Shamsy

But congratulations anyway as the saya with the Seki sticker is considered rare. It's not in great condition but clearly original. Are all the mounts low quality? The Seki saya tends to come with low quality fittings as these were produced towards the end of the war. Saya would have had a combat cover to at some time. These were cheap and flimsy so few survive. Unsigned blades with oil temper and painted kanji on the nakago are the usual for the model. Again, all depends on saya belonging to the blade. History is good and provenance Important, but without documentation should always be taken with a grain of salt.

I would ask a few far more learned minds for an opinion first. Were it believed to be genuine I'd contact NBTHK. The only way to have it authenticated is to send it to Japan, where it is classed as a national treasure and you basically give it up. I'd be fine with that. I think the pleasure of having done something so meaningful in life would far outweigh a selfish 'mine!' desire. Even easier decision if I bought it for a monetary amount I wouldn't miss. It may be a bit more traveling, but you could still see it on display. Might also open some doors so you get to see some other amazing swords to that aren't readily available for viewing. How great would that be?

As has already been said, the gunto market has indeed skyrocketed recently. I agree it's been on the rise a while, but seems in the last three or so years people have been willing to throw huge sums of money at gunto just to own one. I think a good portion of people have no idea what they're doing and pay far too much, inflating prices. The other suspect is supply and demand. After WW2 the swords were common souvenirs. Then a few people recognised some were special. Then, as with all things, people started collecting. Now most of the swords have been found, bought and supplies limited. We know more about what is common and what is rare. As is always the case, people look at a sale and want their +% when they in turn sell. And we arrive at today's market with very steep rises in price for a limited supply of +% swords.

I just had the painful experience of importing a sword from Japan. Tracked it all the way via FedEx to Australia, then FedEx contact me to ask a few questions, because apparently it's too difficult to read the declaration and google a word you don't know. I provide a long and detailed description in response, along with VERY CLEAR instructions to contact me PRIOR to handling the sword, if it is absolutely necessary. So the sword hits the center in Sydney and is opened. No call. I'm pretty unimpressed after the effort I went to to both explain the item is not subject to ANY restriction as a katana and giving an even better description. Sword passes after a few days delay. Upon opening the package and bubble wrap (covered in 'opened by FedEx' tape) I find the tip of the kissaki has been blunted by some idiot who would have pulled the sword out without any care whatsoever. I've lodged a complaint but expect it to be turned around on me somehow, since no one is capable of accepting responsibility anymore. My best advice; Declare as a 'samurai sword' with a low value so it's not stolen and even the most ignorant fool will know what it is. Less chance of being opened and damaged to. I've imported two dozen military gunto without issue over a few years without the slightest worry. I had a NCO sword arrive a few weeks ago unopened, no delay. My only conclusion is FedEx are the problem. Avoid them like the plague! Sorry to rant but I'm still angry.

I'm surprised people will pay that. It's ebay hype I suspect. Copper nco were half the price a few years back, but I suppose it's just following the market. I've seen a copper handle with the fuchi stamps in the opposite order to. If these were some sort of reproduction I'd expect more of them, not to mention that they are correct in pretty much entirety. My own opinion lies in the early production and somewhat prototype nature of the swords. Perhaps they didn't determine a standard stamp order until the aluminum handle variants?

Tsuba are a great start to collecting to, as there is something for everyone's budget. While this might be a paperweight, if it sparks a passion it's hardly a bad think.

I think it'd be a shame to artificially age the repaint. Sure it doesn't look like 99% of the originals without some paint loss, but it is a good reminder of 'how it left the factory'.

There are a pattern in the later F&G that have a wooden handle. These are called emergency swords and I've seem a few variations but the same basic pattern. I've seen the with wrapping and also wire wrapped. F &G think they were made for non Japanese officers. Cannot find a picture but maybe when I have more time.

