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Bruce Pennington

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Everything posted by Bruce Pennington

  1. Bruce Pennington
    The date is August, 1943. Someone else will help you with the Smith name.
  2. Bruce Pennington
    The date is February, 1942. Someone else will have to look at the Smith name for you.
  3. Bruce Pennington
    Thanks Thomas! I've added the additional photos. Seems these are showing up often on Masafusa blades. What do you think of Morita-san's explanation: "It is formal that 眞金(shin-gane) pronounces as "Ma-gane"."? "
  4. Bruce Pennington
    No signs of fakery here. Like Geraint said, big piece of information is the nakago.
  5. Bruce Pennington
    I have to amend what I said about Fuller. He has 3 pictures of a senior naval officer carrying a Type 94 shingunto. It was Dawson, page 433, showing a senior NLF commander with a gunto in leather combat saya, 2 haikan (ashi), but with white same'. Dawson doesn't comment on it, but it's either an army tsuka on naval blade/saya or a civil sword re-fitted for war. IF it was done, it seems to be tied to Naval forces who fought on land, commonly called Naval Landing Forces.
  6. Bruce Pennington
    Ah, yes, I forgot about that. I don't follow these, so unfamiliar with going rates. Mine is army, so it would have been cheaper, though.
  7. Bruce Pennington
    New angle for sales from Komonjo. Nice blades with similarly corroded nakago, in hastily made saya and tsuka. Granted, he clearly states in both ads "...but gimei for sure. Bid on the steel, not the name." Hisamichi Kuniyasu
  8. Bruce Pennington
    Just came across this Kyu with a Naohiro blade in it. Fittings are a tad prettier than mine, but my blade is nicer. Price is unbelievable for a murata-to by Naohiro. Glad I got mine elsewhere! For sale HERE Pictures of mine are on My Christmas Present finally came in.
  9. Bruce Pennington
    YO! Good catch John! Curious to hear, Jim, about John's question of fit and feel. I will have to add, though, that F & G has some pics of what Fuller believes is Naval Officers with gunto having mixed fittings like this - naval saya, but army tsuka. So, this could be one of those, or it could be a post-war add-on. Jim, The drag on the end of your saya is a patent number. Fuller explains it here:
  10. Bruce Pennington
    Oooo ... but now I have a much better one! Thanks Neil! My other pictures of this made the label look like it had 5 points, whereas the silver label had 3 with rounded "cheeks." But now I can see they are the same. Why some are gold and others are silver ... ? The silver one's I've seen are so worn and unreadable, maybe the "gold" is simply worn off. I've swapped the photos in the Stamps doc, thanks! Getting little odds and ends like this for 7.3, but not enough to warrant a re-publish.
  11. Bruce Pennington
    Dave, In case you haven't already ID'd it, this is an 1886 model Company grade Cavalry Officer's sword Fuller and Gregory, pgs 50,51 Nice save! I appreciate your heart on this direction of collecting. I feel that way about them too. Maybe I'll try doing some hunting around town.
  12. Bruce Pennington
    Ok, thanks for checking!
  13. Bruce Pennington
    Dave, At first I thought you said that in jest, but the more I think about it after reading the legend and it’s meaning the more I wonder if the soldier actually was given that string by his loved one before leaving for the war, and he tied it around his saya! Makes for a nice story though doesn’t it?
  14. Bruce Pennington
    Tiger, signed. Found HERE.
  15. Bruce Pennington
    Sorry, not the "sides" of the nakago, but the back edge. Many (not all) Nagamitsu have stamps and serial numbers on them. Here's an example:
  16. Bruce Pennington
    Ah, ok. The darkness of the first shot made it look odd, but now I see. It's standard style for WWII leather covers. Clearly has a story to tell, too bad we'll never know it! Great gunto.
  17. Bruce Pennington
    I honestly don't know why I love the blades, but what I love most is the STORY. I love to hear and read the stories of the smiths, of the carry-ers of the blades, of the times surrounding the making and the using. My almost compulsive focus on stamps is not about the stamps, but really about the WHY, which always leads to stories of the times, people making decisions, etc. History.
  18. Bruce Pennington
    Alexander, Any stamps and/or numbers on the back edge of the nakagao?
  19. Bruce Pennington
    Fascinating, Thomas, thanks! Mon on blades. Just looked that up - 9 planets - and like you said, several family names and variations. Peter, I'm not familiar with that term - date crest. What does that mean? (sorry for all the questions!)
  20. Bruce Pennington
    Quite an old blade John! Looks like it was outfitted for WWII with that saya (scabbard). Could you give us a closer, and brighter picture of the end of the saya? Seems quite unique.
  21. Bruce Pennington
    I realize there's plenty of challenges with this one, but does anyone have an idea of the meaning of the circles emblem at the top? Stylized chrysanthemum maybe?
  22. Bruce Pennington
    edited out. pics are from same gunto
  23. Bruce Pennington
    Mike, Just noticed the worn foil label on the saya. I have never seen one that was readable, but it is said they are of the Seki Cutlery Co. which made fittings as well as Type 95 NCO gunto. [Edited: both pictures are from the same thread and gunto]
  24. Bruce Pennington
    That has driven me nuts, too, Thomas. I thinks it must have been tacked onto another thread and the quality kabutogane w/stamps issue was a tangent. The one you linked to is in the "Unknowns" section of the Stamps Doc, but I've added that one to the files. Nice to see another example. On another topic from that thread, that's only the 2nd "NA" stamped 1941 blade, and it's Jan '41, so quite early.
  25. Bruce Pennington
    Yes, the shop doing the fittings for the blade mark them with a number to keep them together as each blade is different in size and shape and the fittings are customized to each blade. The saya is lacquered. The painted wood under your handle wrap indicates this was fitted very late in the war. And I agree with Barry that this looks traditionally made to me, but I'm nowhere near knowledgeable about nihonto. Those guys will have to advise on that.
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