Hello,
I am new to the message board and new to the fantastic world of the Nihonto. I was given a sword that my grandfather brought back from WW2. The sword was in my fathers possession for many years before he gave it to me. I tucked it away in a closet, as did my father and forgot about it. Years later, after cleaning out my closet I decided to look into the sword and see if there was any value in it. This led me on a great journey to understand more about the sword and the guy who brought it back, my grandfather. After scouring the Internet for a month, I came to the conclusion that I was in the possession of a Unsigned Non-Traditional Type 94 Shin-Gunto, this is a newbie guess on my part. There are matching assembly numbers on the Tsuba, Seppa and Ireko-saya. One of the mysteries that my research has not revealed are the IIII II/ markings the sword possesses; these markings are on different pieces. My initial thought was this is a signature of some sort, but I'm still unclear as to it's meaning.
I have posted many pictures of the sword on my website. http://www.auctionyourbeer.com/sword.html; click on a picture to supersize it, then you can zoom in even closer. The pictures of interest are #7 the Kuchi gane (IIII II/ markings), #13 the Chuso (Translation?), #14 the Fuchi (Translation?), #27 the Nakago just below the Mekugi-ana (Looks like a X or Cross?), #31 and 32 the Nakago (IIII II/ markings), and #33 and 34 the Habaki (IIII II/ markings).
Any information on this sword would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Dave