Bruce Pennington

An update from a couple of other threads on the known smiths that worked the SMR Dalian operation. 1. We know of Hisakatsu, real name Takeshima Masao, who "directed the production of Koa Isshin blades" 2. Wakabayashi Shigetsugu, who instructed production workers (source: K. Morita - http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/7445-tang-your-opinion/?hl=%2Bshigetsugu+%2Bdalian&do=findComment&comment=73318)

Thanks Steve! Thomas, I knew I'd seen another name along the way, but I couldn't find him - thanks!

You could be right about the strike of the stamp. I'll keep watching for it. I thought you had one on that Warrelics thread, but it's the "NI" - second inspection mark that is found along with an arsenal mark - which in this case is a non-circled HE.

Yes, Ohmura-san's site is a priceless reference for studying gunto, yet, like all our references, they aren't all-encompassing, all-knowing. The internet has made more information, and source material, available to us than Ohmura, Fuller, or Dawson ever had at their fingertips. It's quite amazing the level of coverage they all reached, considering. As to the Circled He - I'm not yet entirely sure that is what we are seeing. It COULD be. Yet there are many non-circled He stamps on late-war 95s. Steve (Shamsy) has several. I'm wondering if the crescent we see on this isn't just the outer edge of the stamp and it struck the blade because the stamp was held at an angle when struck. The chart you've provided seems to be more about guns and other things. For example, the Mukden emblem of a circle in a circle connected by 3 lines is only found on guns, not blades. It would be good to know if the Circled HE is found on guns as well. Steve, if you are reading this - do you have any blades with the Circled HE?

Saw this on an old thread and would appreciate a full translation of the mei. It comes from a Winter '39 Koa Isshin, appearantly made by Shigetsugu, who initially instructed workers at the Dalian Mantetsu factory.

Here are some of mine.

Oh, I see now! The serial number is just blocked/blacked out by shadows in the first photo. Sooooo why the odd nakago jiri and 3rd hole?

Bruce, that's a new one on me! It seems it is from the Heijō Factory of Jinsen Army Arsenal (called Hoten Arsenal Corp by Ohmura). I haven't seen it before, and will add it to my Stamps Document!

Chris, Here's a shot of my copper. I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was hamon or a effect of sharpenning.

Steve, you're blowing my mind!!! Someone paid to have a Type 95 blade polished?! I had always assumed they had hardened the cutting edge. Who would make a sword without a hardened edge, right? But this clearly shows it! Wow! Now on that other one, is it a zohei-to? And WHAT are those holes on the mune? and what is that copper on the blade with a kanji????

Stamps are all wrong, thank goodness! Did you see the statement in the item description: “Material: carbon”?

I prefer to use the terms "traditionally made" or "non-traditionally made" because of the mileading impression the term "machine made" gives out. Here is a list of the various ways blades were made during the war: But even this list doesn't go into the details of what machinery were available and in use during these processes. There are pictures out and about of blade production during the war that show quite a few machines in shops where people were making the blades.

Both Alex' and Chis' examples are WAY above the usuall fakes we see. It's a real shame. And John's concern is real, too. His source in Japan is really cranking out some gimei.

After seeing the options I enlarged the pic. You can see the original cut, and it looks like Uwe’s kanji.

Uwe, That has potential! What does that mean?

Ahhso! I was looking at the last photo and the color made it blend in with the wood. It is clearly metal in the next-to-last photo. Thanks Steve!

That was my initial reaction too, hachi, but I have the same reservations about that as well. While this is 2 strokes, the tops should be parallel for hachi, not one over the other. Was there that much lattitude in personal style to allow such a variation? Another idea is that this is a personal mark, like a hot stamp or haikan. Was there a smith who's name started with 八? I have found some blades marked with the first kanji of the smith's name.

Posted on the Arsenal Stamps thread, a new one on me. The owner, Alex, believes it to be the hiragana "He", but it doesn't have the same shape of the He stamps I've seen to date. Thanks for the help! Post #436, here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-15

Oh, I see what you mean. That is strange, isn't it! Could it simply be that the togishi polished part way down the nakago, then stopped?

Alex, Welcome! If you go to your personal profile page, you can set your first name into your posts so you don't have to type it in every time. That stamp is a new one on me! I am no Japanese language expert, but it doesn't seem the same as the "he" stamps I'm familiar with on the Type 95s (I'll post one for comparison). What kind of fittings are on this blade - army, navy?

Steve, I don't follow the late-war 95s, so forgive my question, but is it normal to see an all-wooden saya like that? I thought the wooden ones had a metal top-end piece.

Thanks Bruce. I'll add one of those to my Stamps Document! I'm not sure that the numbers on the nakago are serial numbers. It would be way out of the norm, if so, and quite impractical as serial numbers are used to issue items to soldiers and track ownership. It is more likely something stamped there by the koshirae fitters. But that's just an educated guess. Very nice gunto!

I see deep patina in the depths of the file marks.

I agree. There is definitely something not right about this blade (the offset machi; the look of the nakago) but the blade tip is nicely shaped, unlike the standard Chinese blade. Maybe it's a modern-made blade by someone not Japanese, but it doesn't match the "normal" Chinese fake.

Hate to invite others to bid against me, but there's a Mantetsu in near pristine koshirae for sale on Proxibid (Morphy Auctions, actually) coming up on Dec 9th. There is a 26% action fee, so keep that in mind for your max bid price. I don't expect to get it, because I'm trying to buy it for resale and won't bid up to market value. SO, if there is someone looking to buy a really nice Mantetsu for their collection, I'd have a go at this one. Blade tip has a bit of rust, but nice overall. https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?lid=51111158&campaign=SavedSearch_Email_Button&utm_campaign=SavedSearch_Email_Button