mtexter

I don't have a good way to display anything yet, but I intend to make a wall-mounted rack like yours Mike. I love the torii on top, beautiful! What kind of wood is it made of? I love the idea of framed pictures of the naked blades. I am curious if there's a name for that style of photography, I see it on all the vendor sites and here of course.

Man I've been on this forum long enough to know better! Shame on me, every pic I've taken with a tape measure in is showing overall length, not the nagasa. Shucks.

Thanks guys, this is great info. This piece is likely going to my younger brother, and I'll definitely pass all of this along. (We had 4 complete nihonto to divvy up between 4 cousins, and it's looking like their sizes/lengths will match up with us in age order, roughly anyway) I agree with you Bob, my grandpa brought back some incredible things, we're extremely grateful!

Todd, welcome to the NMB! It looks like you were able to get the tsuba/seppa/habaki combo to move somewhat, it's not in its traditional place by the machi. I'd suggest to keep going at the red rust with the minimum force/abrasion. Then give it a whack with a rubber mallet and it might come loose. Best practice here is to use a block of wood between mallet and whatever needs moving, just in case. Curious if there are any markings on the fittings, but I'd be surprised. Good luck!

Hi All, This is one of the 4 complete blades from my grandpa's WWII cache. Some interesting things look to have been done to it some time ago. In its condition, I'm curious if anyone could tell me much about it. I love the fuchi, kashira, and saya though. Definitely looks old, but I have no real guess as to how old. More pics are here: https://imgur.com/a/pW8GHoZ Thanks for looking!

I showed this to my wife tonight... turns out she thought the fuchi was made of plastic and the saya was made with glitter. I didn't know how to prove her wrong on the latter point (but the fuchi was obviously made of copper or somesuch). How did they get these shiny/speckled lacquers before glitter existed?

I hadn't noticed it until the other day, but the habaki and seppa seem to be made of copper but are wrapped in a sort of gold foil, was this a common practice? How concerned should I be about the fact that it's beginning to peel off? In its current state of polish I can't discern anything within the kissaki, and barely see a hint of hamon, but need to try with different lighting

Thank you Geraint, that is very helpful! Great to know the ito is not original. I must have been butchering my Nihonto terminology, definitely not a tachi, and probably never was. The only reason I think it was shortened is there are two mekugi ana and the bottom of the nakago has a different shape than I'm used to seeing (at least in my limited experience). Also the 2nd kanji is almost touching the end of the nakago, and part of my mind thought that since there were only 2 kanji in the mei at all, there must have been more at some point. But not necessarily Anyway, I love this sword and someday I will definitely send it for restoration, at least for a proper polish, followed by an origami attempt. This may be a one-piece collection for me for awhile, but given the potential quality, that is ok! I will try to get some good shots or a sketch of the hamon within the kissaki

Interesting Bruce, I might just have to look around and see if I can't find some original parts to make it whole again. Thanks for lending your knowledge!

Here's a link to the rest of the pictures on the Type 95, for anyone wanting to see more details: https://imgur.com/a/N7EkjFo

Hi Everyone, So this is one of the 4 complete nihonto from Grandpa's WWII cache, but this one is quite obviously pre-war. I have now taken what I hope are enough pictures to identify / appreciate it further. Please look and enjoy, and let me know if it's worth sending off for a polish / refitting! It seems to be in great shape, but it looks like my grandpa may have gone at it with a buffing wheel or something, hard to say for sure. The ito is disintegrating, literally crumbling to powder and leaving some residue on my hand every time I pick it up, and about a 3cm piece has already broken off. Some of the rayskin / same is missing too, but for a potentially VERY old blade, I can't fault it too much. I don't have the complete story of how my grandpa got it (the story I've been told is that he grabbed it from a pile that was destined for a bonfire), but I'm grateful he brought it back and kept it in relatively good condition. My (very preliminary) research suggests that there were many smiths signing kuniyuki, and there may have been more to this mei at some point, but it looks like I have a suriage blade on my hands. Unfortunately due to the condition of the polish I can't see much in the way of features, but someone with more experienced eyes might have better luck. It's got an incredible curve though, maybe a torii sori / naka sori? The kashira is of course the first thing that caught my eye a couple of months ago, which is why I have it as my avatar Please take a look and let me know your thoughts, and feel free to put any of the imgur pictures you like here too. Thanks! Link to the full album: https://imgur.com/a/rLVsD7L

