Denis V

Guess this is rather clear now. Thank you very much gentlemen!

Really Appreciate the help.

Denis

Thanks a lot all! 
The knowledge and expertise on this forum never stops to amaze me. 

Hmmmm... the plot thickens...

In any case, thank you John, Jean and Chris. All look very probable to me... this kanji is killing me.

so should i just pick the smith that’s best rated? 

Another overall pic of the sword...

Dear fellow enthusiasts,

I just bought a new gunto for my collection, but i keep struggeling with the kanji signatures.

could somebody please help? 
The closest i got is “kanehisa”. The “hisa” looks rather straight forward, but the “kane” I’m not sure about. Then again, I might even be mistaken about that one. 

I also noticed a “w” stamp on top and bellow the signature. I remember a post where there was some interest in these as well.

Any info would be great. Hope somebody can help.

Thanks a lot.

Denis

Hi Bruce,

not sure if you already have this one, but just stumbled upon another Mantetsu that seems to have the “w” stamp.

https://www.artswords.com/a_minty_gunto_mounted_mantetsu_sword_091812.htm

even though it’s already sold, the pictures are clear and good for the records.

Denis

Spot on Hamfish, and you’re correct for the French. Some google attempts and you’ll find the French infantry sabre model 1855 which looks exactly the same as the pics.

Hello Kenny, interesting find. 
My first thought went to a police parade sabre. But two things don’t match. The two suspension rings and the fact that there is no metal ornate on the back and side of the handle... which is very specific.

in the Fuller and Gregory book I found a drawing of such a sword like yours with these two specific characteristics and it states: “regulation c. 1873 pattern marines and marine artillery offecers and NCO’s sword” 

a picture of the back of the pommel would be interesting. Sometimes this is the place where specific indications are.

Denis

I’ve always wondered if there are sarute who can go all the way round the kabuto gane? All mine are stuck on one side and can’t be flipped to the other side. Here the sarute looks very big.

The tsuba and koshirae in general on this sword are not even well copied. 
 

As far as the habaki is concerned, i also always believed they never came with a number on it.

But this is the beauty of the board, you learn every day :-)

Never tried it myself, but I always heard that when you put a type 95 sword back together after taken the tsuba and tsuka of, you can’t put it firmly back together again. They tend to jiggle a bit afterwards. 
For me that has always been a reason not to mess with them, but do correct me if I’m wrong.

Denis

Nice. Looking forward to that, John.

Trystan, I totaly agree. A good sword always looks better with a tassel. 

Unfortunately, tassels are so expensive. Also, fake swords are not always easy to spot, but a tassel is even harder. 
is there a way to distinguish a real from a fake one? Or does it just comes down to trusting your dealer?

Denis

Great looking collection Trystan. 

just a general question to you guys; do you always buy your swords with tassel, or do you add it later on?

I see a lot of swords with tassels on the board, but personally  , I only have one in my collection which I bought with the swords... 

otherwise, lots of tassel-less swords out there. Well, at least in Belgium anyway...

Denis

Looks perfect Neil. So glad you included Emura!   

so interesting to see your list, because in my humble starter collection, half are mentioned. So you must be right on availability and price 

Denis

Thank you all for the info. Some real nice examples here. Good to hear the basic emura signature has been spotted before and might even be his. 

I’ve been tying to make a more clear pic of the hamon, but unfortunately , based on the state of the blade, i haven’t been able to produce better pics. The hamon looks suguha, but hard to tell. 
 

Since those blades aren’t dated, is there a way to tell when they were forged and wether they were produced in jail? 

So I own a blade by Emura. Upon looking him up on the board, I noticed he has generally some reserved or even negative comments regarding his work. 

Me, I love my blade. It’s slightly bigger than the other blades I own, but stil elegant  in design. The story of the man is also fascinating; a prison warden who makes blades with the help of his inmates... that’s proper patriotism. Handcrafting a national symbol to serve the greater good. 

What I notice about my blade, is that it has a certain robustness and sense of power over it. It was forged with a single purpose: a tool for war. It was not made for interior decorating, but for carrying on the battlefield. It was not made to be admired by fine critics, but to stab, cut and slash... well, maybe I’m getting a bit carried away here. Nevertheless, it’s not an award winning masterpiece but it deserves respect for what it stands for.

