m4l700

It seems that Trystan just gave a translation there Thanks! "天照山 Tanshozan 乙 Otsu"

Hi everyone, Can anyone see what this signature states? It is found on a rustless KaiGunto It's related to this topic: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/29929-two-kaigunto-for-review/ Thanks!

Hi Lev, Thank you for your opinion. I'm also thinking the 2nd one is the better choice with the cord tassel loop(i've read these usually came on higher end fittings), and the shagreen saya which I like. A tassel could be a 'upgrade' for the future, not sure about that. However, the price for each blade is 1650 euro, 1800 USD.

Hi everyone, I'm currently looking to add one kaiGunto to my collection. From a trusted contact that I know I received photo's of these two swords and I would like to own one. My instinct is telling me that the one with the two hangers(ashi) is correct and it 'speaks' to me more. It also has matching numbers. I've also read some worrying things about the single ashi version lately. #Sword 1 - Single ashi #sword 2 - Double ashi Which one would you choose? Thanks everyone!

Anyone with another thought about this blade? It is still quite the mystery to me Thanks!

Hi John, This sword was bought at a local yard/estate sale. It came with items from someone who passed away that they put on sale. Thanks everyone, really interesting. But does this mean that it is probably made during the (late)war? Overall an interesting militaria piece for the collection.

Hi John, David, Thank you. With the sword in hand and under closer inspection I don't feel like it could be a fake, but thats the point of a fake I guess I've seen some other fakes but it seems that this one has a bit more quality then those. Hard to explain. Having our Dutch-Indonesian history in mind, it is an interesting thought that it might be Indonesian, or even PETA? However, the tip/bottom part of the saya is rotten, eaten away and/or broken and someone treated it with some material to stop the worms. It's a shame that the tip sticks out, but it is what it is.

Hi everyone, I recently picked up this 'gunto' looking blade. However i'm still trying to find out what it is, or what it is meant to be. According to my research I think it might be a (very?)late war or ersatz/island sword? Based on Fuller & Gregory's book on page 42 it might be a late war as described there with plain iron hilt, menuki and fittings. But on the other hand i'm not sure if the quality is what the IJA would use, but it has a gunto style tsuba and a IJA style leather covered combat saya. Another interesting part are the two mekugi holes in the nakago and tsuka.. Aint this quite unusual if the blade is a late war production? There are no stamps or makings what so ever. What do you think? Thanks!

I was just looking at this Gunto and I spotted a stamp on the Haikan. My other Gunto's dont have this, and as far as I know, I have not seen this before? Is it readable? Might look abit like a seki stamp?

Hi Bruce, Thank you for your thoughts about the stamp. I wasn't opting for it to be a Gendaito, there isn't such quality in this blade. Even a newbie like me can tell I also see alot of blades(machine and handmade) that are signed from this smith with a Kakihan, or 'personal seal'. Why and when would a blade be given such a seal?

Hello everyone, Just added this Gunto to my collection. It is signed (Yoshida )Kaneuji and dated 1943. It probably is a machinemade, or at best a semi-handmade blade(?). There is a very, very faint hamon present that cannot be seen by the camera. And I think I can see some hada(Konuka), but it can also be that my eyes and brain that are fooling me, so dont trust me on that one Above the date on the tang there might be a faint stamp(I think), or a mistake in the steel? I can't make out what stamp it can be, if it is a stamp at all. Cheers, David

Thanks Ed, much appreciated!

Hi everyone, I might be looking to add this Gunto to my collection. Ofcourse I base my opinion on the blade itself and the amount of knowledge I have. However, it would be nice to know what the mei states in the nagako. As far as I can see, I think it's dated May 1943? Thanks in advance!

Hi Jean, Thank you, I've posted the picture/document with the correct side up and added my signature

Hi everyone, Found this NBTHK(Kicho??) Wakizashi and decided to add it to the collection for a fairly reasonable price. I know these papers can be a minefield, but I liked the blade and took a chance. Might it possibly be a Koto period blade? Sugata: Shinogi-zukuri Mune: Iori-mune Boshi head: Ko-maru Kitae hada: Ko-itame Hamon: Gunome with Choji Nakago: Kiri or suriage? Yasuri-me: Katte-sagari Mekugi: Two Cutting edge length: 48 cm (18 7/8") Nakago tang length: 11.5 cm (4 1/2") Whole blade length: 59.5 cm (23 7/16") Moto-haba: 25 mm Saki-haba: 16 mm Moto-gasane: 5 mm Saki-gasane: 3 mm Sori: 14 mm Kissaki: 25 mm Fitting: 74 cm (29 1/8") Tsuka: 20 cm (7 7/8") Weight: Bare blade: 381 g (0.84 lb) With fitting: 605 g (1.33 lb) Thanks! David H.

