Bruce Pennington

Colin, Mis-strikes were often seen in all stamping, whether numbers or inspection stamps. They are not the norm, but there are enough of them around. Pics would help. Seems to me that they were more common in the late-war 95s. I've seen some serial numbers almost unreadable on them:

@Beater Good to 'see' you again, my friend!!! Hope all is well. After seeing Geraint's post, I see the similarities. Added to the straight blade, I see the wire handle wrap is almost horizontal on both, compared to a Japanese wrap that is more spiral. There is oxidation in nooks and crannies that could support some age. All aspects are quite low in quality and skill, so whomever made it, wasn't very good at the craft, whether back then or later.

Hopefully we can get a translation of the back!

Interesting post by @Kiipu, quoting Chris Bowen discussing another smith - Yoshiharu - who had a team of 8 workings that made 240 blades per month here: Yoshiharu discussion.

You are right about the “Ichi” stamp. It is not known which shop used that logo. Guys have proposed that it was the Kobe Shoten Co. which is associated with the “K” in sakura. The serial numbers of the two logo stamps lineup, and suggest there was a logo change at some time. I personally think they are right about it.

Ahhh So! Now I see that guy on the list. I have some of his with Showa and Na stamps, but this is the first I have with the star. Thanks guys!

Love it, thanks Bryce!

Thanks so much, Mal! I have that document, just no way to absorb it all. Took me a while for that to sink in ..... so fair to say this blade was made in 1939 @mecox Mal? Update: After filing this in '39, I found I had another '39 Kanemichi, dated, and also with the Kiku Ichimongi!

Thanks Scott, is that from the Slough book?

Yes, that's the one. Already thought of that! Pictures below. I have come across other examples of a number out of sequence, and it's puzzling. But I think Thomas might have mentioned the idea that some of these blades were collected by an Area Inspector and transported to the Arsenal for processing. Whether he stamped the blades or it was done at the arsenal is unknown. So, maybe another smith's blades were mixed in accounting for the increased number gap. I've not found numbers to be in a complete jumble, they are predominantly in order, per smith, but there are other examples of a single number out of sequence. Feb '43 267 Mar '43 246 Apr '43 476

NIce photos and presentation, Erwin. I wish mine had the lacquered ito. It's not lacquered. Any stamps?

Excellent presentation, Neil, and you make a strong case for the MRS fittings being early, and SMR in origin, especially considering they are only seen on Mantetsu blades. On the serial number, there are 10 earlier than yours on file, but out of 327 Mantetsu blades, that puts yours right near the top! Until your '38 came out, we had only seen this style fittings on '44 blades (9 of these on file), which is why Fuller described it as a late-war model. So yours was a bit of a shake-up on our thinking. By all appearances, yours are original to the blade, but when I first saw it, I thought it must be a remount later in the war, since it seemed to be an SMR, or Manchurian, version of the Rinji seishiki. The orders diagramming the RS came out in '38, so it is still possible that SMR engineers saw this and made their own version. Or, it's possible that SMR reps were a part of the original team being tasked to come up with the simplified, cheaper model of the 98. Who knows? To your original point, though, SMR was the ultimate example of a Japanese sword being made in China. They were the biggest operation over there. Like all businesses, where there is money to be made, there are sure to be smaller competitors vying for a piece of the market!

That's a new one, Trystan. Not on the RJT list and can't find him in Sesko or Slough. He's listed in the JSI Showa Seki Tosho, so he's known, at least.

Definitely a beautiful sword! The fittings are fabulous, with a navy tassel and, what I really enjoy the large seppa with the gold rays. Like Chris said, need some closeups of the hamon (temper line) to make a guess on whether it is traditionally made or not. Oh and you’re so lucky to have that bag with the date and such! I’m a little intrigued by the wording “forged ….”. Could this imply it was traditionally made, maybe?

Thanks Manuel! So, speaking as a guy almost completely devoid of knowledge - Is this just a 'tip-of-the-hat' to the swordsmiths of old who were part of the Shogunate's blessed smiths, who used the kikumon and ichi on their blades? Also, doing a search online, it's used as a sword-fighting term meaning 'one stroke'. Could this be the implication?

Thanks John! Yes, Takamasa, from Sesko: TAKAMASA (高正), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Takamasa” (高正), real name Yasuda Yoshitarō (安田芳太郎), born April 7th 1912, he worked as guntō smith We now have 3 of his, and all 3 were numbered like this, above the mei: Feb 1943 267 Mar 1943 246 May 1943 476 One of the very few non-RJT smiths with stamped numbers.

Randy, Any stamps on this one?

Michael, Sorry to detract from this excellent topic, but could I get photos of the nakago/mei on this one? I'm starting to make a record of smiths that used Yasuki/Yasugi steel. And for give my ignorance, but is the smith "Ichimonji" or "Seikosai"?

Also, @John C has found another Kanemichi blade with the Yasuki Steel stamp But what's killing me is there are 2 stamps at the top, the lower one likely a Showa stamp, but the upper one totally defies me. Any ideas, guys?

Hi guys! Thanks to @John C, we've got a Kanemichi blade (ok, half a blade!) with a nice Yasuki steel stamp (and 2 stamps on top of the mei!) Could I get a translation of the inscription on the other side, please?

John, could I get a link to the rest of the photos, either here or via PM? And anyone got a name on this ..... Takamasa? @Kiipu @BANGBANGSAN @SteveM

Chris, you don't show the saya, is there one? I have seen numerous swords that were fully civil from kabutogane to blade tip, but simply put into a wooden saya with leather cover to 'militarize' it. Well, in fact, I have even seen fully civil swords, saya and all, but simply with a leather cover. There were at least 2 big pushes by the military to get civil swords donated, and/or bought by the military, to meet the big sword shortage during the war. The effort to militarize them was vastly varied.

Think you're right! Ha! The google translate says it's "Four-eyed car".

Found a Type 95, "Ichi" stamp, on an estate auction. Gold saya has LOTS of wear and looks WWII era. @Stegel @Shamsy

Here's a real strange one! Found by @Stephen. Doesn't seem to fit any of the kyu models in Dawson's book. Inscription translated by @SteveM HERE. Steve felt the emblem on the haikan is a mon. Any ideas, or should I post it to the Mon Thread?