Bruce Pennington

Thanks Dave & Barry, didn't think of that! I'll be sure to rub the wood down after dry to make sure it's free of grit. JP, the 95 saya has just the one screw to remove the throat. Most of the time, the wood slides right out, but mine was wet and stuck. I had to invert my saya and tap the opening on a piece of wood on my workbench to bring the wood down to the edge. The wood can be real brittle sometimes, but this set was thick and strong (maybe because it was wet), so I was able to pinch one side between 2 flat-head screw drivers and pull slowly. Chris, nice tips, thanks!

That guy had a cushy job during the war! Not even a door-dink on the saya!

Bought this Type 95 at auction (same group I got bit by with the fake 98). The blade has permanent black stains. When I asked Neil about it, he said it's likely tanin stains coming out of the wooden liner. So I got curious and opened up the saya and removed the liner. Sure enough, the wood was wet to the touch. There were rust stains IN THE WOOD! The end of the liner was the worst, and you could see that water (don't know if pooled oils could do this?) had settled to the bottom of the saya, soaking the wood, moistening the tanins, which then stained the steel. I've lightly sanded the corroded portions of the liner and am currently drying the liner as well as the empty saya. Thought I'd share this, along with pics for everyone else in case you have gunto sayas that may be damaging your blades.

"And THAT ..... is the REST of the story" as a famous broadcaster used to say!

I see. The angle of the original photo made the blossom look different. But it is flatter than the earlier version. I'm just not familiar with that style ashi and didn't realize it's the style of the late-war Rinji fittings. Thanks Neil!

Ok, I'll write him and get some more details.

Sorry, but the only other stamps are "6 2" matching the tsuba & seppa. No "M".

Interesting. And I couldn't find the gunto for sale. In the description of the sarute, under Country of manufacture, the seller says "unknown."

Julien, that is quite remarkable! I believe you've outdone Neil. Is the blade a custom/high quality blade? With the crest on the end of the sarute, it makes me wonder if the deer and (tiger?) meant something to the family.

Grey, Think they'd be interested in reading a recap of our discoveries in the Mantetsu world?

Well, I see what you mean! You couldn't fill that gap with even a couple of thick seppa. It's certainly a cool saya though, worth keeping.

Well, Neil, you never cease to amaze! Your serial number is "い" (hiragana for "I") 1170 and is only found on 1945 blades, so your observation about the year was spot-on. I agree the entire nakago, and the kesho yasurime are classic Mantetsu. But no mei! Your "desperado" label may be true too, as the serial number is the highest I've seen. All our '45s so far are 3-digit numbers. This COULD be one of the last Mantetsu made!!! That would be a real find, wouldn't it! The fittings are even "unique-er" than any of that style you've shown us before. Specifically, that ashi is something I haven't seen before. Yes, the band I've seen, but the part where the ring attaches to the band seems unique. Well, one for the record books. I'll add this to the Mantetsu Study files.

Ha???? We do have a similar sentiment: “all d - -ked up”.

Stephen, that's great, I'm glad! I sure wish I knew the thread where a similar blade was posted with that exact same stamp!!!

I've done some more looking into the Mantetsu posted in #463. I now feel that all the parts are original except the kabutogane, sayajiri, sarute, and one seppa. Oh, and the ito is new. So I don't think anything was really done to this that I didn't do, myself, to my Dad's Mantetsu. I looks really good. I'm posting now in the For Sale thread.

Ron, I mentioned the Type 8 and Type 19 on the Kyu Corner thread. The set also came with a Type 95 that I want to look over before posting, just haven't had the chance yet. I have a nice Mantetsu I'm posting today in the For Sale section, and have another Mantetsu coming in the mail, a '39 Koa Isshin.

Ha! Didn't see Kenny's reply before I posted. And just for those without the book, Dawson says the bare backstrap is of the "Hannin" rank. Hannin were the NCO equivilent of the Gunzoku, the civilian branch of the military. They wore uniforms but were civilians doing work such as diplomats, teachers (Takayama was a Gunzoku), etc and had distinctive rank/patches.

Phil, What causes you to think it's put-together? The saya is interesting with that second loop. It looks to me like something added to make it sling over the back. There are severl pictures of troops carrying their swords over their back.

Adam, I know almost nothing about horimono, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But I see this like any art form - you have craftsmen from one end of the spectrum to the other making swords just as any other profession. Maybe this guy wasn't the Picaso of the gunto world, but he was doing his best. The fittings are higher-end fittings (judging by the gorgeous tsuba), so the officer that bought this put some extra money into the piece. It is quite above the norm for officer gunto.

Hamish, I won't say yet, since you're waiting, but Dawson says the handgrip is always white. Is this like everything else - variations exist?

Wow Hamish! Dawson said there was a great amount of variation in these. Clearly he wasn’t kidding! Brian, would it be difficult to merge my posts into his thread? It’s much more significant than this one.

I never noticed the length variations in these until now (I can see them in Thomas' navy collection above now that I'm noticing!) and quality variations in the handle-work. Just got a Type 8 and a 19 in that batch of 4 gunto. The 19 is longer by almost 2 inches Type 8 full length - 35 1/2 Type 19 " " - 37 1/4 The acid-etched hamons vary quite a bit too. The one on the 19 actully attempted to have some art in it. The shop that made the 19 put more work into all the artwork on the handle. Comparisons below. I'll post these for sale soon. I'd love to keep one, but since i took that hit on the fake 98, I can't afford to keep them.

Duuuuude!

Sold the blade & habaki today, thanks for the suggestions guys! I'll post the koshirae along with a lone leather cover (that I know is legit) in the For Sale Section tomorrow.

Dave,I don't think they sell that way, though, I really don't know. I assume the items are sold by the way they were acquired. Some auctions are on commision, some are estate purchases.