Bryce

G'day Neil, Here is mine on a nice type 94. Looks similar to your first example. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Thank you for trying to further my nihonto education. Kirill, what exactly do you mean when you say the hada of sword 1 is a bit rough? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Paul, That is a great article and I completely accept your point that during the Showa period there was a greater range of sword manufacturing methods used than at any other point of Japanese history, making it a potential minefield for the new collector. What you say makes perfect sense. However, depending upon what part of the world you inhabit, gunto may be the most commonly encountered type of Japanese sword. Also the additional layer of more recent history provided by the gunto koshirae makes them more interesting to some, so it is probably inevitable that for many they will be the entry point to the world of Japanese swords. From my experience, the problem is that you really only have the motivation to do extensive research once you have bought your first sword. Also, a sword in hand is much more valuable as a learning tool than any number of books or photographs. You can only hope that when buying your first sword you don't have the unlucky experience of spending too much or meeting a shark/shonk. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, I am relatively new to the world of nihonto, coming from more of a militaria background. Some aspects of nihonto I still find very puzzling and I think that the world of nihonto is much closer to art collecting than it is to militaria. I know it is probably because of my inexperience, but it often seems that blades with very tight hada, where the activity in the blade can only be seem with magniification are usually rated as better quality and more desirable, than blades which I think look "prettier" with more obvious activity. I realise that hada is only one facet of quality when assessing nihonto and things like the maker, age, signed vs mumei etc play a very important role. Below are some shots of three of my swords. The first by a shinshinto Kanenaga which I think has very attractive hada, but may be the lowest quality, the next a shinshinto Sukekuni and the last a Shinto blade by Kanemichi, which has very tight koitame and is probably the highest quality. Am I right that very tight hada generally means better quality? Cheers, Bryce

Thanks guys, I now think this is probably sue-seki rather than sue-bizen because of the takanoha yasurime. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, I posted this blade originally in the translation section and received some excellent advice about it. Since then I have been able to take some better shots of it and am tossing up if it is worth sending it off for further investigation or possible polish. It has been messed with in the past. It came with non-matching gunto koshirae and an extra mekugi ana had been drilled to make it fit. It has also been lightly sharpened at some stage, has some minor pitting from past corrosion, lots of scuffing and vice jaw marks (probably from when it was drilled), but no major ware that I can see. It has a nagasa of 72.5cm, sori 1.5cm, motohaba 2.9cm, sakihaba 2.1cm, kasane 0.6cm and kissaki 3.5cm. The hamon is regular gunome at each end of the blade, but looks more sawtooth gunome thru the middle of the blade. Many of the peaks in the hamon have complex "crab claw" looking structures. In the right light, the gunome peaks look very dark as shown in the photos. The nakago looks a bit rough and to my eye doesn't really seem to match the blade. I am wondering if it could be osuriage, but can see no evidence that it is. Overall it looks to me like it could be Bizen from the Muromachi period. What do you guys think? Worth a polish? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Is this an early type 98 or a type 94 with the second haikan removed. I am thinking type 94. Cheers, Bryce

Thanks Ed, I know what I am looking for now. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Thank you for your time. Is it possible to say if the original mekugi ana is drilled or punched? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Ed, Thank you for your input. I was hoping that someone knowledgeable like yourself would be able to give me some tips. I didn't think the blade would be a national treasure, but I was hoping that it was a decent blade. I took a couple of measurements and the nagasa is about 72cm, width at the Hamachi 2.9cm, width at kissaki 2.0cm and the kissaki is about 4.5cm long. Didn't get around to the sori. I did manage to get a shot of the crab claws in the peaks of the hamon. Does this point it in a particular direction? Cheers, Bryce

Thanks Malcolm Cheers, Bryce

Thanks Uwe Cheers, Bryce

G'day Steve, I think it is inlaid, although it is slightly higher than the surrounding steel. Looking at the hamachi I am beginning to think the blade may have some age. Also just noticed these kanji on the fuchi. Any ideas? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, I had the chance to take a few more photos today. The bad news is that I don't think this blade was originally mounted in this set of koshirae. The good news is that it may be a decent blade. Much of the hamon has been obscured by some light sharpening, but I can see hada with nie and the boshi is intact and is komaru. Some of the peaks in the hamon appear to have crab claw like structures that I wasn't able to capture in the photos. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Steve, It was an auction and I went in with my eyes open. It may be that the blade and koshirae don't belong together. The nakago looks like it belongs to a showato, but it must be custom ordered as the nagasa is around 72cm and the overall length of the koshirae is 104cm, which is about right. The hamon looks like it could be gunome midare. Cheers, the Bryce

G'day Guys, I recently bought this shin gunto, because I liked the quality of the mounts. Unfortunately the photos that were supplied of the blade weren't anywhere near good enough for me to tell much about it. I just received it today and haven't hadn't a proper chance to photograph it or examine it closely, but it is definitely out of polish. It seems to have an oddly placed kinzogan or perhaps kinpun mei attributing the blade to Kaneuji. Am I reading this correctly? Unfortunately, some Bubba has recently drilled an additional mekugi-ana, and the habaki is firmly stuck on the blade. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Is this just a normal Kikusui mon or is it a recognized variation? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Lance, The guy holding the kai gunto is Francis Ona, the leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army. Cheers, Bryce

Another feature of these swords is that the chuso (spring clip) is always located centrally rather than closer towards the cutting edge which is more common. Is a centrally located chuso a feature of earlier shin gunto? Cheers, Bryce

G'day Bruce, I won it at auction last night. Unfortunately the auctioneer's photos weren't very good, so I don't know if the blade is a steel tsunagi or something decent. I thought it was worth a shot based on the koshirae. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Here is another one with an older blade and Kikusui mon on the fuchi. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Bruce, Here is my Kanemichi gunto made for Mr Minoru Nokura, to commemorate the 2nd year of the Pacific War, December 8 1942. This sword was discussed here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26068-kanemichi-gunto/?hl=kanemichi Cheers, Bryce

Thanks Chris, It is one of my favourites and would have been its original owner's "Excalibur". Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, My main area of interest is British military swords of the Napoleonic Wars. Cheers, Bryce

Thanks Malcolm/Bruce. Cheers, Bryce