So I imagine this topic isn’t for everyone, but for those who own an Emura blade and/or share the same admiration for it, maybe you can help me out. Apart from the Richard Stein site, i haven’t found that much info on Emura but have some questions nevertheless:

1. Does anyone have more info on the man (apart from what is to be found on Richard Stein’s page) or maybe even pictures?

2. My blade is signed with just “emura”. Nothing else to be found on the tang apart from a painted number on the other side. This signature does not appear on Richard Stein’s page. Can it be authenticated? Does any of you have the same, or others that are not on Richard Stein’s page?

3. Apparently he forged blade himself as well as his inmates. Sometimes he made them all by himself, sometimes he just quenched them. Does anyone know if there is a way to know which one is what ?  Is it possible to tell them apart?

thanks a lot for all info that can be shared on this fascinating topic.

I also included some pictures of my blade and the mei.

Denis

Indeed sad, but at least, these are clearly fake. No doubt about it, and even for less experienced people this could be rather obvious. It’s always terrible when they really put in the effort to mislead people.

Denis

Real nice French cavalry armor, Paul. I also believe Napoleonic stuff has always been real nice collection material. Should you ever be in Belgium, the 1815 Waterloo museum is great!

Yep. That’s correct Bruce.

Also, thanks for pointing out about the’w’ stamp.

I’ve been looking at my blades for such a long time now, and never noticed that one was upside down... terrible and fascinating at the same time :-)

Hi Bruce,

Basically it’s the other way around,

The blade with the 168 goes with the 337 and has the closed tsuba. The one with serial number 567 has the 20 seppa numbers and a nicer open tsuba. Is this strange in a way?

Here’s also a pic from the other side.

Denis

Hi all,

Seen some real gems on this toppic.

So, here is one of my favorite swords in my small collection. Basically because it’s in near mint condition.

Also the kai gunto’s are so nice in general. I had some troubles figuring out the signature, but I believe it says: ‘shirakawa-shin tegarayama masashige’. If I’m mistaken, please let me know.

Denis

Hello Bruce,

First of all, thank you for launching this toppic, it has turned out a goldmine of information. So here is my late and humble contribution to this study.

I have 2 mantetsu blades. Both not ‘koa isshin’.

Both are dated ‘43. Both Spring, who would have guessed? :-)

Both have the ‘nan’ stamp and looks like the ‘w’ stamp on the bottom.

One is numbered 337 and the other is 567. The character in front, I’m not to sure. Maybe ‘te’?

Edward S had a spring ‘43 numbered 505. Should be right between mine. Could his character be the same? He told he couldn’t figure out the 3 scratches... maybe this can help.

Also one of both has the matching seppa numbers stamped on the tang right above the ‘w’ stamp. The other one has not. The one without has a nicer open tsuba whereas the other one has a classic closed one. Could it be that the standard ones were assembled in the plant where others were not?

Anyhow. Hope they fit in your inventory.

Thanks for the great work!

Denis

Indeed Steve. You’re wright. Never the less, a good story always speaks to the imagination and history fanatics (like us) can get really excited by a good story. Well, at least I can. Gets my juices flowing ( or how do you say this in English?)

Concerning the documents, They aren’t really specific concerning the sword. But in the case the document and sword really belong together; at least you kind of have an indication where it has served.

@ David. Thanks for the examples. Nice documents. They all are kind of the same, but not totally.

The first guy seems to have been lucky. He got to take 2 swords back :-)

You’re right Steve. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of Belgian veterans who fought in the Pacific :-)

In the US, UK and Australia, you’re rather lucky in the sense that military swords are a more common and you still have the stories directly from the right people. In Belgium it’s really hard to find good and interesting material. And the prices are rather expensive...

I took a picture of the documents.

From the examples i’ve seen so far, the certificates were not really standard forms, but more like an improvised type of document?

I also read that they were not always accepted by British customs when the soldiers returned?

Sky blue? My god.

I agree that changes made by the soldier who took it home are worth preserving and part of the history of the sword.

Not easy to prove though, unless you have concrete pictures. Mine came with a ‘souvenir certificate’ and a picture of the officer. But to be honest, i’m not even sure that the name on the certificate and the officer on the picture are the same person. Is there a way to check?

Both documents look rather original even if i’ve never actually seen a real one. Are such documents being faked as well?