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Bruce Pennington

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Posts posted by Bruce Pennington

  1. I don't have any Kaneyasu blades that are stamped (yet?).  But yours doesn't match the Kanemichi nor Kanenao on file.

     

    I found this other Kaneyasu.  Not exactly the same, but clearly both mei played loosely with the "yasu".  You could be right Mal.  Where's @SteveM?

     

    Need Help With Signature On WW2 Japanese Katana Sword, Check the Photos!

  2. 8 hours ago, GeorgeLuucas said:

    notches hammered in around the nakago ana?

    Sam,

    Haven't seen one exactly like that, but have seen quite a variety of such marks (think they have a name).  They were done to tighten up the ana for a closer fit to the blade.

    • Like 1
  3. On 3/16/2024 at 12:34 PM, John C said:

    Looking specifically at a 1944 Kanenobu that does not appear to have any inspection stamps. Do you have any of his work in your lists?

    I have 4 of his that are star-stamped.  2 Don't give views that would show any stamping, and the other 2: a '43 with a NA on the mune; and a '45 with a Seki on the mune.  The other 3, without star, are: a '41 with NA; '42 with Na Ho on mune; and a '45 with Seki.

    • Like 1
  4. I didn't want to agree with John, but after looking at 6 other Nagahisa mei and kao, I see some inconsistencies.  This one differs in many ways, but here are 3 that are all the same on the filed ones, but differ from this one:

     

    1.  The right "shoulder" of this kanji, on all but the OP, is bent or lopped off, whereas it's square on the OP kanji

    2.  The upper left of this kanji, on all but the OP uses a small "dink", not an elongated line like the OP

    3.  The kao is quite close, but on all the filed kao, the 3 prongs on top are small and the right-most prong is long, whereas the OP prongs are the same size.

     

    These items on all the filed nakago do not vary, so I'd say this is a good gimei, at least for the cut test mei.

     

    Collage2024-03-1611_30_30.thumb.jpg.03e70f26a4befc60ed4b6228c2f92743.jpg

  5. 2 hours ago, BANGBANGSAN said:

    That 特 (Special)mark is one of the Extraordinary stamps.

    Dang!  Good catch, Trystan!  I originally had this down (possibly from you?) in the Stamps doc as "特 = Toku (Special)", but now I can connect it to this chart.  Do you know exactly what it means?  "Specially adopted on basis of Inspection Rules Art. 11", but what does that mean to us or about the sword?

  6. 1 hour ago, John C said:

    Bruce:

    Did all star stamped gendaito have seki or Na inspection stamps (large or small) after 1942? 

     

    John C. 

    I track that, when shown.  Several of the recoreded blades came from auction sites, and old posts no longer active, that didn't show the full nakago, nor the mune.

     

    Having said that, it seems the vast majority of them were marked one way or another.  A lot of them were numbered.  Many had  HO, KO, SAKA, NA, and Seki stamps on the mune.  And just a few had small Seki and/or NA stamps on the nakago.

    • Like 1
  7. Neil,

    Yes I have that one on file, and it's the only example I have of that mystery stamp at the bottom of the 3.

     

    Didier,

    The wartime polish seems to have a dull, mirror-like finish.  It often will even obscure the hamon.  You can usually tell it's original by all the scratches, dings, and such on the surface of the blade.  Bubba, post-war, buffer jobs are usually quite shiny mirror.

    • Like 1
  8. 5 hours ago, tbonesullivan said:

    TAKEHISA!  Dated 昭 和 十 八 年 秋 - 1943 AKI

    David,

    Could I get a clear shot of the "&" marking, or a link where I can get the shots myself?

     

    I have 2 other gunto with this mark.  Both mumei, one is likely a zoheito, and one has the "W" as well.  My current theory is that it comes from a particular shop.  Here are the other 2

    WechatIMG644.thumb.jpeg.a1e6cd1c5eaa0543c573d709897f1978.jpeg.f258aebcf1f291004d1d08bf447a9729.jpegScreenshot2022-09-25083209.thumb.jpg.14ad6a640482506ad62aab994fb1bcc8.jpg

    787 has the & on the blade!

    and 

    797

    IMG_3685.thumb.jpg.e674bca31ca85cdb5a7b1050eaf2a8b3.jpg.aa3e57fba6b36b17bdd4a7ff8f722830.jpgIMG_3690.thumb.jpg.dd18eff8cdcce986683c60612f46909c.jpg.49a6454c38c1d2a979ef5d53e5e48ee2.jpg

  9. 6 hours ago, John C said:

    Roger that. I wasn't sure because many smiths went into other metal craft after the 1868 ban. Iv'e seen some really cool yatate made out of unused fuchi.

    Sorry Yves for hijacking the thread. Hope you find an answer.

     

    John C.

    Now that we're talking of it, though, if you find something like this and it was a swordsmith that made it, let me know.  I'd like to see the kao and see if it's different or the same as his sword kao.

    • Thanks 1
  10. 16 hours ago, John C said:

    @Bruce Pennington

    Not sure if you are following this, however this Hirashige kao could be added to the stamps doc if you are collecting these.

    John C.

    Thanks John, but I'm only citing swordsmith kao.  The guys that make tsuba, shirasaya, and others like this item are a big group.  I just don't have the time to branch out that wide.

  11. Steve,

    Lot's to learn when jumping into a new collector's realm!

     

    I don't know the full story of how Japan administered occupied lands.  All I know is from the swords I see in reference books.  But clearly there were Army and Navy administrators.  Army swords had a different saya (scabbard).  Here's a partial shot of an Army one:

    Screenshot2024-03-12081646.thumb.png.d18e783fd7f74117f664d9bc79106242.png

    The style of your sword saya is Navy.  And surprise! While looking at Ohmura's site FOUND HERE>, I see his example has the same blade design as yours!  He calls it the "Kogarasu-maru structure"

    Screenshot2024-03-12081754.thumb.png.52fe64bbc3377b6dc2055a5b59ee6630.png

     

    WWII leather tends to get degraded over time.  It's possible the leather on yours got damaged and someone removed it along the way.  Are the metal fittings loose?  Does that second belt hanger loop slide?  It looks like it's been slid too far up, close to the top.

     

    Back to administrators.  The Japanese had a civil branch working alongside the military, both Army and Navy, called Gunzoku.  They wore military-styled uniforms, but had their own rank structure.

    There were 4 ranks of civilian grades in the army.

    1. Younin (傭人) were hired laborers. For instance, barbers and laundry workers were such civilians.

    2. Ko-in (雇員) hired admin helpers for the office (treated as equivalent of a Lance Corporal) .

    3. Hanin-kan (判任官), who were civilian equivalents of NCOs, carrying out legal, accounting, machine maintenance and other duties.

    4. Koutou-kan (高等官), who comprised the officer class equivalents from lieutenant to general. Such people included teachers of non-military subjects in military schools, interpreters, legal specialists, etc.
    {From Nick Komiya's post HERE.

     

    Both the Hanin-kan and Koutou-kan carried swords of the branch, Army or Navy, they worked for.  Yours was obviously working for the Navy, and by "colonial" I mean he was working in one of the occupied territories.  Japan specialized the fittings and markings on swords.  There were specific styles for standard Army & Navy; styles for Police, Railways, etc.  There were specific styles and/or emblems for diplomats and administrators of occupied territories.

     

    Edit: Oops, I see Geraint has just beat me!

    • Thanks 1
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