Shamsy

I pretty much blanket agree Neil, leave these things as they are and don't mix it around! I don't feel it adds to the swords in any way and would prefer a sword I know is 100% as it was after the war than one that has been swapped out with pristine parts. As you rightly observe, it's terribly easy to do this with gunto but a darn sight harder on NCO. The screws are a lot harder to remove, there is the risk of damaging parts, creating the dreaded 'rattle' and frankly you can't really tart the 95's. That just makes it obvious that it is put together, like the ones selling recently with gunto blades crammed into newly cast handles. There is little opportunity to try and 'create' a new model, which is such a blessing. I just love the NCOs and nothing beats a good clean example with a nice patina.

The bubble handle to the best of my knowledge have never been found with serial numbers. Having said that, there was a recent wooden handle with tsuka-ito that had numbers which was until then unheard of. So there may be one out there, but bubble handle are rare as it is. The ito wrapped handles are rare to. The bubble handle may have the tick shaped stamp on the fuchi, blade and drag, any combination of those or not at all. I've also seen late war NCOs of the ito sort with the drags cut off. I can't imagine why. Not all scabbards for either the aluminum handled or wooden handled were stamped. Some were, others weren't. Shame this discussion was not in the thread I made to discuss wooden handles, but it's 'older' now so unofficially archived. You have a nice collection of 95's. I'd hand my Sadakatsu over for one as nice as that! Thanks for sharing. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/20454-wooden-handled-type-95s/

Looks like that was mostly active surface rust, not like you got out the old wire brush or belt sander I clean mine with a lot of oil and cotton patches, though I've never removed a handle. Each to their own, I think the NCOs nakago looks good after the tidy. Thanks for posting, I thought that's about what it'd look like, but having never actually seen one apart, who would know?

Hi Bruce, Sorry to drag up an older thread, but do you per chance have a photo of the whole nakago from the side?

I'll add here that the issue I have found on three or four swords now, from high level gendaito to cheap showa, is breaking mekugi. It must take some terrific forces (we are not talking chopstick bamboo but properly hardened pegs). In future I'll ask for the blade to be packed tightly alongside the saya with a bubble layer in between. Picking splintered pegs out of the mekugi-ana and tsuka is a nightmare.

As Thomas said Craig, nihonto.com.au is our best aussie supplier. And welcome to the board.

You will only be able to get one from another saya. Even those 95's in the worst condition many may consider junk swords sell for a fairly high price now. It's neither economical nor common to find these. Best bet is make one if you can. Or ask someone skilled in woodworking to do so. I to am missing the insert and throat on one scabbard. A shame but I have yet to find a replacement (plus it's the scarce black scabbard. Typical).

Hi Corry, Very nice sword! It's true that nice examples are not so common, but still a few out there, especially with rising prices. Sadly you might struggle with the screw. Bill has been after these for a while. If like me you're a stickler for authentic period pieces, it'll be even harder. I imagine that unless a sword is junked there are no spare screws lying around. Good luck! Oh, you're after a brass screw specifically, but I'd take any you can get. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/20661-wanted-brass-or-steel-screws-for-Japanese-nco-swords/

The numbers are actually genuinely low, better than most of the 'low' ones I see listed that are still in the thousands. That makes it quite appealing. It also looks to be in good condition. However, two things put me off. For one I think the value has taken a real hit with the repaint (which I'm in agreement that it's not original). Secondly, even were you to strip the paint, the finish and patina on the handle would be gone. That's a fairly major part of these swords, since the copper was annealed to give it the two toned appearance. That would be lost I imagine. It seems likely that the scabbard would have been similarly stripped back for a repaint, so there is unlikely to be any of the original grey undercoat or green paint left behind. For me the loss of all patina and original paint is a killer. Not sure about the sarute. As Stegel said the early coppers did originally have leather sarute but the one in this instance could be a replacement which would be in line with the painting. Dawson shows an original and a replica but it's hard to tell here. Not sure they would have painted while the sword was intact, but Dawson states disassembly destroys the sarute. On the fence here.

