Hello all,
I am not usually in the field of military swords, being mostly into the WWII medals/patches/uniforms sort of thing. I did, however, get in tough with a WWII vet who wanted to find a home for a Type 99 rifle and a Japanese sword. I purchased both from him and was really excited about it....
He was a member of the 81st Infantry Division and picked up the surrendered weapons at a warehouse on Honshu. He had them in his basement ever since.
I recalled that I had a book on Japanese swords and pulled it out of a mountain of others. It turned out to be invaluable.
The Kai-Gunto (ish) sword features an army scabbard in black lacquer
This is where I get confused. Now the book (I lent it out, so I forgot who wrote it) stated that some army officers who had past service or association with the navy had variations of the Kai-Gunto. I believe mine is one of these. The hilt is of a black fabric with no beading, something that you would think would be from a Kai-Gunto. However, the Menuki is army. The hilt does not have a hole for a sarute.
The blade is a Navy manufactured blade without signature, assuming that the black ink symbols are not the signature. The parts are all stamped with the same symbols, as you can see.
Anyways, if any of you have any ideas or knowledge of why this sword is configured as such, I'm all ears. I know it must be missing a couple sepas, and the vet might of lost these through the years. What is the fair market value for this sword? Thanks for your help!!
-Eric
