share the info with us. Sincerely, Tillman

Bangbangsan & Bruce Pennington, I have a fair to middlin knowledge of Indonesian keris, Philippine kris, and etc but with Nihonto I'm not even on the radar so your remarks, which hold significance for you and other experts on this forum are rather cryptic to me. I assume that Bangbangsan's response means that my sword was completed in November of 1943 by Kaneatsu and Bruce Pennington's response means that this is a good thing. I did an on line search for Kaneatsu and came up empty but I did find a site called WWII Japanese Swordsmith's Ranking (copyright 1997-2010 by Dr Jinsoo Kim) which gives a lengthy list of WWII Japanese sword smiths. I couldn't fine Kaneatsu listed (admittedly, I may have missed it). So, that being the case, I have two questions about Kaneatsu: Were his swords traditionally made (masa sa tetsu/tamahagani and water quenched in a traditional manner) and, if not, what is the significance of this smith? I also have one other related question, why was a blade made in 1943 dressed with an Edo period Heianjo tsuba? I am a complete novice when it comes to the nuances of Nihonto, so I would benefit from it greatly if you could spell things out for me. Sincerely, Tillman

Spartancrest, Please forgive my tardy response. I just removed the Philippine hilt (very happily without damage to hilt, blade or tsuba) so I can now follow your advice. Your solution of handling to restore patina appeals to me greatly. The tsuba has a great tactile feel, much like a worry stone and time isn't an issue with beautiful historical objects. Sincerely, RTillman

Hi All, After spending a good while gently prying the Philippine hilt off the nakago (with heart in mouth all the way), to my joy I discovered a mei. There are also characters on the other side (mfg date perhaps?). The problem is that the nakago is too rusty to photograph. The entire nakago is covered with red rust and some of it is flaky. There are also a few blisters of rust present. I know that cleaning the nakago is a very delicate process so l am asking for guidance. I have submitted pictures of both sides of the nakago so that the extent of the problem can be seen. PS, I was able to get the Philippine hilt off without damage and am very happy about that.

ChrisW, I have a feeling that any tsuba cleaning was done in the US. The Filipino owner probably kept the tsuba oiled to prevent rust but after the end of the war, it probably became US serviceman's bring back and then sat in a basement gathering rust until an antiques dealer got a hold of it and cleaned it up. Who knows where it has been for the past 77 years and how many owners it has had. Thanks for the advice in cleaning the blade. I will follow it but I must say that for practically everything else I collect, hand cleaning of red or black rust with an abrasive pad is perfectly acceptable. Of course nothing else I collect is expected to have a mirror polish. Bruce Pennington, I was afraid that it would be impossible to tell from the photographs whether or not I have a genuine samurai blade. This leaves me with a decision. Do I risk degrading the item's WWII history for the possibility a much older samurai history or do I leave things as they are. I think I will carefully poke around a bit to see if the hilt can be removed without damage. If I can get it off, perhaps the tang will tell us more. Sincerely, RTillman

Spartancrest, Thanks for the info. I suspect that my tsuba was was black like the two you show with the blossoms. Is there any way to restore this color and also restore the gold colored metal of the pattern? Sincerely, RTillman

Hi All, I just posted a mystery sword in the military forum. I am posting the tsuba here in hope of more information on it. I will also post the entire sword just for context. Save for the fuchi, the hilt is certainly Philippine work. I am sure that the fuchi and sheath are from a shin-gunto but the blade may or may not be a shin-gunto. The tsuba certainly isn't shin-gunto and the workmanship is simply stunning (or any other superlative that you would care to use). The lines of the intricate and precise geometric pattern cut in the steel are about a hair in thickness. These lines were originally filled with some sort of gold colored alloy (I would love to know how they did that). Each side has three five-pointed stars. All three of the stars and much of the inlay are present on the hilt side but only one star remains on the blade side and most of the inlay is missing.

It has been quite a while since I last visited here. So long in fact that the forum wouldn't accept my password and I had to make a new one (it accepted my user name though, so go figure). I just bought this Japanese sword and would like to have everybody's opinion. Because of the characteristic aluminum inlay on the two piece horn hilt, I am quite certain that the sword was rehilted in the Philippines. The brass butt cap (very well done) also shows standard Philippine motifs. Covering the tang is a brass backstrap running from underneath the fuchi to underneath the butt cap. Obviously, whoever rehilted this blade, valued it highly. Since the fuchi and sheath appear to be the standard shin gun to type, the logical conclusion would then be that the blade is a shin-gunto that was captured during WWII. The tsuba however is decidedly not a shin-gunto tsuba and there is something about the distal third of the blade itself that doesn't look like a shin gunto to my (admittedly novice) eye. The blade measures 27" (68.5 cm) as measured in a straight line from the center at the tsuba to the tip. My dilemma is that, as it now stands, I have a piece of WWII history and I am unwilling to compromise it by removing the hilt to free up a shin-gunto blade but, if this is truly an old blade (possibly with a signature), then removal of the hilt must be considered. I know that the pictures I have provided may not be sufficient. Please let me know if I can take others that will help. Given the condition of the blade, would I do any harm if I hand rubbed it down with a 3M abrasive pad to try to clean it up a bit? I have also posted pictures of the tsuba and the entire sword in the tsuba section. Sincerely, R Tillman

Was the NCO model 95 habaki cast or folded and soldered. I have read that the commissioned officer's habaki was cast. I know it is thicker (it won't fit in an NCO scabbard throat) and the NCO habaki doesn't have that notch on the top. If the NCO was folded and soldered, I was thinking of making it because I need one (along with the aluminum hilt and a seppa). Sincerely, R Tillman

Don't I know it. Although I have to say that prices have pulled back a good bit from the pre housing bubble unrealistic levels. The blade in question had a few edge nicks and appeared to have been subjected to abrasive cleaning with a rather coarse medium but I think the cleaning scratches could be polished out. There was no pitting. Sincerely, R Tillman

I was told that the sword went for $450. Sincerely, R Tillman

Thanks for the reply. If I ever see one again, I'll know what I'm looking at. The reserve was $150 and the estimated price was $300-$500. I don't know what it realized or even if it sold. I'll call them and see if they will tell me. If they do, I'll let you know. Sincerely, R Tillman

I saw this blade at a small local auction. The blade, habaki, tsuba, menuki, and kabuto-gane all looked correct for the type. The blade catch also appeared to be correct (but very worn). The tsuka didn't have the characteristic diamond pattern but rather a number of thin grooves encircling it and it was wrapped in (what appeared to my untrained eye) a traditional manner. The wrap was a faded red. It looked old but maybe in too good shape to be 67 years old. The saya was yellow wood that at one time had been painted, lacquered or stained red. The red was very faded and mostly gone. The 1 inch steel chape appeared to be a cut down version of the 1945 pattern and the drag also appeared to have been ground down. The 2-3 inch saya throat also appeared to have been taken from a 1945 pattern but the little screw, instead of being up near the top of the saya, was by the suspension ring. Has anyone seen these type of modifications or is this just a dog's breakfast cobbled together from original parts. Sincerely, R Tillman