matthewbrice

Wow Andrew. That’s him! Really cool you found the vet. Thank you for doing that research!! —Matt St. Croix Blades

No, the boshi is all there and healthy. It's just difficult to see in the photos. The yokote line isn't all that defined on one side of the blade, but is visible on the other side. See in this photo that Rawa enlarged. --Matthew Brice

Ha appears fine. If anything, it looks like there was some past light oxidation removed from the blade. Could be that whomever removed the oxidation caused scratches on one side of the ha, or used more pressure on that side with steel wool (or whatever was used). Regardless, this Army sword has been through a war and 80+ years of storage. Very typical condition. Not out of the ordinary. A couple hundred bucks fixes the sharpening on the kissaki (if the buyer even cares that much about the sharpening). I know I wasn't going to pass up a Nagamitsu in Type 3 mounts over that. Thanks Colin. --Matt

Colin--train your eye to follow the edge of the hamon from further up the blade. It tracks right to the boshi. I'll take a look at the ha on the sword shortly. Working on something else at the moment. Thanks Colin. --Matt

Rawa--the bringback paper photocopy is legit. The antiquities dealer would have had to get pretty creative to come up with that. And it wasn't a selling point from the dealer--he said some paperwork came with it that he said shows who made the sword. I already knew who made it, so I didn't even look at the papers until I got home. The boshi is there. Not a problem. This photo shows it. --Matt

Thank you Joe! So very informative. I appreciate your time and efforts! --Matt

Moriyama-san was very kind to translate the inscription. Here it is: 'Responding to the order from Rev. Suzuki Shoun, Minamoto Amahide forged this'. --Matthew Brice https://stcroixblades.com/product-category/Japanese-swords/

Moriyama-san, thank you! When you write 'Rev.', do you mean the sword was ordered by a Reverend? Or by the reverent man Suzuki Shoun? --Matt

Look above from the Condition description: 'The kissaki was sharpened.'

On the kissaki only. It is what it is. Would cost a few hundred bucks to have the kissaki restored by a polisher.

Rawa--that isn't the case here. Bought from an antiques dealer--had only bought a few Japanese swords in his life. There are other papers with the sword as well. A hand-written eval of the sword by a collector or dealer from 30-40 years ago among the papers.

Hello. This appears to be a Special Order? The smith is Amahide—but asking for help with the rest of the inscription. (Not the best handwriting). Thank you!

1 WWII Japanese Army Sword available. This Army Officer shin gunto sword is mounted with an old Samurai family blade. This sword would make an important addition to any collection. An IJA Officer either brought his family’s blade to an armorer to be mounted in WWII shin gunto mounts for the war, or chose and purchased an old Samurai blade from the armorer for his sword. The blade is from the Shinto period, and is handsomely signed ‘Yoshikuni’. The blade nagasa is 21 13/16″ (55.4 cm). The saya is wood with a leather combat cover. The armorer added a throat fitting to the wood saya that allows the tsuka’s locking mechanism to catch and function. The armorer also added the usual Army hanger fitting, and fixed it in place with banded wire and simple sheet metal surround around the saya and fitting to hold it firmly. The sarute is made of silk. CONDITION: The WWII Japanese Army Sword is in a beautiful state of polish. There are absolutely no weld openings of any kind on the blade. This is a beautiful blade! The tsuka is in perfect condition–and still with its original silk sarute. The leather combat cover has surface crazing, but is in solid condition. A fine sword for any collector. $1750 obo --Matthew Brice https://stcroixblades.com/home/

1 Japanese Nagamitsu WWII Sword available. This Army gendai sword would make an important addition to any collection. This traditionally-made gendaito katana has an expertly water-tempered wavy hamon. This Japanese WW II Army Officer’s katana is in 1944 shin-gunto mounts (aka Type 3 mounts). This sword was brought back by Lt. Robert L. Sayre of the 27th Infantry Division. A copy of the original bringback/souvenir paper accompanies this sword. The nakago is signed ‘Nagamitsu’. The blade measures 24 3/16″ (61.4 cm) (measured properly from the blade tip to the notch in the blade spine). This sword has two latch releases. The saya is a textured lacquer over wood. A handsome braided sarute is attached to the handle/tsuka. CONDITION: This sword is in excellent condition with wonderful mounts. What a fine example! The handle wrap and saya are quite nearly perfect. The sword locks in the saya, and the lock release buttons function perfectly. There are no nicks in the blade edge. The blade has the occasional staining that is expected in a sword that was brought back from Japan 80 years ago. The kissaki was sharpened. The temper line and boshi are perfectly healthy. This sword is guaranteed against fatal flaws. $2600 obo --Matthew Brice https://stcroixblades.com/home/