tbonesullivan

The one I posted was dated 1944, as was another I have handled. Showa era smith with the somewhat rough chiseled signature. This smith's real name was 小見山 良造 - Komiyama Ryozo, and their name appears in the Seki Tanrensho Booklet printed in 1939.

Maybe Nagayoshi? 長 善 More likely Yoshishige: 良 重

Thanks!!! It definitely looks to be period. Definitely some research potential I guess. It's a pretty nice sword, has an officer tassel, though we all know those mean very little considering it takes 5 seconds transfer one to another sword.

Got this in a month or two ago, and its tied onto the hanger ring of a Type 98 Shin-Gunto by KOJIMA KANENORI. As far as I can tell the first three characters are 大巳正, but the last character is too complex for me. I'm not sure whether it's a name, or a location. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Definitely a nice condition blade and great fittings. The blade is marked only with 兼 氏 - KANEUJI. It doesn't look to be Showa era based on the tang, but there are not many different KANEUJI smiths to choose from, and most seem to have used longer MEI. It came in a type 98 Shin-Gunto Setting, with a field grade tassel attached, though as with all tassels, who knows if it is original to the sword. I tried twice to get a good picture of the hamon, but it has some aspects that are almost impossible to photograph given how much they change in the light.

That last one looks to possibly be MUNE MASA - 宗正 The others really need some better pictures so that all the characters, or what's left of them, can be seen.

Definitely possible. No idea about the tang unfortunately. I've never handled one of these before.

These are the photos of the Hidemine that I looked at. MEI: 秀 峯 造 之 - HIDEMINE TSUKURU KORE NENGO: 昭 和 甲 申 夏 - SHOWA KINOE-SARU (1944) NATSU (SUMMER)

Well, it is smaller than I expected. Blade length is 15.4cm, and I think KAIKEN is a better term for it than a tango. I was definitely expecting it to be a bit larger, but it's still very nice. Hamon is SUGUHA, and it's a typical HIRA ZUKURI shape.

I've been staring at this one for a week or two. The Mei, as far as I can tell, begins with 次 TSUGU and ends with 勝 KATSU, but the characters in between don't look to be ones usually used on tangs, or they just aren't the forms I am used to seeing. The Nengo looks to be 安 政 ? 年 二 月, for the AN-SEI era, which is 1854 - 1860, however the character after the era name that should be a numeral is not one I recognize. I'll try to get full blade pics when my phone isn't hating me. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Unfortunately I didn't check the one ZUIHO Type 3 RJT Shin-Gunto I had before it got sold. It's unfortunately long gone, along with two others, one by NAGAMITSU and one by KATSUKIYO. I didn't get to check those for stamps on the mune either. However, I do have one by HIDEMINE, who is apparently the son of ZUIHO, and that is marked 67 on the mune of the tang.

TONS. Lots of military and gun shows happen all the time, and there are also VERY active forums for gun collectors, both modern and antique. There are also several purveyors of high end antique firearms which I've met over the years. The things they have are amazing, and there are lots of them that never get posted, as their clientele gets first refusal.

HAH! We actually have an intern right now from the Netherlands, part of his university education I believe. He's working with the gunsmiths right now. We actually just did get in a pretty exceptional gun for this weekend. A Massachusetts Arms Company Wesson & Leavitt Patent Dragoon Model Percussion Revolver. Serial number FOUR. Yes, FOUR. Only 800 were made. I couldn't figure out why it had a 6 1/4" long barrel instead of the usual 7". Then I found a reference to Flayderman where the first 30 apparently had 6 1/4 inch barrels. Of note is that most people think the "wesson patent" refers to Daniel Wesson, but it was in fact his older brother and mentor Edwin Wesson, who died at the young age of 38 in 1849.

Yes, and there's only one time one of our buyers managed to get a fake Type 95 to me, which was years ago, before I knew how to spot them. IMA has a lifetime Authenticity Policy now as well. We're well aware of the damage that fakes due to reputations and the market. We generally do not get swords from auction houses. Most are from private sales or other dealers.

Close examination shows that there strokes on either side of the lower vertical stroke, so TOMO is out. Best guess has got to be HIDEMUNE.