As Mark says, a combination of both. The tsuba for example clearly suggest manufacturing date ranges as the pierced guards were simplified to solid later in the war as demand became more desperate. But there are plenty of exceptions. This is discussed briefly in Dawsons book.

Based on the nakago, blade shape and fittings, I'd say it is similar to the sword referred to as the late war Muckden. Here is the link to a discussion from a while back. Sadly most of the pictures are lost now but still enough. http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?356639-Late-War-Shin-Gunto-or-post-war-tourist-copy So since there is mostly speculation, unless I'm a little behind (which happens), my humble opinion leans towards a sword made for and/or by the collaborators for their own officers. F&G quote that the indigenous officers were not allowed to carry Japanese made swords. I would be surprised if the Japanese officers would be willing to accept indigenously made swords. The handle is similar to the 'ersatz' sword in F&G original book on pg43 and again on page 266 in their second, larger hardcover. From pg263 there is also a short spiel regarding collaboration swords, but one must remember F&G is now somewhat outdated. The reason I brought up the Muckden swords is I would place the level of quality at a similar level and the leather is in the same condition as most examples I've seen. That's meaning an organized and deliberate construction, but not to the Japanese standards of of construction. I would support the assessment of PETA sword myself. PS. The drama in that thread Stegel was both hilarious and sad. People need to accept that the void of knowledge is greater than that known.

I'm afraid I'm completely with Stephen and Hamish on this one. An army sword with nava fittings, probably because it was put together. Sorry. Don't think this pic will show so might remove, but it's a naval Kai-Gunto in a brown sharkskin saya with unusual fittings. I'd call that an odd koshirae and the blade is anchor stamped, though badly pitted and not worth saving sadly.

Drag could be a standard replacement for a lost fitting. I sold my type 3 so I cannot compare saya size, but I imagine they would be fairly close. Having said that, the patina or lack-there-of lends credence to the idea that this may be original in the saya construction. There are a few type 3 variant and some discussed in this forum if you search. Could be that there was little choice of materials and they cobbled this together with whatever was on hand. If the general construction is sub part it lines up closely to the standards of some type 98 from very late war; poorly made but certainly genuine.

If you want enthusiasm for 95s you did come to the right place! Bruce, Stegel, myself and Corry are all fair fanatics it seems. It really is an obsession. Glad I have it though.

Hi Neil and welcome! This tread is actually not intended for custom NCO. I raised it as an FYI for a little discussion when there were some pretty suspicious put-togethers being peddled on ebay. Your leather covered sword is fantastic, I've not seen one as extensively covered as that before. What a beaut! Most of the ebay NCO with covers are not original which is obvious as the leather covers slip over the saya, has the field saya drag and have clearly come straight from 98 field saya. This example is beyond doubt supposed to belong to the sword. Your other NCO swords are great to. Seeing a couple of nice examples of rare swords. The brass shouls never be polished anyway because it not only makes the sword ugly but is tantamount to destroying a beautiful patina earned over many years. I also had an unissued sword, though it was the first variant of the wooden handle NCO. It was absolutely mint and the blade was cosmoline stained from storage. I sold it sadly, wish I hadn't now. Hindsight hey? I collect mostly NCO and have a few Gendi blades as well as a couple of old wakizashi and a few rare military swords. I sold most of my standard gunto though to focus on NCO and military gendaito. Great to see another Aussie on the board. Cheers

More like terrifying. Thank goodness that militaria is not valuable enough for high end fakes (mostly) and nihonto for the most part are too difficult and expensive.

A good reply Adam, too often people get overly defensive when there is doubt over the authenticity of something or some part of a purchase. It is refreshing to see you take it in stride. Thumbs up!

