Bruce Pennington

Thanks for that! "250"? "260"? Any thoughts?

Pics brought over for discussion, rather than reviving the old thread: The star is of the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal, and the stamp on the right is one of the "unknowns". I don't understand 'Gunto's' post claiming the single one to be of the 'Chuo Kogyo Co'. It looks more like a double-struck "TO", Tokyo Arsenal Inspector stamp. I looked up Chuo Kogyo Co and the stamps on Nambu pistols were quite different than this. What do you think Thomas?

Like all things we collect, the best way to know how to spot a fake is to study the real thing enough that the fake characteristics stand out when you see them. There are other guys who are more qualified to touch on this for you, but here's an easy one - look at the age of the leather. Fakes are almost always new leather, while the real ones clearly have age. Fake Real Interestingly, quite often on ebay, the sellers actually say "Replica" or "Copy" in the ad. They are almost always from China.

Not bad for a rookie. He did his homework and had a couple of "well-said" spots. A brief moment perpetuating the "pilot sword" myth as he held his fingers up showing the size of a tanto (which actually would have been a pilot tanto, if that was what he was describing), but he also said these were "issued to pilots" which sounds like he's mind-melded the stories of a couple cases where flying unit commanders presented kamikaze knives to their pilots in a ceremony. He used his own Type 95, and sounds like he might have gotten bit by the Gunto Bug, so overall nicely done.

I got an improved shot of that mark on the end of the nakago. No telling what it was supposed to be. Poorly struck, so cannot make out intended number or kanji.

There's a real name for these that I've never gotten committed to memory, but John is spot-on. Here's another example with associated reg pages. @Pippo, have you gotten the mei translated? I'd like to add the photos to my Showa stamp files. Also, fair to assume no date on the other side? More questions - Is that rayskin same' or fabric? Can you tell if all the metal fittings were originally gilded and painted and have somehow been degraded, or are they possibly late-war, non gilded, non-painted? I have seen a couple of late-war kaigunto with upgraded saya, like yours, but it's not common. I have a kai with an ancient blade in it, with similar fittings. I can see places where the original gilding is there, but most of the gilding on all of the parts is faded, or worn, or degraded away somehow. Even the black lacquer on the same' is mostly missing. And whatever paint or patina that used to be on the tsuba/seppa set is gone. The sharkskin on the saya is worn and shows buckling at the seems. It looks like it laid in a swamps for a few weeks before someone picked it up. A bit of a mystery to me. I cannot imagine how all the gilding would have disappeared.

I'm no longer at the base, and am back home. I go out there periodically, so when I do, I'll give that a try. I considered that too, but I would think that "Gunboards" would have been blocked as well, unless the firewall didn't recognize the word. And even for NMB, it wasn't 100% blockage. Occasionally throughout the day, I would get through. But now, second day at home, and not a single problem. So I'm certain it was their system. Sorry for all the hassles, but I was going into withdrawal, not getting my NMB fix!

Nice start! Is it just me, or are the left and right labels reversed?

I’m back home at my Wi-Fi and it immediately went through to the website. Must be a problem with the Wi-Fi service at the Air Force Base. Their tech guy could not detect my particular problem, but it does not seem to be a problem at my house using a different service.

I’ve seen this pattern before but never had any idea of its meaning. But that makes perfect sense – Castlewall! I like it! Nice story on finding some thing to fit.

Aieeeeee! Oy vey! Que Lástima!

Can we get a clear close-up of it?

Server not found from 6 PM to present, Mountain standard time. Works OK using cellular connection. I suspect it might be the Internet host midatlantic. Will try with my home Wi-Fi when I get home tomorrow.

One of the guys was starting a document for that purpose. Can't remember who that was. Love the claim that someone had sliced a rifle barrel in two with a Type 95! Maybe it was a Fake M-1!!!

@IanTan - mind posting a clear shot of that habaki? Looks quite nice!

Tried it at 5:00am Mountan Time - Server not Found; at 8:00am - working normally!

The fittings are often called the "Type 3", but it was really a contingency variant of the Type 98 Japanese officer sword. Used by officers of any rank. You can read about them here: Rebutting the "Type 3" label Unveiling the Rinji-seishiki Sword

Ok, more info: I'm at a military base using their contracted internet - midatlanticbb. When I take my phone off wifi and use my cellular, it goes straight through. But putting the wifi back on - it works. Spent some time on the line with their tech support and they aren't having the problem if the take the "s" out of "https" and just use "http". At 4:50pm Mountain time, here, I tried loggin in and it worked with the "s" or without it! Same thing yesterday. In the morning, here, I get "Server not Found" but in the afternoon, it works normally.

For the last two days, I haven’t been able to get onto NMB until afternoon mountain time, USA. I get a server not found or server not available message on both my iPhone and tablet and laptop. No trouble logging into all of the other collector sites like Warrelics or Gunboards.

That could easily go for US$2000-$2400 USD. It’s intact, and a copper handle. Many guys would like to have one of these in their collection.

Full length photo of the entire thing; clear photo of tsuka with stamps; good shot of blade tip and sample of blade section.

Not the other side. They often will stamp the back edge. like this (except you’d might simply be a Gifu.

Just ordered my copy (shipping was only $8 USD). From the few times his collection and book have been discussed, it seems he's got some photos of swords in the book not found in the Dawson and Fuller books. Top notch photography too. So, I suspect it will be a valuable reference to add to the working set. As to cost, it's cheaper than either of the Dawson or Fuller books.

Oh, yes, could you check the back edge of the nakago (tang) for a similar stamp?