redmond

Outstanding!!! Many thanks to both of you!!!

Martin- I have a spare silver cloth that you can have if you like. PM me and I will send it to you.

Dr Stein- You must have to be a chemist to appreciate this 'holiday'. I just got home from work at the lab and even there, the biologists and microbiologists didn't have a proper appreciation of its significance. One of the most vivid memories I have of undergraduate chem classes was one where a TA from another country was trying to explain the difference between molarity and molality with a very thick accent: he could not pronounce 'l' or 'r'. We kept him going in circles for 45min... Not very nice, maybe, but we did think it funny. A long time ago...

Thank you sir. Avogadro would be pleased.

Indeed. What they said! I lurk much more than post, as I have much to learn and little knowledge yet. Thank you to all who share their expertise and discerning eyes. All of us gain from the sometimes painful, but almost always, extremely objective disection of our 'treasures'.

The screw holding the blade is common on these Shin-gunto. I recently posted a similar sword and received good info: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=13670

Great information. Thank you George, Jean, Brian, Thomas. I did some more digging and found an oshigata on Richard Stein's site that is very similar. http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/yoshsada.jpg

My friend’s late father brought this Late 1944 Shin-Gunto back from WWII. It came from the Hiroshima area (outside the destruction, obviously). The blade and mounts show their age and lack of proper care, but are not terrible. Yes, I am educating her on proper care. Please check my interpretation of the tang markings. The date side looks to me to be: 1944, August; lucky day. On the mei side there is the Star arsenal mark and what looks to me to be: Okishiba (Okishiga?) Yoshisada, then kin, tsukuru, kore (humbly made this?). This is the first Shin-gunto mei I have tried to decipher, let me down gently… There is an Okishiba Yoshisada in the list of the Rikugun Jumei Tosho. Does this blade seem consistent with his work? Date image 1 Date image 2 Arsenal Star Mark Mei Hada (having trouble getting a good picture)