I'm afraid that from the limited and low quality images, I'm inclined to agree with Thomas for the same reasons. The leather on the saya is ourstanding to. A little too good. Shirasaya and blade look genuine though! Some better photos would really help.

Funny you say that Bruce, because I am much the same. I'll clean some dirt off a sword for example, but leave a bit of grease and whatnot in the cracks to prove the sword had some 'life'. I've a couple of stained and rusty NCO blades but never been able to decide if I'd like to clean them up. Not nihonto, so a buff is not tantamount to treason, but I still haven't done so yet. I had a late war NCO variant 1 in absolutely MINT unissued condition with grease stains on the blade. I kept the stains as they were part of the swords rather uneventful history. However, while the chips may be historical, it's unlikely the Japanese officer carrying the sword you have would have allowed it to become scratched, rusty, stained etc. Those are likely the effects of time, improper care/storage or ignorant handling (sorry, couldn't think of a polite way to put it) so I'd not worry about preserving that. I have my grandfather's sword to so I understand the desire to restore. I say go for it. It's not about money.

I'm sure we've all seen this by now. http://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-Japanese-ARMY-NCO-TYPE-95-COMBAT-SWORD-UNUSUAL-VARIATION-HANDMADE-BLADE-/391579500282?hash=item5b2bf4fefa:g:yd0AAOSw8w1X7uff That could almostbe the same sword. It looks identical to the other that sold for 1k. Is someone putting these together? I retain my original opinion this is a out together with modern parts. Will ask for it to be disassembled again.

A small extract from a letter between Ron Gregory and Yoshinobu Sugiyama: "There was no standard length and curvature on the gunto blades. Length of the blade was decided by stature of each individual, therefore short man used wakizashi to make gunto which is about 57cm long, or tall man used long one about 70cm long. However, standard length was about 63.5cm to 66.5cm. They were able to use any kind of blade as their gunto."

I can point you to one for sale Bruce, if you don't mind a scabbard repaint. Matching numbers and great amount of paint remaining on handle. Just let me know if you're interested. It's a great feeling getting the complete set!

Ah yes, the NCO was my first Japanese sword. Since then they are my primary interest. Just when you think you've seen them all along pops another that's somehow different from the norm. The base set is the first collecting goal. By base set I mean those from Dawsons book. Then all the arsenal, the variants, the prototype, last ditch... enough for a lifetime but not so many you could never hope to achieve a collection of significance. You are lucky to be in the US, best spot for these swords. Good luck, don't nick all my bids on eBay!

Hi Geraint and Dave, Thank you both, what an interesting thread and discussion! It's opened more questions than provided answers, but certainly interesting to read. I'm really not sure which theory seems most plausible now. There was a second tsuka for sale that much better matched one of the pictures Ian provided, so that one at least seems a lot more typical of the pattern. Copper as opposed to iron though and no menuki. Great job on assembling the old thread Dave and glad to see I'm not alone in curiosity. Cheers

Good afternoon board, I consider myself a novice when it comes to nihonto and not even close to that when it comes to tosogu. I never considered collecting fittings but decided to take a punt on something based purely on a desire to own something from the Satsuma rebellion. So I placed total trust in the seller and bought a wakizashi tsuka that is supposed to come from that conflict. I thought I'd share it. I really like it based on it being from that conflict. If it clearly isn't rebellion, I would of course feel differently. I know it is in rough shape but so long as I believe it is genuine I don't really care. I would love the whole sword but this is a great start. Cloth? ito over same and a wooden core. The menuki are black twisted wire tied with smaller copper wire. The fuchi is a very crude casting of waves. The little cap is gren and has a nice looking carving. At least it looks nice enough to me, but I know practically nothing about koshirae. I'll save that learning for after nihonto. The patina looks good with rust and dust in all the right places, so I am certain it's not been put together any time recently. Is it rebellion? Well who really knows. Maybe you do! So I thought I'd share. As always I appreciate the learning opportunity the board provides.