Stegel

I think the OP tassel is std quality aswell. Here's some pics to help see the difference as i understand it to be. Standard quality tassel - no colour change at edges when looking at the solid colour. Top quality tassel - opposing colours appear at both top and bottom of the flattened strap. I agree with Ed about the various manufacturers supplying the IJA. I have seen an almost green tassel instead of brown for the navy, but never with the brown company grade for army use. Some of the army ones i have seen and owned had the "blue" appear to be almost purple. Here's another where the actual tassels are yellowish on one and more of a darker gold on the other, however both are Std quality when looking at the straps. Here's a Std Grade General rank tassel with Yellow thread zig-zag instead of the gold bullion thread. Hope this helps you out some.

If there is still doubt about his performance, let me put it to rest with an 8 month report card so to speak. After posting this thread, I went through my data base and cross checked previous data to confirm that what he is doing to this field of collecting could be seen as an absolute disaster. Parts are being swapped, ie brass for steel tsuba's and vice versa, fuchi and scabbards or throats of scabbards. Items are being sold multiple times on occasion, usually at a higher price than originally sold for. Cleaning is performed and even polishing. Chips and other blade damage is repaired. Re-stamping of scabbards is so rampant it could be viewed as an obsession of his, and a red flag is the over use of talc to highlight numbers and hide features of the scabbard throats. All of his sales are Matching serial numbers!! (quite a few in completely invalid configurations- as they could not have come from the issuing arsenal like this) I can back all my claims with evidence if required. In summary, 21 out of a total of 47 sales have the examples deliberately changed a further 13 are doubtful as there are suspicions present (re-stamping etc), 11 could be seen to appear genuine, and only 2 can be considered 100% genuine IMO. colour code for easy visualisation: BOLD RED----DISGRACEFUL RED------------BUSTED! CAUGHT RED HANDED ORANGE------SUSPICIOUS EXAMPLE GREEN--------APPEARS TO BE OK BLUE-----------GENUINE EXAMPLE date: serial # summary info: 20180205 37201 名 GIFU 東 Scabbard Swap & RESTAMP 20180212 51366 東 SUYA Possible RE-STAMP 20180220 120414 東 Iijima Possibly LEGIT 20180226 83370 名 SEKI LOOKS LEGIT QUICK CLEAN & RESALE 20180308 63273 名 GIFU ADDED THROAT SCREW & CLEAN LEGIT 20180318 93714 東 SUYA 名-Scabbard Swap REPAIR and RE-STAMP 20180318 148988 Iijima with Tsuba, Scabbard & FUCHI Swap and RESTAMP 20180320 90282 東 Possible LEGIT 20180323 300014 Pattern 5 Scabbard RESTAMP--> RARITY RUINED 20180328 137252 Iijima Tokyo 1st Possible TSUBA SWAP but LOOKS LEGIT 20180402 124360 東 ReStamped Scabbard 20180407 215768 関 CLEAN & REPAIR 20180409 30387 東 SUYA Possible RE-STAMP 20180414 24244 東 New Scab Throat 20180414 213538 関 Possible RE STAMP 20180420 137559 Iijima FUCHI SWAP with Possible RE-STAMP 20180423 44472 東 Iijima Possible RE-STAMP 20180425 65839 名 GIFU LOOKS LEGIT 20180428 81646 SEKI SOLD TWICE 2WKS APART 20180507 123609 東 ReStamp Scabbard 20180507 212842 FEINT STAMPS SHOWA22 20180508 55451 東 100% Scabbard RESTAMP 20180513 Pattern 8 wooden handle with GREEN ITO LEGIT EXAMPLE 20180516 99924 名 TSUBA SWAP Salmon Scab 20180522 97564 東 CLEAN & RE SELL 20180527 Pattern 8 wooden handle with RED ITO LEGIT EXAMPLE 20180603 27602 東 名-Scabbard 20180617 12637 東 Iijima Possible RE-STAMP 20180701 78249 名 GIFU LOOKS LEGIT 20180708 84662 名 SEKI LOOKS LEGIT FIRST SALE 20180709 56322 東 Iijima ADDED SARUTE PARTS 20180714 84662 名 SEKI LOOKS LEGIT SECOND SALE- TWICE WITHIN 1WK 20180719 44955 Iijima 東 LOOKS LEGIT 20180724 41823 東 名-Scabbard 20180729 28820 東 LOOKS LEGIT 20180803 41823 東 名-Scabbard 20180804 7241 東 ReStamp SWAPPED Scabbard FIRST SALE 20180809 55060 東 LOOKS LEGIT FIRST SALE 20180814 19410 東 名-Scabbard SWAPPED OUT COPPER SCABBARD #5208 20180820 39157 東 RE STAMPED 20180825 7241 東 Scabbard Swap & ReStamp SECOND SALE 20180830 55060 東 LOOKS LEGIT SECOND SALE 20180906 89468 東 REPAIR & SAUTE Added THEN RE-SELL 20180911 77131 東 Possible RE-STAMP 20180916 75398 東 LOOKS LEGIT 20180918 34360 東 CANCELLED after being exposed 20181014 123350 東 CANCELLED after being exposed again. Collecting in this field and building a data base has made it easy to make the above observations, but for the nihonto guys, well i can't say, but i would advise extreme caution. The validity of any database now requires a further degree of scutiny, and he has sent a lot of serious collectors, including myself here, into a severe tail spin, with his actions. Having said all this, i believe that no one should be buying anything from this person at all. If you wish to pursue the hobby, then there are many other sellers who do not cheat and deceive, just to make a sale chasing a quick dollar.

