Kiipu

I can add one more picture to the pile. An officer in the Imperial Guard, the same formation as the officer in @Stegel last picture. Note the wreaths wrapped around the star on the hat insignia. 旧日本陸軍の魂「九八式軍刀」 The picture linked to above was discussed at length at the link below. Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto, Post #318

I am fairly certain this sword was made in China during World War 2. The late Bob Coleman even stated as such. In my opinion, there were a couple of factories making these. Later on, the design evolved into the 應刀 [emergency sword] for Japanese use. I think @Shamsy has one of these later versions. Unfortunately, this particular sword seems to have had the brass work polished. ww2 sword?, Post #18

I did not have a Murata sword recorded for that year so it is a nice addition. Obverse: 明治廿四年八月 = August 1891. Reverse: 小銃兼正 =Shōjū Kanemasa.

A preview of what is to come from John E. Plimpton? New comprehensive book on Japanese swords to be published

I am going to have to change your name to "eagle-eyed" BangBangSan! Yes, they are one and the same company. The advertisements up to 1936 used 日本特殊鋼合資會社 and after 1938 used 日本特殊鋼株式會社.

Nippon Tokushu-Kō KK used a different logo on manufactured items. See the link below for an illustration of the company trademark. Japanese Military Training Small Arms Companies, Post #52

I have never seen this logo before. The character inside the gear is 日 as in 日本 [Japan]. Is there any other markings on the tang or tang top? What is your opinion as to the type of blade, traditional as in water quenched, nontraditional as in oil quenched, or machine made from one piece of steel? Attention: @mecox, @Bruce Pennington & last, but no means least, @BANGBANGSAN.

Looking at the pictures I have of the anchor stamp, I noticed that there are two sizes. One is large and the other is small. Yours is the small one. Can you measure the outside diameter in millimeters for me? The subassembly number is オ841. The prefix is the katakana character O.

The Type 95 is authentic and was made by Iijima. It is a late war production piece and it is in really nice shape. This was the last production run from this factory and the highest I have seen is 162827. I think @Stegel & @Shamsy would like to look at it too.

@BANGBANGSAN Not sure if this helps but some more pictures for you to look at. Be sure to click on the pictures to see full size. Sword Combat Cover

This is the only unusual brown tassel that I can recall; however, the tassel is incomplete. The colorization is a bit unusual and kinda reminds me of one owned by John, except his had a distinct zig-zag pattern to it. Nonetheless, it is worthy of taking a look at just in case another should show up. @Stegel & @PNSSHOGUN Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto, Post #225

There is one other scabbard that I remember and it is coming via @Shamsy.

Hon’ami Kōson 本阿弥･光遜. Guntō no teire-hō 軍刀の手入れ法. Sōgō Keizai Kenkyūsho 総合経済研究所, 1943. Size B6, 44 pages. @BANGBANGSAN A better picture of the copyright page can be seen at the link below. https://funbid.com.hk/yahoojp/auctions/item.php?aID=q406757291

Note the statement by a wartime polisher that the anchor mark is an acceptance stamp used by naval authorities. Attention Mantetsu Owners: A Survey Ohmura is somewhat confusing at times but does state Seki provided blades to the navy via the Seki guild. 海軍太刀型軍刀 (4)

@PNSSHOGUN I thought you might enjoy this little tidbit about the prescribed location of mons 紋 on Type 97s. Launch documentation for the 1937 introduction of the new Navy Gunto, Post #25

@Alban L, below is a link to two of the Toyokawa markings I mentioned above, the anchor and 豊. Note that the primer also has the same markings. Photos of Japanese WWII Navy Shell Casing, Toyokawa arsenal The ト marking for smaller cartridges can be seen over at the IAA Forum link below. See post #8. .303 IJN headstamps

Alban, the other logo (xvi), the encircled anchor, also does not belong to Toyokawa Naval Arsenal. Japanese sources describe this as being used alongside the large Seki 関 stamp, except it was used for sword blades destined for the navy. However, I think it could also have been used by a naval inspector assigned to the Seki area? Of course, your learned opinion or anyone else's for that matter is just as valid as mine. "Showa" or "Dept of Interior" stamp? Toyokawa Naval Arsenal used several different marking methods depending upon the size of the manufactured item. For example, on large items, the kanji characters 豊川海軍工廠 were stamped or printed onto the item. On smaller items, a stylized anchor mark was used that was not encircled or in a cherry blossom. This is the logo, number (vi), depicted in the table above, that is coming from Fuller & Gregory (F&G). On the smallest items, such as cartridge case headstamps, Toyokawa used either a single kanji character 豊 or a katakana character ト to denote manufacture by them. To date, none of these markings have been reported on Japanese naval swords. Hope this helps in your studies of naval swords and I look forward to your next missive about them.

With the additional picture, the sword shows evidence of rust being removed from the blade. It seems in the process the last digit got lost in the process and probably the inspection mark too. The last visible 9 is also faded from the cleaning. The serial number is thus 21279X. The style of the serial numbers that remain are consistent with those used by Nagoya. As for the scabbard, someone else will need to comment on that.

Probably mistakenly posted in the wrong thread. None of us are getting younger. Wooden Handled Type 95's

I would place a flat-edge metal ruler over the serial number location and see if you can see an indentation. If need be, you can shine a light on the opposite side and it will become obvious right away if metal has been removed. Just a thought until the real experts show up!

Cliff, @Stegel and @Shamsy will need to look at this one. It may be a bit of an anomaly. I would normally expect to see a six-digit serial number and not a five-digit serial number on the blade.

Alban, it is an unknown company or association logo. Toyokawa Naval Arsenal (豊川海軍工廠) was not established until December 1939, long after all these early swords were made. I have several SA stamped swords & dirks recorded and below is a link to a typical example. *Japanese Naval Dirk, Look! *

There are two sizes of brown tassels. See this link below for the whole story. See also post #68 for the info-graphic by @Stegel. What were the regulations for the Army civilian employees to carry swords?

There are pictures of Japanese enlisted soldiers in China carrying this style of sword. I am starting to think they may have purchased some of these locally. Eventually, the army cracked down on this and put a stop to it in May 1939. Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto, Post #8 Attention: @Shamsy

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Oddly enough, I am seeing this kanji character arrangement as follows. The top row kanji characters 1 & 2 (村田) are reading from left to right with the right side of character 1 on top of character 2. The bottom row kanji characters 3 & 4 (経芳) are reading from right to left. See below for a graphic depiction. Beside myself, does anyone else see this arrangement of characters? 12 村田 43 芳経 @BANGBANGSAN