Bruce Pennington

Thanks again Trystan! I don't see a star, is this your gunto? Is this the best photo of the nakago?

I'd still get nervous if he got within 3 ft of a chainsaw!!! HA! Sorry Stephen, just had to get in on that one!

There is a Sukemitsu listed in the RJT list. Can we get a well-lighted close-up of this area? I have recently seen a star stamp that someone attempted to obliterate, but a closeup revealed the star.

Thanks George, I'll have to take your word for it. I don't have Markus' book.

Ed's discussion of the double inspector stamps made me dig deeper in my files. I have 8 blades from 6 smiths with the double inspector stamps. Regardless of prefecture, the stamps all seem to come from 2 arsenals - Kokura Army Arsenal, Kumamoto division and Nagoya Army Arsenal. What I find peculiar is the Na/Ho on the Norisada of Fukuoka. I suppose the blade may have been sent to Nagoya to fill a quota there, but that is speculation. Double Inspector Stamps 1942, Sep Morinobu – Kumamoto Ho/Ho on mune 1942, Mar Norisada – Fukuoka Na/Ho on mune 1943, Jan Norisada – Fukuoka Ko/Ho on mune 1943, Feb Hidehiro – Fukuoka Ko/Ho on mune ND Kanemoto – Kanegawa Na/Ho on mune 1942, Mar Kanehide – Gifu Na-mei, Na-mune 1943, Mar Kanehisa – Gifu Na/Na on mune 1944, Sep Kanehisa – Gifu Seki-date side, Seki-mune

Truly gorgeous blade Ed! The stamp is the "Na" of the Nagoya Army Arsenal Inspector. The double inspector stamps are not common, I have only 8 blades from 6 smiths marked this way. Kanehide and Kanehisa, both from Gifu, have the double "Na" stamp in my files. I'll expand on this discussion on the Arsenal Mark on RJT Sword Thread.

Trystan! This one is a game-changer if I've translated the mei right - Chikafusa of Nagano prefecture? It has a faint "Matsu" stamp in front of the number. So, if Chikafusa is right, then this is the first known Matsu stamped blade we have that's not Akihisa or Munetoshi (Yamagami Brothers). @george trotter !!!

Do we know which Kanehisa this was? and where he lived? I see 5 Kanehisa listed in the Swordsmith Index/Nihontoclub.

Leen, Is there a Star stamp above the mei, likely above the mekugi ana?

Here's one I haven't seen. On an Edo era Masahide blade mounted in Type 98 fittings:

That's exactly what I was looking for, thank you Morita-san!!!

I think I've mentioned this already but too tired to find the post. But I've added another pre-RJT blade to the files with a stamped number from a smith that later bacame RJT: 1941, Jul Munetoshi (pre-RJT) 106 Slough 1941, Dec Tomomaru (pre-RJT) 535 tsuba matching 1941, Dec Tomomaru (pre-RJT) 631 Ray Singer website RS For WWII blades, this is the earliest, so far, I've seen stamped numbers and all of them are on smiths that later became part of the RJT system. I think they are Army numbers, not fitter shop numbers. Additionally, expanding on a few scattered discussions, I think the numbering began without katakana, as evidenced above and seen in the example below of 3 Kanetsugu blades. The '42 blade was numbered as all previous blades, without katakana. But in 1943 (from other blades) the katakana system started and ran through 1944. In 1945, the katakana were dropped for some reason. These Kanetsugu blades are representative of what I am seeing across the board with all the blades from all the RJT smiths. 1942, Mar Kanetsugu (RJT) – Gunma 1220 George Trotter, RS 1944, Jan Kanetsugu (RJT) -- Gunma ク306 Star Edward Mahle, NMB 1945, Feb Kanetsugu (RJT) – Gunma 938 Antiqueimperialarts

Thanks John, that makes sense. Smith mei often include things like that. I'm trying to pin down this smith's wartime prefecture for my files. So, would you think it's Nagasaki?

Thanks Ricky! That's pretty much inline with what I've read about these costs. I appreciate the update.

Ammad, That's a tough question. It's going to depend a lot on the market you are in, or trying to sell it to. I just saw someone trying to sell a Kuniie (same guy) for $6,500. That's his asking price, anyway. Rinji seishiki, in general, with standard smiths, tend to sell for $1,400 plus-or-minus. I don't follow nihoto/gendaito prices, but they can be higher in the $2,400-6,500 range depending upon the smith and the blade. So, tough question to answer from my WWII gunto view. Maybe the nihonto buyers/sellers can help you more on that.

Bingo! Thanks Ray! Any thoughts on my question about the "Hizen" prefecture? Doesn't look like there was a Hizen in WWII.

Seller says this is Yoshitada but I'm unable to find some good oshigata to confirm it. Thanks for the help! Another question - Looking at prefecture maps, it looks like the "Hizen" prefecture was really Nagasaki during WWII. Any idea why the smith would have used Hizen?

No, I don't let go of my gunto! I just curious if the black-painted gunto were in a particular serial number range. Mine is 10506, but with Gifu and Nagoya stamps. But even though different contractors, ours were made within a similar time-frame. We'll have to take a look at the others. Maybe this practice can be narrowed down to a specific time or year of the war. Edit: after a scan of the serial numbers posted already, they are all over the place, with even late-war versions painted black. Suya, Iijima, Seki contractors. So, that idea was a dead-end.

Andy, The stamped number is "18". It's read with the cutting edge of the opening at the bottom, number at top. Cleaning - I treat all my gunto as if they were my own equipment. "Take care of your equipment, and it will take care of you." Right!? So yes, I clean mine. You have to be a bit careful as you don't want to remove the original coloration, and even the patination of years. Warm soapy water is a good start. An oiled rag next. I've used a hard plastic sprinkler tool (it has a standard screwdriver tip) to scrape hard to remove grime.

Thanks Austin, good run-down on the history and explanation. I admit I scanned the Wiki a bit quickly, but I couldn't find the reference to the dragon with Ken.

What's the serial number on that? Contractor?

Thanks Geoff, looks eerily similar to my late 95 before I stripped it. I really regret doing that. Here are some pics. The auction ones will expire in the future: Compare to mine:

Here are more pics from the owner. Seems to have wear and age appropriate to WWII paint work! Hmmmm......

Dave, Do you have a date on the blade in that?

Michael, Could we see a good clear close-up of that leather same'?