DTM72

25 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Doh!  Missed it by THAT much!

You only missed it by 1 letter. Close enough right? 

Tada   Sada   忠 定  At a quick look, they somewhat look similar...especially once chiseled in the chippy Showato fashion.

Have you ever seen the Gifu stamp on the mune?

14 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Looks like Yoshisada?  I only have 1 other June 1945 with Gifu.  It is the latest date on file for the stamp.

 

Yoshi 義

Tada 忠

On 6/11/2024 at 11:36 AM, Bruce Pennington said:

I was also hoping to see the Gifu stamped blades come out on katana-side blades, because it would support my theory that it was a stamp developed by the Seki Cutlery people to replace their stolen Seki emblem.  But we can see they are on tachi-sided mei.  So, I don't know what to think about that other than to assume it might have been an area inspector from that location.  In 1943, the military stamping went to area specific stamps.  The sakura is what made me think it was from the Association, as it matched the style of the Showa stamp.  However, with the new data in mind, it may be more in line with the Toyokawa practice of using the sakura and anchor.  So, we do know that an arsenal, Toyokawa, used the sakura.  Maybe the Army, or a local inspector created this one.

I just got a blade with a gifu stamp on the nakago (tachi mei) AND the back edge. Never seen that before. This is on a type 3 RS. Dated June of 1945 (Showa Ni Jyu Nen Roku Gatsu) 昭和二十年六月 <-- latest date I have owned.

Bruce, 

Your work amazes me! One day in the distant future, people will look back at this site and see the work you and others have undertaken and be very thankful for the information they have found. You are appreciated!

18 hours ago, Mark said:

 If I know someone needs something like gunto handles, gunto parts, books, parts etc let me know and I will pack them

 

If you have it, I need the koiguchi for at type 3 RS saya, as well as the kojiri for the same saya. <-- long shot I know, but doesn't hurt to ask.

Thick brass seppa.

You are the best Mark!

Judging by the choji style hamon near the habaki, I might be willing to bet this could be an Emura or a Nagamitsu.

13 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

I realize I should do more digging before starting this, but on a broad, brief scan of the files, I've noticed that WWII blades, at least the stamped ones, began using tachi mei (smith's name toward the wearer). 

 

A point of reference for this statement. Tachi mei is with the signature facing outwards,when worn as a tachi,with edge down. Similarly, katana have the mei facing outwards as well, when worn as a katana, with edge up. Since the type 94's and 98's were styled and worn as tachi, following tradition, they should all have the signature as tachi mei...but, we see signatures on both sides for showato, and gendaito.

21 hours ago, Brian said:

Buy something in decent enough polish to appreciate. Project blades usually stay that way forever.

Buy one good sword instead of multiple cheaper ones.
Bad flaws will only bother you more and more over time. Buy the best condition you can afford.

Building on what Brian posted,

Buy something in decent enough polish to appreciate. Project blades usually stay that way forever.

I don't want to use the term "project blade" but many of us started with a cheap priced blade that we have these ideas of saving with a polish. <-- without knowing what a TRUE polish entails or if it is even worth a polish.

Buy one good sword instead of multiple cheaper ones.

At one time I had 15-20 cheap blades that all needed polish, or had missing fittings, needed a tsuka re-wrap or replacement. All were blades that I could afford at the time and none were really "keepers" or something to be proud of.

Bad flaws will only bother you more and more over time. Buy the best condition you can afford.

As I learned more about Nihonto, flaws were something I could not overlook. As a beginning collector I would often say to myself that "It's a nice blade except that one blister (fukure) or that one split (kizu)" My eyes were able to look past the flaws, back then. Now my eyes are drawn to the flaws and cannot look past them! Think of it in terms of a woman. She has a great body and a cute face, except for her big nose. A young guy may be ok with her for a short time. As you get older, you want the total package and cannot look past the giant nose.

Wishing you all the best!

