Comrade Rutherford

I have known too many antique dealers and museum curators to do anything to Real Nihonto. I have a great respect for the blade and the smith and for historical artifacts. I recall one Antiques Roadshow where the viewer was so proud of using Brasso to remove that old patina and make it shine. The curator made it a point to tell them that the patina was part of it's value and they had destroyed the artifact's worth. Yeah, IF I could afford a Genuine Nihonto, I'd want to keep it in a museum-grade location and handle it with gloves, etc. And keep that Brasso far, far away! I look at 500 year old swords and just drool...

Thank you for your responses. From what I've seen online regarding genuine Shin Gunto, as well as Brian's comment, I am sure this is not a real one. Just too many discrepencies. However, since I did get this over 15 years ago and it had some aging on it at that time, I believe it was an older knock-off, not one of the recent Chinese versions. The blade is steel, and does hold an edge, but that's about all it has going for it... The tsuka is cemented on, but it has been coming loose. Hmm. I figure I'll use this as my 'practise' sword, so if I do something dumb as I learn about caring for swords, I'll not damage something valuable. For example, I can sharpen this sword to learn the technique. Also, I can do horrible things to it with impunity, like Brasso! Thank you all, again. This website is a priceless resource for us n00bs to lurk and learn.

I added my name to the sig file, does that suffice? Thank you for your response. I have no expectations that this would be a Japanese Shin Gunto, since it deviates so far from the descriptions I have seen. But it is ... old. I got it in the mid '90s, and it had signs of actual age on it, not age patina. I read somewhere that the fake Japanese sword market boomed almost immediately after The War, so perhaps is could date to that time. So it is an old knock-off, not of recent manufacture?

Here is the stamped number

Here is another photo. I have about six, but only seem to be able to load one per post...

I picked up an NCO Shin Gunto around 1993 from a NYC flea market seller for $75. It has the aluminum tsuka (no discernable paint remains), there's no Mekugi (no pin in the hole), and the handle will NOT come off (I certainly didn't try very hard, I read somewhere to not even attempt it), so there's no way to read the Mei (if any). A few spots of light surface rust (I oil it regularly now with 3 in 1). It doesn't seem to follow any of the Shin Gunto rules, from what I have seen. First, it has two Ashi, both permanently mounted, it has no fuller and only the habaki has a stamped number, the saya (and no other parts) does not. I have no hope that it has any value, indeed I'd be surprised it it did.