Bruce Pennington

Sorry, my friend! I meant a clear shot of the Kiku.

Nice! Had me for a second, as I was trying to zoom in on the sword. Ha! Can you get a clear, closer shot of one of those?

Looks fake to me. But I don’t study these. My gut feel was that the swords made for the different territories, like Manchuria, were made by the Japanese. If that is true, then this is obviously a fake. If the swords were made in the other territories, Manchuria, Taiwan, etc., then this could possibly be just a poorly made Manchurian Sword. But I clearly don’t know enough about these to judge. Just looks fake to me though.

Bad lighting can do funny things to colors. I see the section that looks black, but to my eye, and on my phone that is probably just a dark brown. Blade still has the cosmoline from the war! Maybe he will share the rest of the sword with us!

Noah, My lack of search-engine skills is legendary! I made an effort to find the guy or 2 who mentioned that they made their own leather seppa, with no luck. I'm posting a photo of one in place, if you care to have a go at it. The hole in the seppa would have to be smaller than the size of the habaki to create the snug fit you want. I have no idea how the other guys did that and got it into place without removing the handle. Maybe soaking the seppa and installing it while wet, then letting it shrink into shape?

Happy ThanksMas to you, too, Brian! Very kind idea and post. You deserve over 6,000 thank-yous (number of members!). If I may, I'd like to thank all the guys on your list, plus some other guys I've learned much from: Research - already listed George Trotter, Mal Cox, @Kiipu, @BANGBANGSAN, @vajo, @andreYesand, still missing him - @16k! Double-down on thanks to @Rich S (and you Brian) for the Japanese Sword Index that I refer to almost every day. Thanks don't do justice to two guys that the World owes a debt of gratitude in Type 95 world - @Stegel and @Shamsy. Can't thank the Translation guys enough, guys you've listed, plus @uwe, there are others, though. For Type 8/19 and kyugunto, where would we be without @lonely panet, and koshirae - @PNSSHOGUN! I want to recognize @robinalexander for his rapidly growing expertise in Type 95s, and @John C for adding his passion for research. And finally, to @kissakai for his regular reminders of the beauty and awe of this world we live in, on his Izakaya posts; @Stephen and @Wayben for the endless stream of Laugh 'O the Day memes. And a special thanks to @IJASWORDS and @roger dundas and @Beater - you are wonderful souls who bring a civility, peace, and kindness to our sometimes rough and tumble crowd.

Hey, come on, those pierced tsuba are always on expensive custom jobs! Ha!

I don’t think this one is fake. But $600 is too high. They sell for around 450.

Agree that the first one looks fake. Hard to say about the second based on that single photo.

Thanks Erwin! A nice Gifu stamp! They began showing up in '42 (only 2 on file) when the Nagoya Army Arsenal started using the small Seki stamp. The large Seki was one of the stamps used by the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Assoc. I believe, though I don't have proof, the Association started using the Gifu when the arsenal hijacked their logo for the army. We see the Gifu mostly in '44 - '45, in parallel with the army's small Seki.

I have to say, after cleaning, the kao's bottom stroke appears. I've updated the collage showing the before and after cleaning, with the known mei I have on file. You can see where a kanji was omitted (though, not knowing what the kanji is, this may be normal as smith mei can vary considerably in how many characters they use), but you can see where a vertical stroke is missing on his name, which seems unlikely to happen for a legit mei. I know errors do happen, though.

When you do, be sure to add them to the Kyu Corner thread! Happy hunting!

He is a member of NMB and is a trustworthy seller. As always judge the blade though! That would be true of any seller.

Richard Fuller has a page discussing the practice, too. He notes the difficulty in distinguishing them from the legitimate late war gunto, but his points highlight art and details that were never part of legitimate gunto. I agree that some of the odd-ball ones we come across could be from these guys.

I wish we could!

5 to 7 weeks! Feels like we're back to the Covid days. I am having the same problem with a sword I attempted to ship to Australia. It went from L.A. to Frankfurt, no problem (why Germany???). But tracking claims it left Frankfurt 13 days ago. If you've seen it take that many weeks, I guess I'll wait that long before filing claims.

Hamish and Dan have hit all the main points. As long as the fit is good, I would assume the fittings are original to the sword. Or I should say, they are the original wartime refit for the sword, which was an older family sword originally. The leather cover, which would have been on it has gone missing, which is quite often the case with these kinds of scabbards.

I know I've seen one or two really bad imitations, but I've been unable to find them in the search. Like Hamish said, the 19s don't command the higher prices like the other swords, so they aren't as tempting a target for the fakers.

You can often tell by looking at the mark on the face of the handguard. If there originally was a seppa there will be a silhouette of the outline. I believe I see the outline on yours. Many of these came with a leather seppa that deteriorated over time and went missing. There have been a couple of NMB members lately that have made replacement leather seppa for their 19s.

That's as good a label as any other. Assuming it's not a fake, which is still possible, but I feel it's not a fake, then we don't know much about the swords made in occupied territories. We don't know a timeline. Many Japanese units were sent into vast areas and told to live off the land, with no hope of re-supply. So, were swords like these made throughout the war? Or were they just made in the last year when production was moved off the mainland? It is a common term, recognized by all, so fair enough calling that. Sorry for getting vague, but there is little we know about these.

If these are your goals, then the sword does not fit your collecting goal, whether fake or island made.

To your original question, it's what Chris said. With the photos provided and the surface abuse, it's impossible to say whether traditional or not.

All the metal parts, except some seppa, are colored. I honestly don't know how, but believe it to be paint. Others will have a better idea about that and the effects of various cleaning solutions. During my first time, rookie, cleaning effort, I was using a course plastic sponge and learned that the paint would come off a black seppa! It's only warm soapy water for me now, or at most a penetrating oil to get at tough grime.

And he just blocks anyone who writes a "Contact the Seller" with criticism or correction.

Maybe a variation of the stone wall theme? What do you think? Posted by @kealpe HERE.