Kiipu

In Japanese, the characters 調製 could be the division/department within the company that performed the work? @SteveM

I only have one 1941 advertisement on file for this company. Looks like they were located in Akasaka Ward 赤坂區, Tōkyō 東京.

That's it and thread title changed accordingly! Many thanks Ernie.

Those are indeed coming in part from the same source. Even the markings are the same as on one. However, my father was only in India once, with stops in Australia coming [Fremantle] and going [Melbourne]. So I think the source would be modern day Pakistan, formerly part of British India. The leather scabbard on his is dark brown. He even mentions it in a letter home, written while at sea heading back for the States via Melbourne, Australia. As an aside, the cargo carried enroute was airplanes, beer, and a hundred or so Chinese soldiers that had been trained in the United States. They ran out of food and my father subsisted on canned milk and cereal. He never set foot on a Liberty ship after this voyage. For the duration of the war, he was on tankers. forrest-us-ship-movement-card.pdf

Does anyone happen to know if this style of knife has a specific name?

My father, a radio operator aboard SS Nathan B. Forest, purchased this knife as a souvenir. His ship arrived at Karachi, British India, on September 9, 1944, and departed the same month on the 12th. While there, the British "suggested" they purchase items from the local craftsmen. Measurements Overall length with scabbard: 12 inches. Overall length without scabbard: slightly over 11 inches. Blade length: 7 inches. Hilt: 4 inches. Details Blade markings on left: pure steel. Blade markings on right: Victory. Grips made from bone. Brass parts caste, very obvious. The brass used supposedly came from shell casings. Pommel in shape of a birds head. Leather scabbard with brass fittings.

FYI, the Murata-style hunting guns were still being made into the 1930s.

I sure looks like it is. 義 = gi = righteousness; justice; morality; honor; loyalty.

Wonder how long these will last? B806 Gendaito Made at the Minatogawa Shrine

Some more pictures can be seen via the NMB thread below. Something different...

I think it orginally had a leather covered scabbard. Looks like a mid-war army Type 98 sword.

See also Suya 111536 with two 東 stamps. Fake Type 95 Nco Swords

Type 95 Variation #4, Kokura-Kōbe 107164, with two 東 ferrule stamps. My First WWII Type 95 Japanese NCO Sword - Info Requested

This practice of having two 東 inspection stamps on opposite sides of the ferrule is well known by advanced Type 95 collectors. From memory, it was used for a short time only. Nice sword and thanks for sharing.

Rai Kunifusa 来國房 with nakago mune character. See picture number 6. WW2 Japanese Officers Sword & Scabbard Signed

Sam "Scogg" has just finished a monograph on the major variations of the Type 95 Military Sword. I strongly recommend that everyone looking to purchase a Type 95 Military Sword read and study this monograph before buying. This monograph can be downloaded via the NMB thread below. Type 95 Military Sword Monograph - Download Section Scoggin, Sam. Japanese Type 95 Military Sword Variations, 1936–1945. February 2026. PDF file, 71 pages, letter sized.

Me thinks 212465 and note the end of the tang in relation to the hilt. Thanks for posting.

Is a picture worth a thousand words? Rare Rifle ;)

NMB Cross-Reference Help with Mei on Pistol

General In 1944 it was realized that the decisive battle of the mainland of Japan was soon to be fought. There was a call for complete national armament and because of the shortage of weapons the study and development of simple weapons began. The purpose was to arm everyone in Japan both military and civilian, with some type of fighting weapon. Research was started in the summer of 1944 and was nearly completed by the summer of 1945. WRF Simple Weapons. Pistol Included among the simple weapons was a pistol. An example of which can be seen below. RARE Japanese Civilian Defense Pistol

Ran across this Sadakazu 貞一 today over at Donley Auctions. Bryce, kosher or not? Japanese Army Officer Field Sword

NMB Cross-Reference Tanegashima Pistol

Both painted 六六 and stamped 250 numbers. Late to Postwar Japanese Army Sword

Blade　刀身　Tōshin Blade Notes Blade Note 1: The early blades had the notches for the habaki aligned. This is the traditional style used on Japanese swords. The lowest observed blade is serial number 857 and the highest is 6320. In addition, there was only one hole for a grommet screw toward the rear of the tang. Blade Note 2: About the time when the handle was changed to aluminium, offset notches for the habaki were introduced. The lowest observed blade is serial number 7249. The lower blade notch engages with a built-up dam inside the lower part of the habaki. Also, a hole was added behind the habaki for a brass or steel mekugi. Blade Note 3: The nakago [tang] can be found either marked or unmarked. Occasionally arsenal symbols or company logos are seen. Serial number 6320 has a Kokura Arsenal symbol, while serial 209247 has a Seki Tōken KK logo. The most common marking encountered are army inspection marks. The following army inspection marks have been noted on the tang: 東, キ, ホ, 名, 関, M. Blade Note 4: Some of the early Type 95s were used by officers and have kanji numbers chiseled into the lower tang. Blade Serial # The Kokura serial number is read with the blade edge down while Nagoya & Jinsen Arsenal is read blade edge up. Some Jinsens have the first digit overstamped with a 3. The overstamp can be faint or partial, making the first digit hard to read. Blade Inspection Marks The early Suya made swords did not have a visible blade inspection mark by the serial number. Instead, it was stamped on the tang and thus covered by the hilt. This occurs early on in two distinct blocks of serial numbers. Kokura & Nagoya used a final inspection mark, either before or after the serial number. On Kokura, it comes after the serial number, while on Nagoya it comes before. In the Nagoya two hundred thousand range, the final inspection mark is occasionally stamped behind the serial number. Jinsen used the Heijō Factory inspection mark. In addition, Jinsen sometimes used an extraordinary inspection mark that will appear either before or after the Heijō Factory inspection mark. The individual inspection marks can be seen in the “Inspection Marks” section above. Blade Fullers Blade will be either fullered or unfullered. The original design was for fullered blades; but, late in the war some arsenals and civilian companies omitted the fuller.

It there a way to select a different time zone for my account? I would like to use UTC across all forums for standardization.