Dave R

I just checked, and though I have posted this before, on another thread, I think it has a place here. Bought from a Japanese vendor and sold as a full koshirae, I think it was actually a collection of pieces put together for sale.... The black paint/lacquer on the gilded tsuba is the bit I see as relevant to this thread. Not really clear in the pic's but the gilding is in good bright condition.

Also lacks visible means of attachment to the Tsuka. Very poor build quality, so I would say "not made by a Japanese".

Personal take on this, an older blade remounted in Showa era civil mounts (Saya has cross hatching in the Kurikata slot which I have not seen on older damaged saya) then taken to war. The tosogu could be any age from late Edo to Showa. Replacing the organic parts is fairly common especially on a sword intended for use either for cutting or Iaido.

There are examples even on here of blades markedly shorter than the saya, and various reasons given. Boasting, could only afford or obtain a short blade, but put it in a long saya so that it looked better. Alterations during the life of the blade, but kept it in the old saya. Sneaky, carried a short blade in a long saya for a fast draw to surprise the opponent. Mismatched after losing the original saya, often seen on "battlefield" pickups. Mismatched by a dealer, I have a nice sword and a decent saya, a pity they did not come together... but hey, they fit!

I have a wakizashi of this form, posted elsewhere here. The katana seem to be a specialist blade, apparently favoured for competitive test cutting nowadays.

It's worth remembering just how many swords there were and are in Japan. Also a good maker does not mean that a good sword was used, most likely damaged blades. Anything saleable would have gone to market.

I have this one, faint but still there, traces of a cut to the mune. A Wakizashi cut down to a long Wakizashi or short Katana.

The wooden linings of a metal saya are quite easily removable . I would check them out first for damage and contamination. Lots of information in the military section of this forum.

I also think that the items at top have a complicated history, with old genuine mounts and pieces salted through with dubious stuff. If anyone wanted to move on a damaged or very poor condition (unsaleable) Nihonto, sticking some genuine(ish) WW2 mounts on it would make an otherwise junk blade readily saleable, because militaria sells by a different criteria to Nihonto.

It's always a problem when stuff is jumbled up, it's why I get a bit twitchy when someone piggybacks on a thread with a different item. This style keeps turning up and I thinks it's a legit Showa empire piece, but whether it's for Manchuria or Chinese collaborators I cannot say.

Sell it on Ebay..... Only joking! Generally they were made with vegetable tanned leather which is prone to rot, and the quality varied a lot. I have one that is top quality bridle leather, and others that show all the signs of late war shortages. The stitching is usually too fine to restitch as well. As suggested above, replace it with an original.

There are some examples here with photo's, but I would be wary. These are not official arms but substitutes and survival knives, much like the tanto that turn up in just wood and leather mounts. http://ohmura-study.net/762.html

A Japanese brides wedding dagger?

This looks very like one of those blades still in shirasaya that then had the minimum done to make it serviceable in combat. Traditional tsuba as well. A nice find indeed.

RIP.

The giveaway is bright un-patinated brass, as always. The real ones have a copper finish, with yellow brass highlights.

I think a "Bitser", possibly an original very very worn blade, and the rest a grab bag of replica parts. The leather of the saya is a give-away, it should be vegetable tanned with very small stitches.

Western Bayonet blade in Japanese mounts... I know nothing else about this piece, and it has been discussed elsewhere.

There look to be a few genuine parts on it, but overall, yep it's a fake.

Does a damn good German style beer, no one wanted to close down the German founded brewery and it still runs today. Sometimes governments get it right!

I have seen a couple of them, and they are very good..... It gets harder every year!

Big fairs small fairs, I enjoy them all. I rarely leave without something of interest.

There is also an arms and militaria fair regularly held at Pudsey, Leeds. Fingers crossed! There are usually a couple of dealers with Nihonto there.

I have seen this done with Saxon and Viking blades, with similar results.

Over on Japanese Militaria our resident native Japanese contributor is adamant that this is not a good idea. He compares it to contacting a German family and offering to return a case of SS marked grenades that their Granddad had left behind. On another note, the family would also need to pay for a sword license in order to keep it. Other more personal relics like Hinomaru, Senninbari and Yosegaki are another matter, and are often welcomed as giving closure on a lost family member.