I guess it counts so I'll throw it out there. The Dutch klewang naval cutlass the Japanese cut down were used as machete by the Japanese and to arm the indigenous sympathizers. They're also called hieho cutlass. I was fortunate enough to find a great example, but they're usually in poor condition and seem to be pretty uncommon. http://www.thepirateslair.com/9-m1898-m1941-klewang-cutlass.html

Thank you Bruce. I've seen that sword but it's a bit too pricy and I'm really after one with matched numbers. Cheers for letting me know though.

Ah, winter camo. That makes sense. I was thinking about it last night and considered medical corps, but that is a much more satisfying answer. As to pictures, yes! Luckily I saved some of the model with the vulcanised rubber scabbard. Upon checking the embedded site url, still got the sword listed online (though sold). I've seen another one on eBay that was identical if memory serves, and maybe another, though this was a couple of years back. Three identical swords to me means pattern, if obscure.

Hi Dominic, Sorry, I was in a hurry this morning so I wasn't able to properly elaborate. All three swords in the left picture. I often forget about the normal wooden handle with the bamboo scabbard (well the handle is lighter wood and wider than those produced in Japan ). These were all produced in Korea. I've never seen a white 95 either. I would think it's been painted at some stage maybe by whoever captured or carried it. There are a few personalised 95's I've seen, painted or otherwise. There are also a handful of others that aren't recognised as official patterns, yet I've seen multiple examples. These include the vulcanised rubber scabbard examples. Wonderful to see so many together. I've a special love of the NCO swords. PS. Any chance you could take a high res picture of them all together for me? I'd like to have it for reference. Thanks!

The final two wooden handled NCO swords were produced in Korea.

Oh dear. Remember that sudden influx of rare saya mouth caps? This is a piece of of junk, but a worrying development. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Military-Samurai-Katana-Sword-Sharp-Folded-Blade-/141922590579?hash=item210b3edf73:g:bzIAAOSwoydWnsGi

100% legitimate. There are 2 variant. Notice the latch piercing the seppa. Other variant is off slightly. Jim Dawson records these two as a kind of sub model.

Hard to tell from pictures, but could be a period replacement wrap. Perhaps done by a veteran.

You could always post pictures of swords here? Grouped or individually. I'd be happy to assist with wartime swords, as I'm sure other would be.

PayPal will always side with the buyer and any terms included in the listing are utterly worthless. I'd never sell through eBay, but great for buyer protection.

Here they are. I think this is a deliberate size made as a special order. It's rather severe and traditional. You can see that there are some creases near the toe of the saya. A good few inches are a false wooden insert that make the overall length appear greater than reality.

I can't say I've ever taken the handles off to look. How interesting! None of the references have any nakago pictures... This could be common or rare. The next three models all commonly have second class acceptance stamps but these are on the blades and saya.

Yes Brian. I had a wakizashi with a clear Seki stamp on the nakago, no doubts about length. It was mounted traditionally but leather covered saya for war. It even had a false spacer added under the leather combat cover to make it appear longer. No doubts it was original straight from the veteran.

Yes, a very interesting topic and thank you all for contributing. I think the is a lot more debate needed around these swords but there is really little known.

That's certainly interesting, I wonder if the seller would provide a shinsa guarantee? They also have some nice looking and affordable armor to. I'd love one of the Jingasa helmets but I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with armor.

As Alex says. At present shinsa only stores blade details and a reference (bit of an assumption admittedly) and i cannot see an advantage to storing anything else. Not to mention that as soon as a sword sells, it would likely become outdated, as I cannot imagine many people going to the effort to re register a swords location when purchased privately. There is no reason we could not have a stickied thread here where you can post the papers and nakago/blade pictures. It's hardly going to be an extensive library like NBTHK could produce but if people thought it useful why not. However, since the main point of the thread was the concern over fakes, our tiny representation are unlikely to make any difference.

An electronic online database seems like the next logical step towards a modern, progressive organisation. Like it or not, online and digital is the way things are moving and it holds many advantages to paper hard copies. Longevity, accessibility and even just the progressive perception. Sure there are some issues, but there are also issues with papers so I hope it's not a matter of change fear holding them back.