Bruce Pennington

Corry, Try Obiwanknabbe (sp?). I got a a part for my Dad's saya, and he mentioned that he had several parts and pieces of stuff. Worth contacting him, here's a link to send him a message: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/user/2510

Dave, my browser asked what software to view it, and I picked a "player" which worked fine. Peter, did you notice they were all wearing suits with ties while they worked? My how times have changed!

Ken, I am in line for David Hofhine http://www.swordpolisher.com/Services.htmlfor a polish. His list is 2 years long, and has (I think) 3 levels of polishing he does. There are cheaper guys, though, $700 being the cheapest I've seen. Might try a google search.

That price makes me feel better about paying $2,400 for mine! Always thought I over-paid, but it's a nice one and I WANTED IT!!!

Stephen, that certainly was true. I wonder, though if the options got more sparse as the war got closer to the end.

I like the blade Neil. Nice "O kissaki", or large tip. The nakago, or tang, wasn't well made compared to average military blades, but that would fit the "occupied lands" idea. The two mekugi-ana (peg holes) are interesting - hand punched not machine drilled. If not Japanese made, it was made in Japanese style. Hard to see a hamon in those pics, but maybe one visible in the last one.

The stamps on the nakago-mune are Kokura: 小 　Army Arsenal Kokura Factory - Kokura Army Arsenal inspection mark: "Ko". 　"Ko" stamp is not discovered except for the following example. It seems that the inspection mark 　used the "To" commonly since most Tokyo Factories relocated to Kokura Factory. ホ 　Army Arsenal Kokura First Factory inspection mark: "Ho" So the blade, at least, was made for an Army officer.

Neil, like Jean, I would love to see the whole blade shape, as well as a close-up of the tip. Other than the tsuba, so far this looks late-war Japanese to me - the kabuto-gane (handle end-cap) and the toe of the leather saya-cover, as well as the belt-hanger, all look pretty standard. Many of the islander/occupied lands swords, that I've seen anyway, have cheaper materials and craftsmanship. It would help to see the blade and its tip

That's a beauty Neil. There are some guys that really go after the Type 3 gunto because they tend to have great looking blades.

That IS an interesting one Neil! I've never seen a Type 3 with the Type 98 ishizuki like that. Combined with the late date, I'd say your theory is pretty solid about it.

Wow, Neil, what a gem! Mind telling how you came into this one?

Stegel, the square-ish inspector stamp on the 62,xxx sword - what do you think that is? I've always assumed it was the "To" of Tokyo, but now I'm not so sure)

Neil, love to see them all. Can you show the serial number of this one?

Yeah, it was Dad's, so I've finished rebuilding it, and the final step is a polish. Over the past 2 years, though, I've developed a bit of appreciation of the "life of the sword " concept, so I'm actually in a mental debate. It's a Spring 1941 Koa Isshin and has lots of scratches, stains and 2 or 3 small chips. So it probably saw action. It would be sad to lose that by polishing it. So I'm struggling with the desire to beautify it or keep it's "history " intact.

Dang, Steve, that's just mean! I really am going to not look, because if I do I'll buy it and I really need to save my money up to pay for a polish on my Dad's Mantetsu. Thanks though!

That's the same stamp as on the blade, Tokyo First Arsenal inspector mark. I've seen a couple others that come out like yours. The copper fuchi must be softer on some than others so the stamp comes out like a concave square.

Looks like the top one is a variation 2. What is the bottom one? All I need to complete my NCO collection is a variation 3, from Nagoya with the side latch. But that will have to wait for a few months while I save up some more fun-money!

LOL! Sorry Grant, I wasn't thinking! It's a Yoshishige, 1943 blade with a "Seki" stamp!

Grant, I've got a real nice, signed, kai-gunto but the end of the nakago was never vinished. I find these things interesting because it puts the "human" in the discussion! With thousands of these things being made, the human element is going to show up now and then, with a missed sharpenning here, a missed nakago-jiri finish there. Makes it all the more real, if you ask me.

Gets in your blood, doesn't it! Can't see the number or the stamps. Can you post pics of the those for us addicts? Good looking blade!

Randy, It all depends on what you plan to do with the gunto. For resale value, everything you add or re-do will detract from it's collector value. If you plan to keep it forever and just want to restore it a bit, I'd follow Dave's thought of using bamboo slivers (although any of the ideas you mentioned would tighten the tang without changing the original conditon). Same thoughts on the leather seppa. If you are keeping it and just want to tighten it up, cutting a new piece of leather is fine, but I'd keep the original whether selling or keeping. Mostly - enjoy your hobby the way that makes it fun for you!

You lucky dog! You got one with the leather tassel! Very nice Randy! I've taken the sarute off each of my gunto. They are hard to bend, so I wouldn't expect it to break. I wrap two plyers with a heavy cloth to pry it open. The cloth prevents the layers from cutting into the sarute and/or scratching the tsuka if it slips (unfortunately learned the hard way on both accounts!). When re-assembling, insert one end of the sarute, cover the other side with the cloth, and press firmly to mash the open end back into the hole. Works for me.

Got a nice addition to the Gunto Repair discussion fron Nick Komiya, Warrelics forum: "You will find a fair number of documents in the archives by using 軍刀修理 as a search word. These teams were sent out in groups of 10 or 20 to various destinations overseas from 1939. After they finished their term of 6 months, they were offered employment by the army and even supported for local settlement should they wish to open shop abroad for the service they provided. Thus it appears only about half of them returned home after the mission, judging by the reports about their return. They also issued a detailed repair manual, but I do not know whether it can be found in the archives, sorry. The mission statement for these repair teams says their purpose was primarily repair of external fittings, not the blades. Last edited by nick komiya; 10-04-2016 at 02:36 PM."

I agree, but I'm wondering just how loose are you talking about Randy? Have you taken the handle off yet? Is it so loose that maybe the wood liner has been removed by a previous owner? If it's just a little wiggly, a few of mine are that way, and I just accept it as the wood has dried and shrunken over the lay 70 years.

Ok Randy try this website for wood: http://www.ryujinswords.com/saya.htm Also, a friend says he has gone to boat shops to get magnolia wood.