Bruce Pennington

Ha! With gunto anything is possible! I have seen a few with 2 holes in the blade, but only 1 on the tsuka, so this combination doesn't surprise me. There are other guys here that know more about fittings than I do. Maybe they can say whether that tsuka matches the saya. They do seem to be different in appearance - tsuka parts glossy/shiny, saya parts dull?

Well, as the saying goes, "It has a face only a mother could love!" Ha! Glad you enjoy your gunto. Is it your first? At first glance, it appears to be an old work-horse of a blade, re-fitted for a Gunzuko officer. If all original from the war, the guy must have used a lower-end shop for the re-fit, as the habaki doesn't fit the blade. Unusual. Someone, post-war likely, has "polished" the tsuba and menuki too much and removed the original coloring. It is possible the blade was re-fitted by a dealer, post-war. From the pictures (which may not be fair), the handle wrap looks unused - no hand-oils or wear on the back edge. And the rayskin looks new. Again, that may the lighting. When you get a chance, take one of the thick black seppa from the back and move to the front so there is an even number of matching seppa on each side. I apologize for sounding a bit negative. I believe it all to be legit WWII stuff. Whether it's been re-built post-war sort of doesn't really matter as blades were re-fitted many times in their lifetime. And in reality, I could be wrong about the post-war theory. Welcome to the World of WWII Gunto!

A “mon” is a crest. The Toyota emblem is a mon, as is the tail emblem on JAL aircraft. A “kamon “ is a family crest. You can try posting it on the Help with our Mons thread.

Type 19 Dress (or parade) sabre. Used for photo ops, parades, formal occasions. Not tempered, so not a weapon. Started in 1886, but used throughout WWII. http://ohmura-study.net/988.html

Texas has some pretty hot summers, and with the green-house effect of an outdoor garage , whew! I wouldn't store it in a garage at all. Steel needs controlled humidity (42-7%, if memory serves me), or protection from it. I live in Colorado, so I don't even have to worry about it, but your climate demands some maintenance to preserve your blade. The links above will walk you through cleaning and oiling. It should be done on some sort of regular basis (quarterly, semi-annually, etc). I keep mine in their saya, standing up in a gun cabinet. The Japanese keep them horizontally in drawer cabinets. And there are a hundred other ways guys use. Your blade looks good, so there's likely no rust inside the saya. I've disassembled mine and cleaned with copper-wool due to rust and stains. The wooden liners can hold rust and stains from having water inside during the war. Here is a thread discussing display ideas: Show us your Gunto Display

Agreed. A good example of the Type 95 with Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal star stamp, which puts the manufacture date at 1942 or later.

Antonio, Is that "69" the full number, or is there more to it and are there matching numbers on the fittings? Is there a small stamp on either side? Is this in kaigunto mounts?

Cliff, Nice Type 95 you have there! Good call on the date, though Shamsy and/or Stegel will likely refine that for you (I'm usually off by a year every time I guess). You should start reading up on these at Ohmura's website: Non-commissioned officers Gunto. A wealth of info there. The black on the saya looks like a bad post-war Bubba-job, but I've been terribly wrong about my own gunto regarding paint, so don't put much weight on what I just said. These are being discussed HERE.

Ah yes, I remember it. Thanks!

Jonathan, In my experience, the norm is the kind that covers the end of the saya fully, with slot cut for the blade. The kind that is simply a band around the outside is the exception, found more on civilian swords and wooden saya with leather cover. Dave, John, or others may have a correction/addition to that as I don't really study fittings that closely.

Interesting one, shaped like a mountain (Fuji mabye?). Not very intricate, like some of these others, but I like it because the artist modified the usual square shape of the habaki to create the image, rather than using the face of the surface to cut an image. Owned by Alva (Karusk) and posted HERE.

Alva, I like the habaki too! Still amazes me to see the work and detail those guys went to on parts, to me, that would have just been utilitarian. Instead, they made everything a work of art. Adding this to the growing habaki collection HERE.

Dang, Rob, good eye! That looks like a Type 95 blade with officer tsuba/tsuka! Kaz, have you brought that one to the group for discussion? At first glance, it could be one of the 95 blades bought by an officer in the sword shortage and fitted out with officer koshirae. But after a closer look, I can see the bohi was cut more closely to the mune than a 95 bohi. I'll pipe down and wait to hear about it from you!

No date, Aliaksandr?

If only they could pull that off for photos of mei! Thanks for the tip Barry!

Yes, mine is 1.05in (26.7mm) at the edge of the habaki. At the yakote: 19.05mm Bohi begins: 2.9mm from mune and is 7.38mm wide.

My chromed blade is 1.05 in. (26.7mm) at the edge of the habaki.

I'm not familiar with the Ren Wax, so I can't comment on that, but as to the oil, it's only supposed to be applied quite thinly. Most care and cleaning sites say to even go over the blade after oiling with a dry cloth, removing standing oil. The oil is only coating the steel on an almost microscopic level. But with your display, whatever is absorbed by the cloth will still right there, against the steel of the blade! When you see museum displays and fancy store displays, the blades are always on white cloth. Now, mine, on the other hand, are all in their saya and standing upright in my gun cabinet, so it's a personal choice that only you can make.

Thanks George! Another 1940 Showa stamped blade in the database.

On the display, I'd put white cloth under each of the blades. It's a respect thing, and it will prevent metal-to-metal scratches and electro-driven rusting.

Excellent representation of Japanese war gunto, Kaz! I'm with Stegel - the kaigunto are gorgeous and part of the war history. I'd also add a Kyugunto, single-handed or double-handed (they were made pre-WWII but carried by some all the way to 1945); and a copper-handled NCO. If you want to go further, make sure you have both sizes of the Type 32, Ko & Otsu. If you're crafty when you get your kaigunto, make sure to get one with the leather covered saya, so you have a good representation of that. NOW the biggest, most important question of the day ................. Do I already have photos of your Mantetsu nakago, both sides, and the full serial number on the back edge?!?!?!?

Thanks guys! Another one for the Stamp Survey. And I'm going with 1940 on that date, unless you see more than that.

Correct. Although, in the Japanese culture both the heirloom and the WWII gunto carried the same meaning and significance. Some of these WWII blades were made better than some of the 600 yr old blades made in a hurry during huge battles.

Do you already have a translation of the date and smith name? Kane "something" and made in the '40s, but can't see enough to get the full date. The Showa stamp puts it likely in 1940, 1941.

That worked just fine Josh, thanks! So it is a Showa stamp, which puts it's odds of manufacture 1941 or before. So, like John says, likely a 98. Masaru - thanks for that reference! I hadn't heard that term before, and after a quick google search found that the surrendered/confiscated swords at war's end were collected at the US. 8th Army Weapons Depot at Akabane, Kita Ward, Tokyo, hence "Akabane swords". I'm curious, though, about your source of the info on the painted number? It makes a bit of sense, as it's labeled "military sword" which would have mattered at some stage of the occupation, as they were having to distinguish between weapons and "art." But I would really like to hear where your info came from, if you could share that. It's a pretty significant piece of history on these gunto!