Bruce Pennington

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.

Didn't notice that, thanks John!

A kikusui mounted as a mon on a Type 19 dress sword:

A Type 19, sorry, not a 95, but relevant to the paint discussion:

Well. I am underwhelmed. Via email they thanked me for my great article. But it is clear from the auction title that they have no intention of correcting their labeling problem.

Just use warm, soapy water on the tsuba and seppa, then coat with oil. I don’t mind working the rust off of seppa, though as mostly only the edges show. You probably won’t get the stain off the habaki. It’s brass with an artificial copper finish. Working on that runs the risk of removing the copper finish. I personally clean the nakago of all of my type 95s. It goes against the cultural practice around here, but they are mine and I want them to look good. As a minimum, use a rough rag and oil to kill the active rust, then wipe it down.

Just had to share this because of the ridiculous title "WWII Japanese colonel pilot's kamikaze sword RARE PROTOTYPE FOR NAVY AND ARMY The sale is Here. Posting pics as the gunto has the Wakase shop tsuba and patented drag. It's also got 2 mekugi, you can see the second one in the kabutogane. Too bad he's too dumb to take them both out and reveal the nakago. Says it's impossible to remove the handle due to a steel plate. I've also seen this Naugahyde tsuka wrap on a bad Rinji I picked up years ago. Pretty sure the Japanese didn't use naugahyde in WWII. But the blade was probably made for Rinji fittings.

No photos, no returns. "Danger Will Robinson!" as an old robot used to say. I've seen that fake mekugi on Chinese fakes, so it's possible this whole tsuka is a replica/fake on a legit 95.