Mister Gunto

Still, a very nice wartime blade. The leather saya cover is missing, which is not uncommon on the WW2 bring back swords. I have a couple in similar condition. The leather cover just didn't last, or someone cut it off to see what was underneath ( usually just a simple wooden saya) The cost of a professional polish plus a new habaki and shirasaya is probably more than the blade itself is worth. But it's still an original Japanese Officer's sword from WW2, and it has a value all of it's own for that. So, kind of up to you if it's worth the investment.

Love that photo! (And the Sazerac Rye)

Nice work!

I've bought and received a couple swords from Japanese sellers this past year. The big issue is that EMS, the main Japanese Post Office Service, will still not accept swords for shipment due to the current tariff issues. DHL and Fedex likewise will not accept swords for shipment to the USA. They will accept other Japanese items though (Tsuba, Koshirare, antiques, etc). I had an issue where EMS would not accept a sword for shipment from my dealer, despite the sword having already received export clearance from the Ministry for Education and Culture, to export the sword. EMS staff told the dealer they thought the blade (a WW2-era Gendaito), was probably an imitation blade, regardless of the approved Export Clearance. It's just an excuse not to accept the blade for shipment. UPS will take swords from Japan to the USA. You'll have to pay a 15% tariff on the purchase price, plus a small UPS handling fee prior to delivery, like $15.00 (Handling fee = Free money for UPS, but what you gonna do?) If you set up a UPS personal account on their website, UPS will just send you a payment request prior to delivery. Pay it promptly online, and the sword will be delivered with no further delays. Not all Japanese sellers can use UPS. Apparently, getting UPS approval to ship swords from Japan requires the Japanese seller to get a special hazardous materials license prior to shipping. So not all Japanese sellers have this license.

I haven't purchased any blades from him, but I have bought some accessories like tsuba and fittings. He ships quickly and I've had no problems with him.

Late War publication date, 1944. Interesting timing to push loyalty as virtue, as things were collapsing on both fronts for Germany at the time.

Please, never feel like you have to rush to buy a sword. I've made that mistake myself. There are plenty on the market, with new blades turning up all the time. Take your time, be sure of what you want, and like. Also, at those price ranges, there are several dealers here on this board who have some amazing blades on hand already here in the USA. You won't have to wait a month or more for export permission, nor risk having to pay extra on a tariff.

They say "Stupidity should be painful." And you know, sometimes it is!

Somebody watched a Samurai film and decided that they could swing their sword around too. FAFO

Very nice blade! My two most recent swords bought from Japanese sellers both took exactly 3 weeks to get the export permission, then 1-2 weeks shipping time.

I love it!

A lot to like about this blade, and it's still salvageable.

Excellent article!!!

That is some serious sori.

I believe so. Interesting hamon!

Looks like a fairly clean break. A good weld would fix it nicely, and hold. Please send pics of the blade when you have the chance!

Beautiful display!

As mentioned above, if your blade is Edo period or later, (unless it's in Shin-Gunto mounts) the chances it was ever used to kill are quite low. And even if it's Koto, remember that the primary killers on a Japanese battlefield back then would have been Bow and arrows, Yari and Naginata, or towards the later period, Tanegashima (matchlock muskets). Swords were usually secondary weapons. A blade in Shin-Gunto mounts makes the kill probability higher, as WW2-era Japanese officers were rather keen on "testing" their blades, usually on the necks of helpless prisoners. But if your blade is coming out of Japan, the previous owner may never have been deployed overseas. This will sound "Hippy-Dippy", but hey, I'm from California... If your wife is that concerned, you can burn some sage or incense next to the blade while playing some Japanese Temple Music or Mantras via YouTube and such. Just a little karmic cleansing to smooth things over if the blade's Kami is a little shook by the move from good ol' Nippon to the Lone Star State. I do it with all my blades.

Never seen one like this. Very suspicious.

Jonathan, looks like it's still a nice blade. I don't think nihonto are considered tired until they start showing core metal. Michael, I don't see nearly as many blades at 9mm as I do 8mm and less. But I have seen a few in person and at least listed as such on Ebay. I do have 2 swords in my own collection with 9mm Motokasanes. One's a Wartime Gunto, the other a (possibly) Koto Aoe Tachi. Unfortunately, on the latter, Bubba got to it before I did, and scrubbed the blade, so it's just bright metal at this point. Trying to do more research on it to decide if it's worth the restoration cost.

For a 68cm Nagasa, if the Motokasane is 5.5mm, it's probably safe to assume the blade has been through several polishes, and is getting thin. In my (limited) experience, usually 9-7mm is more common for katanas. I can't say if a blade like that would've been considered for combat in the old days. But it'd certainly be fine for Iaido practice.

Welcome, all!

Auction Houses gonna Auction. I've seen a few that do actually try to be very honest in their descriptions. Others just want to bang that gavel and cash in.

Definately looks to be an old O-suriage nihonto blade. Nice habaki as well. Must admit, that's a much better bone tsuka than I usually see.

Now that is a beautiful Type 3!