robinalexander

Oli, I wish I was a Tanto, that looks soooo comfortable.

Hi Adam, Colin and John are so right. Read Colin's posts again before you go to bed tonight. John Carlin and Bill Tagg are very reputable and great to deal with BUT as Colin said, buy what you want, not what is in front of you. Bridle your passions....for a day, or week, or month or two at least ...... (from my reading that would be about your limit before you explode If its WW2 your after, look at 94's, 98's and don't forget 97's because you just might get a real bug for those later. WW2 blades in gunto koshirae.......old blades in gunto koshirae...there is a difference. Take time and familiarise yourself with what's out there, ask yourself why the (sold) prices are different and importantly, prior to purchasing anything, be in some sort of position to be able to say "for me, that is worth $xxxx". Look and research a lot..... ask a lot of questions, then buy your first. It is exciting.....good luck. Rob

Brendan, if your talking about the one on the right (?) .....It's certainly not regulation gunto..... if that's what your after, then don't bother.

LOL Baz .... I think I bought it But seriously, it wouldn't be the same one. This blade is no national treasure but it's far from mistreated. Samegawa saya, mumei, Type 94 fuchi, probably Showa-to, no stamps or markings on nakago ...came with (incorrect) IJN tassel (but hey, it matches ) Sorry MichaelR ...not Koto.

Ziggy, I agree with all above members comments including your own (below) ............. Clear pics of the blade, kissaki may help put it to bed. As an interesting aside, I note the name '" Mikael Bauer " in your OP. If he is the same MB from Montreal ? I was just wondering if he appraised this sword. Rob

That seems an unusual 'painted'(?) finish Piers? Looks rather brightish orange. Is it traditional.....old finish or more recent? Rob

Yes good person to deal with Chris...but if you look at his website you will see that all 'sold out' swords show a sale price of US $999.00. Not sure what the go is.

For illustration purposes only (from a chinese copy but essentially the same) ...

Haven't got time to list all the things I see that are wrong...even with these poor pics but you said "any advice is most welcome" ....my advice is give it a miss.

Not liking what I am seeing Eric. What is that number on the blade? Rob

Hi Max, Here are a couple of Type 95 inserts FYI. Not sure about the sound you refer to though, I am a little 'deef' but I think all mine are pretty quite. Rob

Brian I appreciate that you don't have better pics available yet and as you know that always makes it difficult. For what MO is worth, based on what can be seen so far ..... 1. something not right with that tsuka ......see picture attached ..lack of detail on kabutogane .....looks like badly cast copy. 2. as you point out, that bohi is really bad, too thick and starts and ends poorly. 3. the saya throat looks unusually 'heavy' and lacking basic shape for an early 95 ... pic of one of mine attached for reference? Look forward to seeing pics of blade number/stamps and also saya throat. That could change my initial opinion (but unlikely) If your friend hasn't purchased it yet, I would definitely hold off until all relevant pictures produced. Rob

Nice one @dido I always wanted one for the scotch thistles (paddocks of them). None of mine are going that way or getting swung around the garage! Astute purchase

Well done Adam, love your sentiment and intentions 👏 I gather he would be very happy with reasonable Showa-To in genuine WW2 mounts? Does he have a preference for combat cover, or not, and amy idea at all about blade/polish/hamon ?

Hi Charles, I'm a bit confused trying to work out which part of which sword is which. The pics and 'flow' aren't really clear to me. As a general comment I'm not liking what I see so far and I wonder if that is why you havent had a response on this. What are the terms of the "offer" ...does he want money for them? If i was new (newer than I am) to the sword collecting thing, I wouldn't start with these. Don't mean to be harsh.

Agree with Oli above....from the latest pics the tsuba is not pierced, you have a broken chuso clip, an 'out of polish' used blade albeit with an attractive hamon IMO. But it is an authentic WW2 Type 98. So without exposing the nakago, I think the bottom end of your estimate would apply. To pay more would increase the gamble and more often than not, they just don't pay off.

Very nice Sam. Your next challenge replacement saya inserts for 95's. Time aside, you could become a sought after craftsman

Not referring to the cover,but the civilian saya underneath.

Hi George, My two bobs worth. 1. Blue saya? ....to me it does look blue and if that is the case it could simply be a civilian wooden saya that was enlisted to military service. The blade/habaki/saya are made for each other so throwing a leather combat cover on it makes it regulation. Note halfway down the saya (under the leather) you see flat semegane which is the same as the flat ashi up top. All civilian under a leather combat cover.....nothing wrong with that although its often associated with late war. The leather has shrunk over time, again normal and now exposes the original colour of the saya...just my thoughts. 2. Bent seppa ....not sure if that bent seppa is leather or metal but in any event, it appears bent due to the broken chuso clip. No uncommon to have a broken clip due to mishandling post war. If you can find the correct length size, it will cost around $120 AUD. As Ron said above, leather seppa are not uncommon to tighten up the mounts. The interesting thing about this piece is that it has a central chuso button/clip (normally found on Type 94 earlier mounts) BUT it also has a combat cover with a (genuine) press stud that would accommodate a leather retaining strap that would go through the tsuba. I don't know why it would have both (others can speculate on that). Maybe better pics from top and bottom of tsuba. By the way, from the pics, the tsuba looks pierced which is also indicative of Type 94 mounts. 3. Traditionally made? ... I am the worst to determine that unless it hits me in the face, but I will say ....v/nice hamon! Blade just looks as if it could be heavy, wonder how long that is(?) ... but all round ....nice! Rob

Hello Winston, As Brian indicated, it is a bad copy of a Japanese Army (IJA) NCO's sword. Nothing to be gained by removing the handle (tsuka) on this or any other authentic NCO sword...there is nothing under there to see. A genuine Type 98 (Officers sword) of course may be a different matter. A bit more info on NCO swords (and so much more) can be found here ...... http://ohmura-study.net/957.html

Mya IMO your good intentions are bridled by BS. This is sad for well meaning and intentioned people such as yourself. It's the pieces that will suffer the most.

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What Piers said above. That's a must.

@Stegel

Sounds like the best sales pitch (hook) I've heard for a while. The proof may lie in 'the huge discount" offer for another piece that is so overpriced a buyer may think they are getting a good deal.