Greetings everybody! http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/29141-two-guntos-for-review/ On the above link I've posted two of my gunto's for review. However, one of them(sword#2) is quite a mystery so far and it was suggested that I would try and ask in this section. What do you think about this one if I may ask? It seems to be quite hard to determine a possible period( I know that is difficult from pictures ). What is also interesting is the shorter nakago on a katana sized nagasa? Smith: ? Mumei, but Kanesada line was suggested. Date: unknown, however some people suggested that it might be Muromachi, Shinto or Shinshinto period(?). It's all over the place Nagasa: 65cm(25.59 inch) Nakako: 14,5cm (5.70 inch) Sori: Unknown Hamon: (?) Realy hard to determine Hada: Hard to tell for me Fittings: Mid-war fittings with closed and gold plated/brass(?) (cast-iron)tsuba and parts. Saya: Outside and inside wood, because of the 'older' blade? Photo's: Thanks in advance! David

Thank you for your suggestion. That's indeed a good idea. I'll link both threads together so they are easy to find for each subforum. *Edit* Sword#2 is also posted here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/29164-shin-gunto-with-older-blademumei/

Isn't there a possibility that the nagako might be cleaned? Or attempted to be cleaned over the years? Perhaps even during the war to prepare the nakago for the second mekugi-ana for the gunto fittings/tsuka? It seems to me that the bottom third of the nagako is darker and has more patina than the part above(visible on the last nagako picture of sword#2)? That would explain the patina, however that is ofcourse pure speculation. Anyway, I can atleast thank you all for staying in the discussion and for the informative answers! Thanks! David

Interesting. But isn't the nagasa(65cm - 25.59inch) to long for it to be a Wakizashi? *Edit* Hmm, I was doing some reading and I found out about 'one handed fighting sword' blades with a shorter nakago and a nagasa of max 27 inch. The Katate-uchi? Might this be one due to the short nakago but longer nagasa length than a Wakizashi? Just as a suggestion, no idea if that even makes sense But then again the sori isnt much.

It has crossed my mind a few times to search a polisher for sword2. But I just dont know if its worth or not. Might be a tricky one.

Hi Mark, 16, Thank you for your quick and interesting responses! For sword#1, i've added a few extra pictures witch might be usefull, besides doing some reading in the great 'stamp' thread. For sword#2, The nagako is indeed relative small. I just measured it and it is 14,5cm (5.70 inch)

Hi everybody, First of all I would like to say that i'm grateful that I discovered this board. I've been scrolling through some topics for a while now and there are some really educational and informative stuff on the subject. Secondly, I'm still a beginner noobie but always learning. So sorry if I have anything wrong I mainly used to collect german ww2 militaria only. However, since a year or two i've been collecting some Japanese stuff aswell. And since then, especially the blades, it really started to fascinate me. Now I have a large yosegaki flag, officers cap, some medals and three gunto's in my collection, as for the Japanese corner. I'm not sure if this is the right subforum, but I am interested to know your humble opinions on these swords from my collection, I'll write what I know about them, however the question marks I am uncertain about. PS. excuse me for my English, I'm not native #Sword 1 - Shin-Gunto Type 98 Smith: ? Noguchi Kiyomiya Saku(Tohru Noguchi) info-link Date: probably 1938-39(?) due to early fittings Nagasa: 64cm Sori: 1.4cm Hamon: Gunome Midare(?) Hada: Hard to tell for me Stamp: Seki Fittings: Early fittings with open and gold plated/brass(?) tsuba and parts. Mon: Sakai mon - silver Tassel: brown/blue(2nd lieutenant to captain) Saya: outside from metal and inside wood Photo's: #Sword 2 - Shin-Gunto Type 98 with older blade(?) Smith: ? Mumei Date: unknown, however some people suggested that it might be Shinto or Shinshinto period(?) Nagasa: 65cm Nakako: 14,5cm (5.70 inch) Sori: Unknown, but straighter than Sword#1 Hamon: (?) Realy hard to determine Hada: Hard to tell for me Fittings: Mid-war fittings with closed and gold plated/brass(?) (cast-iron)tsuba and parts. Saya: Outside and inside wood, because of the 'older' blade? Photo's: Thanks in advance for viewing and/or reading ! David *Edit, additional photo's for sword 1*