Bruce Pennington

Lee, That's a cheap price for a contingency model officer sword, especially one with that very rare anchor mon. This gunto has been up for sale on 3 different occasions over the years, that we know of on NMB. It's been discussed on a thread HERE. I'm posting a couple of photos for when the sale link goes dead.

Thanks Trystan! The only RJT Shigefusa I find reference to is Kojima. Wakabayashi is discussed in Slough & Sesko without mention of RJT work. So, I say this was from Kojima Shigefusa. Boy that zodiacal dating, without having the Showa written first, throws me every time!

O M G! That is one gorgeous rig!

That nakago sure seems long! Is the gunto extra long, too?

Could be 13, 16, or 18, but I'm going to go with 13.

Steve, what concerns you about it? They were so popular, it is said they had a wait-list of officers wanting them. As to traditional, there was nothing traditional about them - Manchurian steel, rod-in-tube construction - unknown quenching. Did you read the SMR Mantetsu Article? I honestly don't believe more can be said about them that's not already in it. With full respect to Mr Slough, none of them were made in Japan. There were 4,500 "unfinished" blades sent to Tokyo 1st for finishing to help them meet their yearly quota, but the blades were made by the Japanese mego-company South Manchurian Railway, or Mantetsu. Is that gunto up for sale online? If, so, could you PM me a link so I can ask the seller for the serial number (unless you care to check into that for us!).

can anyone translate the green kanji with '515' at the end? Quite unusual.

Got that one, thanks! I have Yoshiharu 27 & 71 dated Autumn '43, so I'd say this is a '43 blade, too. Edit: 26, 27, 35, & 71. In '44 - 103, 200, & 250

That’s fascinating to see it laid out that way, Thomas! Thanks for the post!

They were most definitely part of the Pacific war and Japan’s war effort.

Found this one on a Wehrmact-awards post HERE.

thanks guys! I've added the item to the next Stamps Doc.

Except for the Type 95 NCO, all blades were made individually. That's why many outer fittings aren't interchangeable.

Starting with the saya, rest assured it's normal fare doe WWII. Thanks for adding the pics. Bryce's concerns were understandable given the original set. But with the close-ups, I have personally seen plenty with this style fittings. The ito looks to have gotten loose and sagged a bit, too. As to the blade, maybe Trystan or Thomas can comment. I haven't really studied the zoheito.

Another nice one, John, on a post from @Michaelr here: HERE:

this one has some pretty good detail. On a post by @Michaelr HERE:

Another Manchukuo Rail sword found by @tbonesullivan on this thread:

I noticed one of the North China rail Swords in the thread Ed referenced has the same read under coating on the saya.

I’m silently screaming inside, as I am away from home and don’t have my books!. Hamish is right. I just don’t recall which railroad.

@PNSSHOGUN sakura chuso

Still want to see the tang. There’s a particular kind of sword called a zoheito, And we are wanting to see if this is one of them.

It made me think of that, too, but it doesn't depict the jewel.

Yes Peter, quite interesting! I'll bet he should be given credit for adding that feature to Mantetsu blades, now that we see this. I could add this tanto to the Mantetsu Article, under the small section about him, with the proposed idea. What does everyone think? But it would be noted as unsubstantiated theory. I checked the files for when the curved mune showed up on Mantetsu. Initially, it was flat, and remained flat on all blades with English letter serial numbers (also these blades just have the SMR logo). When the Koa Isshin logo appars in '39, the mune look mostly flat, but the edges are being rounded. Then in 1940, it looks like the fully rounded mune become standard.

I would also appreciate it if someone understands the significance of the image above the ana. Is it flames or a flower? Also, I see the year - 1936 - but what are the 3 kanji between that and the 8th month?

That’s my bet too!