Jean, I only looked at the basics for my data base to start with and wasn't aware of the rarity of the original until Chris made me look deeper. In fact the picture of the tsuba in post 41 is a blow up from the original sale pic, and only about 5% of the original photo.

The fact that he has pulled his sale last month after i exposed him, and again just the other day with his latest sale, tells me that this post/forum and debate is making a difference. People are reading and taking note- including showa22 himself, (i think he values his 100% feedback rating.) I thought you said you were a fatalist?? you have a fairly optimistic attitude i think.

Chris, You made me have a good look at the original sale info back in April 2018, and the damage this seller is doing only gets better. What was originally sold was a 100% genuine and un-adulterated Steel tsuba variant. It had the 'transitional' tsuba, which has the punch outs for both top locking and side locking mechanisms. I have only come across 5 of these in the last 20 yrs, all were exactly the same configuration and all had the Jinsen Arsenal acceptance stamp next to the normal fuchi stampings. He has actually done himself and the collecting community a disservice. He swapped this tsuba out for a brass tsuba.

Luis, As a sociologist, you say you don't look at the past, only the present. Well do you choose to ignore and accept deception and lies? just accept them?? even in our present/current society? This is the point of my original post, as these items can be viewed as historical artifacts where the value of them lies in their 'unmolested' originality, any blatant changes are just simply wrong, and i, along with a large proportion of collectors won't stand for it. My collecting focus is now solely on the type 95 model. Sorry if i offend you with a pedantic bean counter attitude with these, but i can tell you more about them than you could imagine. minute changes and production variations etc... If lightning strikes and you have a sudden change of heart, with an obsessive desire to start collecting these, then i would be glad to get you up to speed, perhaps only then, you would appreciate the purpose of my original post

My take on the sword while it is my turn to historically molest it... Day glow ito with perspex tsuba , sprinkles of glitter , fake jewels embedded into the tsuka and saya It would have a worksafe reflective piping along the edges of a new Hi-viz combat cover. to keep the militaria guys happy i'll stamp matching numbers on all parts visible. I would then say it is not modified in any way and 100% original. But hey..... the value is only in the blade. who cares about the rest.