Dan

If I still lived in Coventry, I would gladly come visit you...but I am back with the other unruly Yanks on this side of the pond. I wish you well at the show!

Dan

I am starting to get some last minute enquiries as to my Orlando Shinsa service. There is still time to make this happen, but time is of the essence! I am driving from South Carolina to Florida on Thursday June 20th so items for shinsa MUST arrive to me by no later than Wednesday June 19th. I will do everything I can to help out, but I need to plan accordingly for how to pack my items, and yours as well. Help me help you! lol.

Please feel free to reach out and get your blades to shinsa. There is still time, but we are just 2 weeks away.

All the best!

Dan

On 6/1/2024 at 6:48 PM, Ron M said:

Anyone taking swords to this show? I sent Dan an email but he didn’t respond. I know Moses is but who else? I know it’s short notice.

 Regards 

Ron,

Sorry for the slow reply, was working out of town and did not check my messages on here. <-- please forgive me. I sent a message back to you. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out.

Dan

I agree with 南海太郎朝高 Nankai Taro Tomotaka.

https://www.sakurama...ankai-taro-tomotaka/ <-- looks to be the same sword.

I too saw a video of spear fighters using both sankaku yari and jumanji yari the same way, (bashing from above, not stabbing) in hopes that it can hit shoulders, necks, forearms, etc. A wounded soldier becomes a liability in battle. 

1 hour ago, robinalexander said:

If its WW2 your after, look at 94's, 98's and don't forget 97's because you just might get a real bug for those later. WW2 blades in gunto koshirae.......old blades in gunto koshirae...there is a difference.

Same happened to me. I got a 97 with a nice same' covered saya. Then got into the Navy kyuguntos with family blades. Seems to be my favorite style, at the moment.

What he said  @GeorgeLuucas

We tried. @Mark @shakudo @vajo

You can get some quickly from Amazon

Black or Red https://www.amazon.c...ps%2C141&sr=8-3&th=1

More traditional white https://www.amazon.c...ps%2C141&sr=8-2&th=1

Is that a field officer tassel I see?

Very interesting yasurime on the nakago.

We are getting closer to the show date. @Japan2112 has informed me that the holtel block of rooms, for discounted prices, ends in two weeks. Make your hotel reservations soon! Orlando is one of the bigest tourist destinations in the world, and the hotels know it and they price high accordingly. 

If anyone has swords, tsuba, or koshirae they would like to submit to shinsa, and cannot attend, please let me know. I will submit on your behalf. See information above or contact me directly.

Dan

@Bryce I could see how that is an option, but the entire nakago has bad grinding marks on it. Maybe due to poor machinery being available in a remote area? This one is still a mystery to me. I'll send it through the Orlando shinsa in June and they will tell me who made it.  Seriously, I will have it on my sales table at the Orlando show. 

Besides the leather saya cover, and the leather tsuka cover, I didn't snap a picture of the leather cover that goes over the entire tsuka and tsuba. I have a picture of one like it that is currently for sale in Japan. With all the leather covers, this leads me to believe this sword was somewhere very humid and or rainy.

32 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Interesting to read the provenance story at the end of the previous thread.  He's certain the tassel came with the gunto.  So, it must have been a replacement, too, using whatever was available.

I chatted with him online, and over the phone. Very nice gentlemen and I have no reason to doubt that all 5 swords he had, has been in his family for the past 50 years. The one I posted in the "Island Sword" thread may be a 50 year old Chinese reproduction, but a good quality reproduction. I still lean towards it being a lower quality island made piece. Enough about that one, back to NCO swords!

10 hours ago, Kiipu said:

Cross-reference to the same sword.

Newby Perplexed by Type 95 NCO Sword

Great memory! You are correct, that is the same one.

3 hours ago, vajo said:

The blade nakago shows a non Japanese swordsmith. 

The blade itself looked good to me, but when I pulled off the tsuka my face was like...

@Bruce Pennington @Kiipu @mdiddy