tbonesullivan

Who shipped the item to you? Was it properly declared on the customs forms as an antique over 100 years in age? This would require use of the Harmonized Tariff code 9706.00.00.60 , which is for antiques over 100 years in age, "other". If it wasn't declared properly, that can always lead to issues.

This, on the other hand, is definitely a fake. Note the fake age on the blade, the black paint on the scabbard, and the blade markings that look engraved, not stamped.

This is a picture of a real Type 95 NCO sword, with a close up of the markings on the blade. Note the scabbard color, as well as the distance the hanger ring is from the mouth of the scabbard. Also, the tang will have two holes, a large and a small. If the tang only has one hole, it's a fake.

Looks nice!!! That is a great Kamon too. Usually the ones I have seen on Gunto were mostly "Maruni Chigai Takanoha" which was used by the Asano and Outani clans, and others.

Someone brought a katana to me yesterday, and it had a mei, but it was all wrong, the tang was wrong, and of course the "damascus" blade told me all I needed to know before I even looked at the tang. Thankfully there is so much about Japanese swords that simply cannot be faked.

Oh nice! I handled a sword by KANEUJI that was dated Showa 16. It also had an arsenal stamp, and another stamp on the end of the tang. Pictures attached for reference.

Oh wow. Good luck! That's definitely beyond my ability to see. Maybe some digital enhancement could help bring out more of the Kanji.

Nice blade! Definitely take care of it to keep it in the best condition. I've seen so many swords that could have been kept great simply with a cleaning and oiling once a year. As the sword was in Japan at one point, do you know if it was ever presented for a SHINSA at the NBTHK or NTHK-NPO?

Big thanks to Moriyama San! I'm watching this one with interest. I would hope that having a new hilt attached would mean it was deemed really worth saving. I wonder how much it was shortened. So interesting.

Is that an older NAKAGO piece inserted into a newer blade, or does that mean it was cut down significantly, and the original tang piece was preserved and inserted?

I'll keep an eye out over here. We get offered a lot of stuff due to our web presence.

Interesting! Maybe they were relatives?

The paint markings probably match the numbers on the koshirae. Looks like 八 0 七 一, or 8071. I've seen many Gunto where the numbers that match the fittings are in part Japanese, and part western numbers.

The edge is definitely 22cm. In total the blade is only about 18mm wide at the habaki, so it looks bigger than it is. I snapped another picture. Also got a good close up of the boshi hamon.

Definitely. I don't see it being very good for cutting with the very large edge angle. It's almost diamond shaped.

This is the best one I've been able to look at. Almost managed to slice my arms open with it. Unfortunately we didn't get to take super detailed pictures. The research we got with it was that it was made by Naminohira Yasu, who made swords from 1394 to 1428. While the Koshirae definiteley showed some wear, the blade was nicely polished, though I don't know if it was polished more recently than WWII. This is one of the two swords that really got me interested in learning more than about just Gunto.

This one is just about 8mm at the HIBAKI, and does down to about 7mm half way down the blade. It's definitely quite solid.

Is there a typical length range for armor piercing tanto? I 22cm/ 8 3/4inches seems pretty short. Well, I found a few references to Sadamitsu, and most are Koto. This one seems possible: https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/SAD78 Sesko N-Z page 92 shows a few candidates, including the one from nihonto club. With a two character mei I don't know if I'll get any closer than that.

Thanks! I've gotta read up more on the different Sugata. Having dealt almost entirely with the standard Shinogi Zukuri shaped Shin-Gunto, Gendaito, and some slightly older blades. Now I need to get some books so I can look up which Sadamitsu it is. The only online reference I found is a 15th century maker, though they are known for Suguha hamon patterns. The tanto has an omaru Boshi, which is very nice looking. The Hamon on the blade is pretty much straight, but there is some nice Hada, and the polish is nice. Definitely looks like something made to go right through armor, kind of like the Persian Pesh-kabz dagger.

I'm certain that the second kanji is "mitsu" 光, but the first one is eluding me. I even went through some lists of smiths to see if something looked good, but the closest I could find was 忠 "Tada" , but the lower left portion of the character does not look right. Maybe 武 "Take"? or 定 "Sada"? Also, the blade is quite narrow, and does not have any Shinogi-ji, just a ji going right into an Ihori type mune. Is there a name for this shape? edge length is 22cm.

Yep! He was stationed over there until 1946, so he had plenty of time to pick them up. Both were Shin-Gunto, but they were definitely in nice shape. I have seen other more formal bring back papers for other items, mainly for ones that they brought back through the military transport service. They would then pick them up at a state-side depot. Of course, some people also brought back things like live machine guns, and back then they didn't really require a full deactivation...

Each country had its own process for "war trophies" or bring backs. I've handled a few Japanese Military swords with "surrender tags", but I don't know if that's actually what they are. There then could be, at least in the U.S. some type of certificate for bringing items back. There were a few different ways they seem to have come back, and there were not always papers. Those were always required when it was something too big to fit in their bag. Swords were borderline, but I've handled two that had bring back papers. I have attached pictures of the papers.

That looks 100% better! I don't understand people who think that painting over a well worn piece of military history is a good idea. See it all the time in the Antique Firearms world. At least in that case we don't have to worry about leaving the original paint intact, and can just use citristrip on it, or throw it in an ultrasonic cleaner.

I work doing customer service and website data entry and ad copy for International Military Antiques. So for the most part, I get a list of information about items, and have to post it to our website. Usually it's lots of antique guns, bayonets, U.S. and European edged weapons, and so forth. But, sometimes we get in some nice Japanese weapons, and I've always been a fan of those, and really want to learn more. The level of expertise required is however quite daunting, especially when compared to 19th century German Bayonets. The fact that experts in Nihonto can attribute a mumei blade based on characteristics alone is mind-boggling. We did have some fun with trying to get pictures of Hamon, and found that actually using a scanner works well sometimes.

I found it under the Seki Kaji Tosho on that list. I looked for the Kanji instead of the name. 兼継 (Kanetsugu) Real Name: 前川 源一 ( Maekawa Gen'ichi)