Hmmm..... ok Lets stick to the facts first. Some of the bad behaviour i found: 1 Re-stamping of scabbards to make matching sets. 2 Rebuilding swords from other donor swords. 3 Adding parts to replace missing parts, and how conveniently, they now have matching numbers... 4 and the usual dealer activity, buy now and re-sell later at higher sale prices of course! (usually with very suspect bid activity) Examples: Serial # 24244 Originally sold with NO Throat on the scabbard by a different seller, then sold by him 4wks later with a "new and matching" throat on the scabbard -no inspection mark as he doesn't have those stamps. Serial # 19410 Aluminium handled NCO with a Copper handled scabbard sold on Aug 03 2018. Then re-sold by him on Aug 14 2018 with, you guessed it, 'matching scabbard' The mistake is you now have a Tokyo sword and Nagoya scabbard, DOHH!! The quick turn around could mean the original seller lives very close to him/ is VERY 'close' to him / or is him. ( HOT TIP----> Get ready for a future 'matching' Copper Handled sale soon..with the scabbard he just swapped out.) Serial # 7241 Item relisted after being sold. on re-sale, had more bids with $175 increase. Looks like he 'bought' his own sword then sold it 3wks later at a better price, This second sale has suspicious bid activities Serial # 27602 Sold with 'matching scabbard', however, the scabbard is re-stamped, once again you now have a Tokyo sword and Nagoya scabbard. A completely invalid configuration, never released in this way by the arsenals. Very hard to notice as well for a newbie to collecting. Serial # 123609 Also sold with 'matching scabbard', however, the scabbard is re-stamped, again you now have a Tokyo sword and Nagoya scabbard. And the best of ALL!!!! Serial # 41823 Originally sold with a steel tsuba and fuchi, non matching scabbard... and you guessed it, resold with brass tsuba, copper fuchi and matching 're-stamped' scabbard. Again you now have a Tokyo sword and Nagoya scabbard. It is now essentially a completely different sword....nice profit margin too!! These all occured in the last 6mths, and i can provide evidence of these and other sales by him . The intentional deception and lies (stating they are original and not modified) are what i am exposing and letting possible buyers be aware of what they are dealing with. Now Luis, I am a realist so i'll tell you the way it is. Yes this is the NMB forum dealing with all things nihonto, this caters primarily for 'blade' lovers. There are also other blade lovers who like the fittings, so they frequent the tosogu page. Others again want to buy/sell blades so they visit the trading pages. A while ago, Brian introduced the Military swords of Japan page. This page is for the discussion and identification of non-traditionally made Japanese military swords 1876-1945 The pure 100% machine made swords are a subset of this page, which is primarily frequented by MILITARIA enthusiasts who want to know more about their swords etc. militaria - Military articles of historical interest, such as weapons, uniforms, and equipment. Historical correctness is important here. As your user name suggests, you must be a blade lover. I don't understand why you persist (with an air of arrogance i might add) in trying to hijack this thread with your self righteous crap, are you a natural born agent provocateur? Even here, i see that you miss the point no matter how obvious... simple really, it's not about the level at all. *edit by admin - point made*

He has pulled the listing down........ no doubt he trawls the forums.. Probably this part.... It reached $227, with a little help from 'his' friends no doubt. I guess i wouldn't be on his christmas card list.... Ohh well

Well it was at $28 after only 4hrs, when i brought it to your attention. Now after 20 hrs it is at $214.50. He has some dedicated followers who continually bid just to be the leading bid.....what a lucky guy! not many other auctions have such a remarkable increase in less than one day (unless the piece it truly exceptional) 17bids in 24 hrs. 7 by one bidder alone and another 2 from one with no name at all it appears, all in just the first 20hrs! Old habits die hard i suppose! Lol

Sorry, Neil, the April sale was by a different seller in another state.

After quickly pulling down his ebay listings last month when i exposed this fraud, and lying low with his type 95 NCO sales on ebay......This CLOWN is at it again!!! Tsuba swapping on this particular type 95 sword, which he is now selling. Be aware that he is dishonest and you should NOT be buying anything from him as far as i'm concerned. For serious collectors, he is destroying any value of data that can be gathered, and for anyone buying from him, you cannot be sure that the sword is unmodified in any way, - hence not original. In fact, he is intentionally deceiving all potential buyers by stating this in his description of the item. (modified: No) This sword serial number 123350, originally sold last April 24th, for US$766 but it had a steel tsuba as can be seen below: (original pictures from this sale) He is now selling it with a Brass tsuba on ebay as can be seen here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-WWll-Army-officers-type-95-NCO-sword-matching-number-Kokura-arsenal/362457090982?hash=item5464204ba6:g:M6sAAOSwJr1bwURA:rk:1:pf:0 My impression, with his past history, is that he thinks this configuration is more desirable, and hence will bring in better prices for him. What he doesn't consider is the damage he is doing to the whole collecting world and the future of our hobby/interest. Now i'm watching to see him or his mates bump up the price to ensure a good profit. SHAME ON YOU SHOWA22

Update Auction has been withdrawn due to 'error in the listing' Maybe he trawls this forum and has noticed this thread........ I can't comment on the sale chris mentioned, but i agree that here, i would think, is safer than ebay, or at least run it by the guys here, before buying from ebay.

I posted this alert over at the Warrelics forum and thought i'd post it here aswell, in the hope that any new guys to the hobby or anyone not to familiar with the type95 NCO sword would take notice and be aware of this guy. Here's what i posted: today i noticed he is active again and posted this: I believe that he is know to some of the members here, but anyway, good luck and be aware guys.

