Pet Dragon

I’m honored that my input has possibly helped solve a mystery! My thoughts on the numbering “file marks” were as follows.

A numbering system with two groups of numbers.

The first group may contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10.

The second group may contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Associating the file marks with the numbers as follows:

I = 1

II = 2

III = 3

IIII = 4

\ = 5

X = 10

The first group of numbers is added together and written down. If the number ends in a zero, the zero is discarded. The second group is added and written down next to the first group resulting in the final number.

My sword has the marking:  \II   IIII

               First Group         Second Group

                    \II = 7                      IIII = 4

Result     =    74

Steve’s sword has the marking:  X   IIII

               First Group         Second Group

                    X = 10                      IIII = 4

                  Drop Zero

               Result     =    14

Bruce’s sword has the marking:  XXX   I

                First Group        Second Group

                  XXX = 30                    I = 1

                  Drop Zero

               Result     =    31

Thomas’s sword has the marking:  XXXX   \IIII

               First Group           Second Group

                 XXXX = 40                   \IIII = 9

                 Drop Zero

                 Result     =    49

Having fun with this….  XI   \II = 117

XXXXXXXXX\IIII   \IIII  =  999

I only remember seeing production marks with up to three digits for these types of swords, I could be wrong on that, but if so this numbering system would stay within that boundary. Also, if there is a production mark that ended in a zero, there would be no need for a second group of numbers and the zero would be kept.

Your thoughts?

Bruce,

This makes total sense to me now. If X = 10 then, \ would = 5. So then, \II IIII would = 74, matching the rest of the sword. Odd that there is very little information about such markings. Does this point to where the sword was made or when it was made; pre shortage?

Thanks a bunch!

Dave

Bruce, Steve,

Thank you for the information, I appreciate and value your input. I've searched many, many, hours on the Internet that led me to a post on this message board by Steve http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22122-paradelight-weight-gunto/ , who's sword markings are almost identical.

Bruce, Thank you for the translation on the Chuso! Did you happen to look at the Fuchi? I would like to see the markings on you're sword if you could point me to a post or have pictures.

Steve, I wish you best of luck with your enquiries; I hope you find some explanation. I will continue to reach out to my Father and Uncles for information on my sword. I know my Grandfather fought in the battle of Iwo Jima, he was part of the 5th Marine Division and is name is listed in this book https://archive.org/stream/TheSpearhead#page/n1/mode/2up Other than that, I know very little about him and the sword.

Regards,

Dave

Sorry for the huge pictures, I thought I knew what I was doing.

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