robinalexander

Peter, I have always believed this colour and metal was either early war material (quality dropping later) and/or personal upgrade by the owner. There seem to be enough of them around to suggest, at least to me, that they are 'as original' and not polished as you suggest. Interestingly, i have noticed the metal fitings on swords with these types of golden 'rising sun' tsuba/seppa's are also of a much higher quality than those on the more 'blackened' Kai Gunto tsuba/seppa. Accepting that all were probably gilded originally. Having said that, I learn something new every time I log in here so, open mind. John @PNSSHOGUN may have some ideas on this as well. The attached picture shows Yoshishige on the left, Mumei 'stainless' centre and Kaneyoshi on right. Rob

Thanks Ray, much appreciated. Rob

Hopefully just confirmation.... Kai Gunto (ext. drag, early fittings & Ishime saya) I think it is Yoshishige and dated 1942 (Showa 17). Not too sure on that second kanji (shige) ? Approx. 5mm Seki stamp Interesting that the cutting of the date on mine bears a close resemblance to that of @Eds Kai (Daido) translation yesterday..THREAD..."Katana which I could use some help with translation. Just came in today" Thanks Rob

Is this any good Dan ?

Thanks for your comments Baz and Bruce. 'FWIW' that confused my for a moment Bruce ...... FTR (look that one up ) this Tenshozan tanrenjo (Kai Gunto) is unfortunately, not my sword notwithstanding my best efforts. Rob

Thanks Bruce, I'm putting my money on scratches though.

Bruce have looked and looked and cant see it....can you point it out in some way? Pierced Tsuba = nice. I believe this has an earlier aluminium saya. From the first pic of the nakago (5 of 5) the mekugi ana seems to be quite clean however the rust has ravaged the edges of the nakago quite badly to the point of it being quite misshapen. I find that interesting. Is it mumei or has the rust just taken its toll on any mei? My guess is mumei. finally, does anyone know why the ashi is mounted so high? Certainly a piece of WW2 history. Rob

Fantastic Koichi you have made my day, and for me today, thats a very nice thing. Take care. Rob

I just cant get my head into this at the moment and hoping someone else can. Sorry about lack if clarity, unable to get any better pics at this time, so very happy to receive any attempt. Rob

Where's there's life, theres hope.

Is it possible there are more of these tiny 'gourd' stamps on nakago's that haven't yet been noticed?

Well said Mark.

Not wishing to detract from Jim's thread but I recently changed to Camellia Oil from Choji on the advice of a good sword mate. Good thick product tks. BUT, Steve us spot on in regard to Clove Oils anti-bacterial properties. If you need to kill mould (not just get rid of it for a while) then Clove Oil can't be beaten. Natural and so much safer than other products. [Dilution is critical] I miss the aroma Choji when maintaing my high end blades but its a win for the 95's that, in the past, only got sewing machine oil. 😊 Rob

Well given all info so far Trystan, thats got to be a real possibility. Nice work.

What Bazza said. With all due respect Jace, I just cant believe anyone even floats this question. Rob

Yep that's the one and stainless alright. Found this old link as well in regard to the 'gourd' stamp.

Bruce @Bruce Pennington appreciate the additional information and research possibilities. Although the blade is in quite good condition, the fact is that its a real 'plain Jane' Showa-To and while better blades may be more deserving of the research, its great to be able to identify the various markings. Rob

Thanks Trystan.... the lack of any more common navy arsenal stamp (Toyokawa) made me wonder about this. I note the 'hollow figure 8" mark (pic 2) is mentioned in Bruce's paper (page 51) as unknown Kai stamp. So apparently no change there. I also assume the mark on the Tsuba (pic 3) is a makers mark. Rob

Greetings. This may well have been raised before but I will put it up anyway. Maybe a question for Bruce @Bruce Pennington Bruce, I have been through your VERY good reference tool 'Stamps of the Japanese Sword' but I admit, have not done any lengthy research through NMB generally. I have a rust resistant blade in standard Kai Gunto mounts (although everything, and I mean everything, is numbered 89). It's mumei with no 'arsenal' stamps. However, it does have stamps on each side of the nakago and I have no real idea what they are. 1. Picture 1.... A WA stamp that would indicate 1941 ? (page 27 of your publication above). This is followed by number '119'. 2. Picture 2.....On reverse side of nakago a small hollow 'figure 8' stamp (Picture 2) 3. And while I'm at it, picture 3 also shows a small stamp on the tsuba As I mentioned, every single piece of this package is numbered 89. Any views would be appreciated. Thanks Rob

Bohi starts way too far away from the habaki....I suspect fake (tsuka is bloody horrible) Good move posting it for comment here Andrew. Rob

WhOoooah....My gut might have been correct ....Missed the above two responses while I was composing my first post.

Probably what Brian and John said David .....I just need to go back to the beginning of sword school

Bruce can you help me sell my car?

Thanks Steve, that is good info. Now that you mention it, I do recall something about the very latest versions not having saya # . The 'inverted ticks' also confused me but ...enlightened once again. Thanks Rob

@Misconstrued Hi Jace, out of interest it would be good to know if the saya throat is numbered? If so, would you be able to post a clear picture of it? Pictures of mine attached FYI. Rob