You're welcome Lonnie, By the way, i personally wouldn't remove the handle by unscrewing the two retaining screws, as there is not much to see really. These were all machine made and are not considered valuable in the nihonto sense, that is, traditionally (or non-traditionally ie. oil quenched etc) made by a smith who signed the blade and dated it. The blades have no characteristics of some of the officer blades which were generally privately purchased or family blades re-fitted into war time mountings. If you do remove the handle, you may find an inspection stamp and that's about it. These are not made by smiths and as such, are not signed or dated at all. You have the remnants of a company grade officers tassel on yours.. blue/brown, this is not uncommon as there was a materials shortage and sword shortage in the late 30's which persisted throughout the war. To alleviate this shortage for officers, the IJA had basically introduced a contingency plan where officers could rent or buy a type 95 issued sword- so these would have the company grade tassel instead of the normal NCO leather tassel. There is a post by Nick Komiya over at the War Relics forum which discusses this, i think that it is on this forum somewhere as well. This contingency plan saw the introduction of the incorrectly termed 'Type 3' or 'NLF' late war, sword for officers as an alternative to the more expensive type 98 mounts, which was made in 1940 according to Japanese war archive notes. Here's a link to Ohmura's site for some great general info on all types of Japanese Military swords: http://ohmura-study.net/900.html I think you'll find it a great read and no doubt get some more answers to questions you may have.

Steve is right, Late War type 95 NCO sword. It is the last of the eight patterns to be found in this model. These have been getting high prices over the last few years as they are reasonably rare. Yours also has the composite leather Combat cover over the scabbard.....nice! I have one with a suede cover. The ito wrap on the handle was also available in two colours - a reddish brown like yours(usually faded to a pinkish brown) and a dark green (possibly a faded black) In Dawson's book he speculated that it could have been for officer use because of this wrap. The Late War Patterns came with wooden scabbards instead of the metal ones commonly seen. I've added a photo for you to see the different Late War patterns. All type 95's came with serial numbers on blade and scabbard, when the wooden scabbards were introduced, they stopped putting serial numbers on the scabbards, but continued with Arsenal inspection stamps. The last pattern to have serial numbers on the blade was the knurled 'pineapple' wooden handled blades - which is the bottom one in the photo. The inspection mark to look for is "He" and it is shaped like the letter 'L' but rotated 90 degrees clockwise onto its side. It is normally found on the blade or fuchi (collar) at the end of the handle near the guard. You probably won't see it on your scabbard because of the leather cover, but it would be on the drag and the sides of the pressed metal throat which incorporates the hanger. Hope this gives you the information you were looking for.

I was thinking that in combat situations, the cord sarute wouldn't be very practical and so more along the lines of Neil's "fashion" statement. Then i noticed that Ohmura's photo in the first post had a field grade tassel used by higher ranks not in combat roles, and after you all gave examples of high end blades and fittings where these are usually found.... i would tend to agree that it could be a high end option for officers. On a side note, as my main focus is the Type 95 NCO variants, i'd like to share a late war Pattern 5 (Wood handle & Steel scabbard) which also has a similar sarute. It is more flat like "ito" wrap than a cord so to speak but suits the fittings better and functions the same. These late war NCO's usually had the leather tassel looped through the hole to be mounted normally (last picture)

Merry Christmas to all of you! As Nick has given his approval to use the information here, i thought i'd put together a quick document for you all. I;m pretty sure this is what you had in mind Brian. It may need updating if any more is added. Cheers gunto call up 12-23-2017.pdf

Hi Guy, Personally i haven't disassembled any of my swords, except for one which had a damaged handle. Unfortunately i did not notice anything unusual in this area and did not take photo's of it disassembled either. However, i did come across some photot's of 3 blades which were offered for sale once and they were bare blades only... no habiki fitted at all. The lower one is a Tokyo Arsenal blade the two top ones are Nagoya, and they all exhibit the same characteristics as yours, so i would tend to be inclined to not worry about the misalignment as it seems to be a common trait from both Arsenals. You will find that not many people pull their swords apart as they tend to not re-assemble as well as original. As the blades are machine made and not traditionally forged, there is no real need to look for signatures as they do not have any. That being said, Bruce has from memory had 2 or 3 of his apart due to some restoration work and has noticed some interesting stamps on the tangs such as the "w" - which makes me think that it could be useful to investigate further and document these. Perhaps he has some photo's of his which he could add here. I hope this puts you at ease somewhat, your sword is genuine 100% Cheers

Paul, nice find, i always find these interesting pieces. Dave, i think the sword is fine, but agree and would say that the tassel and tsuka cover were added to this piece. What do you think?

