Kiipu

On the last production run from Suya, Iijima, & Kōbe, only copper-alloy ferrules were used.

Suya discontinued the blade fuller on the last production run and this serial number is within this range. A little more than a thousand were made before production came to a stop in March/April 1945.

Hi Florian, maybe Nick's WRF thread below will help with your research article. The Battle for the Survival of the Japanese Sword 1945-48

Correct, some of the wartime made stainless steel blades had a longer than normal nakago which would require shortening. Postwar, it appears the tangs were heated up and then bent/sheared off. The navy wanted to procure 50,000 swords per month for six months starting in April 1945. If this is the case, then stainless blade production would need to be ramped up and probably from more than one supplier. last ditch naval rinji?

Hi John, that marking of 満鐵作 was only used in the 28th to 30th series. There are indeed a handful of Mantetsu tachi mei; but one can count them on one hand. However, the tang profile looks off to me. Also, why would someone in Japan get a Mantetsu polished?

I believe there was a pilot program prior to 1942 and seem to recall Ohmura san mentioning it. So lets not tar and feather poor old George yet.

The "star" stamp does not appear until mid to late 1942. Anything made prior, will be marked differently.

Yes, the previous low 乙 [otsu] was serial number 1032 via Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks by F&G. For additional information about the Type 32 Military Sword, see Nick's WRF thread below. How the Type 32 Sword was born

Post a picture of the serial number and provide the blade length, which will be one of the two below. Measure from the hilt to the tip of the blade. 甲 Blade Length: 832mm 32.75”. 乙 Blade length: 774mm 30.5”.

Postwar souvenir sword. The Mysterious Naval Landing Forces Sword

Hi Trysten, Ohmura sensei's statement is based upon the 南 & 連 inspection marks that appear on the blades inspected by Nan-Man. The fiscal year 1943 production records specifically mention that only SMR was making swords. See Fiscal Year 1943. The fiscal year 1944 production records are similar but to not indicate exactly who was making them. See Fiscal Year 1944. However, it is likely the arrangement was the same as fiscal year 1943. Nan-Man took over the assembly of swords when shipments could no longer be made to Japan and then later in 1945 blade production was probably started. This would be similar to what happened at Jinsen Army Arsenal in 1945. His statement that 昭和19年10月～20年8月 [October 1944 to August 1945] was the listed dates is probably accurate. But one needs to factor in acquiring the machinery, tooling it up, and training the workforce, all of which would take time. I avail myself of this occasion to renew to you the assurance of my highest considerations.

Trystan, in my opinion, Nan-Man Arsenal [& Jinsen Arsenal] did not start blade production until 1945. I think the blades that Nan-Man did manufacture could be the ones that started showing up in 1945 with no markings other than the serial number, such as い一一七〇. Again, it is just an undocumented opinion and your learned opinion is just as valid as mine. Thanks for all your help with those difficult Chinese & Japanese translations over the years. I do appreciate all the time and effort you have given.

Hi Robert, your sword was sold earlier this year on eBay for US$1475. SCARCE Japanese WW2 SOUTH MANCHURIAN RAILWAY KATANA SWORD

Correct, the ferrule is made of copper or copper-alloy that is painted black. This painting of the ferrule shows up toward the end of Iijima production. So as to give credit where credit is due, it was Stegel that brought this to my attention earlier this year.

Chris, interesting observation about the burlap on Type 100s. Could the souvenir swords be made from canvass instead of painted fabric?

I do not mind at all and that is why Brian archives older posts so that they can be reread down the road. Below is the link so that others can find it. A real WW2 naval sword?

@Mister Gunto There is a second one that can be seen at the link below. However, I have been unable to translate it yet. It is a Seki-made blade though. Help with different Gunto Signature

It is not often that paperwork and pictures can be found for one of these offshore made swords. Please read the entire thread before commenting. Sword Bring back help

小森勝幸 = Komori Katsuyuki. Links to @k morita & @Nobody translations of signature. seki-stamped tang, mei help needed & Mei Translation Help Needed - thank you

Listen to "The Blacksmith!" He can make you a better one. @Shamsy

Dawson used the information provided by Donald B. for his book. And since Donald mentioned the "copper plated alloy" ferrules, Dawson mentioned it on page 184. Also, I think a picture of one can be seen on page 186, plate 15-5. However, no mention is made of this fact. Not much more is said about ferrules in the book other than the iron ones. I think there is more to the story in regards to these ferrules. They started out with brass, commonly referred to as copper due to the color, and finished with black painted steel, sometimes called iron. (Note the confusing use of several different terms to describe the same item.) In between, there were several different materials used, sometimes concurrently. The early Nagoya ferrules used a brass-tinted copper ferrule while Iijima seemed to be using the copper-plated alloy. This would seem to indicate that there were more than one manufacturer, possibly similar to what is seen with scabbards and handles which have distinct differences based upon the supervising arsenal. In regards to the silvered colored base material, I think there are at least two versions, the early one is a copper-plated aluminium/almite? while the other one is a nickel/chrome plated copper. For an example of the later version, see @Stegel's infographic at the link below. Type 95 Gunto - Transitional Tsuba Hopefully, this will help clarify why I am asking questions about ferrules. I just think there is more to the story. And belatedly, my apologies to @Lareon for hijacking his thread and turning it into the "mysteries of the Type 95 ferrule."

This ferrule has the color of Almite, which is also seen on some of the early aluminium handles. It could also just be staining caused by the plating or painting. Type 95 Brass-colored Tsuka - A Discovery!

The late Donald B. of Melbourne, Australia, mentioned a "copper plated alloy" ferrule. He noted the following serials; 34593東, 37048東, 57964東, and 136621東. Unfortunately, none of these have surfaced yet via photographs. I think Tony's Type 95 could very well be an an example of this variant.

@Lareon If still at hand, I have some technical questions about your Type 95. Looking at the pictures of the ferrule, the part that has the arsenal symbol and company logo on it, it seems it is made of a silver colored alloy. In addition, there seems to be a copper color that has worn off. 1. What is the ferrule made of? Is it magnetic? 2. The copper color seen on the ferrule, is it paint or copper plated? Attention: @Stegel

@BANGBANGSAN What is this all about 刀茎有伊奈波神社的海军锚标? 二战97式海军刀