Yes Chris, this one is Genuine. Cheers

Hi Paul, Please don't take this the wrong way, but, could you please tell me what you mean by the "laws" of collecting?? I have been collecting these for over 20yrs and have been collecting overall since 1974, so i am not sure of what you mean and how these "laws" led you to the conclusion that the sword (not scabbard) is fake?? I have a Prototype- as per Dawsons book, and exactly like the one i posted pictures of in my previous post. There are only three that i know of and none have any serial numbers or Arsenal stampings on them. This is because they preceeded any production run and were in concept phase. I have other prototypes which were made well into the production run, and these have serial numbers. My point here is that- No,- Prototypes do not necessarily have serial numbers/stampings and care should be taken before making such assumptions. Cheers

Hello to all, You have an interesting sword here Guy, and it's sparked a lively conversation about it aswell! I thought i'd offer my opinion for what it's worth.... 1- The sword is genuine, albeit it has the original sarute loop missing and a type94/98 one fitted instead. Yes, the serial number is from the 1938 production run. The Handle is also the correct 'early' casting which was used for a short time only before being altered to better accommodate the mounting screw so that it didn't protrude into the palm of the hand. 2- The Saya appears to be genuine, in that the textured paint finish is correct for the type 94/98 scabbard. I think it would be the heavier steel type construction, and not the lighter versions or even the Aluminium version which was also made. The fittings are somewhat cruder than what i would expect, particularly the end cap and the scabbard throat itself, which has been modified or purposely made, to allow the original locking mechanism of the sword to function properly. Now, the speculation as to the history of the sword and how it came about to be the way it is. For your sake, i would love for it to be a period piece made exactly the way it is now, but i have some reservations based on things i've seen during my time as a collector of type 95 swords. Firstly,I do not believe that this is a "chinese" fake at all. The best case scenario i can see is that it was some sort of field repair/replacement, but i think this might be stretching it a bit. Personally, i would put my money on a post-war construction. I also doubt that it is any kind of 'prototype' aswell, although the possibility exists that it may have been intentionally made to appear like one. Those of you who have Dawson's book, would be aware of the possible prototype for the type 95 sword which is mentioned. Well, it so happens, that the best example i can think of, was in fact a prototype (type-95) all aluminium construction, in very rough condition, complete, except for the scabbard throat which was missing along with the locking mechanism in the handle. I came across it in the possession of a rather small dealer who didn't advertise and wasn't well known. About one year later, the EXACT same sword was offered for sale by a different dealer as the RARE Prototype as per Dawson's book, but it now had a scabbard throat and locking mechanism !! I must also admit that it was reasonably well made, and could of passed as a period piece for all intensive purposes, (as it no doubt did with the sale).... but i KNEW better!! I've added pictures for you to see. Dawson's entry on the prototype from his book- The rough sword with no scabbard throat- One year later, the same sword, now for sale- Now Guy, getting back to your sword, i didn't mean to muddy the waters, or take your thread off on a tangent, i just wanted you to understand why i have come to the 'opinion' that i have. Cheers

That sounds like a real nasty cut, hard to see anyone surviving that! If the sword was bent and damaged, i suspect it was of a 'poorer' quality to do so, or the soldier was wearing some of his gear which may have helped with the damage. An awkward Knock with not much pressure can cause the edge of a blade to chip (even on wood), so i would discount edge chips as obvious 'battle' damage. It may just be post war mistreatment and too hard to prove as conclusive battle damage such as a bullet for example. A bit different to World War type damage from bullets/shrapnel and such, I have a sword with what appear to be knicks along the back edge or spine, although the rest of the blade is in fine polish. i've been told these could be from actual sword to sword combat, as the practice was to preserve the edge and block with the back of the blade if possible. A polish would fix edge chips, but not really the deeper gouges on the spine of the blade. The blade is by Ujifusa from 1770. I havn't got any photo's, but will try to get some and post when i get a chance.

Good find Erwin! Not much has been mentioned in reference books about the colour schemes available. As far as the Pattern 5 (first wooden handle with Steel scabbard) goes, Dawson's only mentions the drab olive green as the standard and the rarer black which you now have, but more varieties were produced. There is also a darker brown, a jungle green and a winter camo... an off white (cream). Here's a picture of some of mine, all are matching serial numbers, so scabbards are original to the blades with handles