It's a match! 213182 on both koiguchi and blade

There is indeed a habaki, seems to fit perfectly so I have every reason to think it's original to the blade. Pics soon

Thomas, I will check shortly! I didn't even think to look / photograph there. Album to all pics coming soon, but I'll post the koiguchi first on its own here.

well right away it's obvious that our tsuba is different from your tsuba. i.e. not original to this blade, I assume. It does fit perfectly with the 2 seppa that were with it, but maybe that's coincidental. man I'm up way too late on a school night. oh wait I'm on vacation 😄

And here we are. Tomorrow i'll get them all organized into imgur albums for all to see, lots more detail should be visible there

Could someone please give me a quick translation on this? Thank you!

That looks to be in great shape! A real heirloom. As others have said, it would be super cool to get original authentic parts to complete it. I just recently discovered a couple of incomplete blades that my grandpa brought back, as well as 2 mismatched tsukas. My parents and I were just sitting around the dinner table lamenting the fact that most people in the western world are still ignorant of the history of Nihonto. It's sad that so many of these were melted down or thrown into the sea, so to have one in that condition is a true treasure. I know you'll treat it well Cheers, and welcome to the NMB!

No notable markings on either side of the 95 nakago that I could see, but there's your serial number and stamp, as requested. I have taken a LOT more pics, but can only upload 2 at a time here because of the size limitations. I'll upload them to imgur, one album per blade. I should have links to all soon. I'll move the non-military blades off of this post and into their own new homes so we can discuss them individually

I may have sprinkled small stories about my grandpa across other threads, but haven't here yet. He was part of the American occupation of Japan in 1945-46, and to make a long story short, he saw a bunch of these nice looking swords, guns, artifacts, etc. getting thrown into a fire, so he picked up as many as he could carry and brought them back home. Fast forward 75 years and he's now passed away, and here I am learning about Nihonto it wasn't exactly sealed for all of those years, but my dad rarely got them out, and as a family, not one of us knew about the potential significance of the contents. Bruce, I will get close ups of your requests on Tuesday. Regarding the type 95, the tsukas in our possession and mekugi ana do not align As far as I understand it, that officer tsuka was "attached" to the 95, but probably by grease or rust or something. Part of me weeps for my grandpa not knowing/being able to appreciate what he had all these years, but at least he and my dad took relatively good care of them.

I've finished sorting the collection and matching the various bits and pieces where possible. Here's what we've got! Turns out there are just 3 complete nihonto (plus the one my cousin already got), plus a gunto that's just missing a tsuka. After inspecting the blades, all were *just* beginning to develop some rust spots. They were all stored in some kind of thick, clear/yellowish grease, but I couldn't identify it. Seems to have kept the blades in fairly good shape for the past 75 years though. I've got most of that wiped away and they've now been oiled properly. Which ones should would everyone like to see first? We already have some good info on the (incomplete) tanto at the bottom of the picture (thanks to Ray.) , but I'll share more pics of that one soon. Just trying to rub off some of the rust spots on that blade with a cloth and thumbnail, but progress is slow. I may end up taking the collection home with me until Christmas, so opportunities abound to appreciate these.

Yeah once again I have to apologize for the quality of pics. I got too carried away with just looking at / enjoying it, and only actually took what you see above as an afterthought. Next time I visit I'll get better ones and update here. The hamon was fairly indistinct and almost straight, following the ha very closely. Would that be an indicator of being machine-made? I wish I would've concentrated more on the tsuba, I don't think I even inspected it in-hand very closely. What sorts of things would you be looking for there Bruce? I don't believe it had a mei or a stamped serial number, but I really didn't look as closely as I wish I would've now. The blade was in remarkable shape in my eyes, just a few rust spots here and there. It was nice to give it its first oil treatment since wartime. It really felt like I put some life back into it, very rewarding P.S. I am not sure why my brain forgot what paint was when I posted yesterday. Wax or ink? sheesh.

That tsuba (guard) is amazing. More pics please! Also if you get a chance, put your name and first initial of your last name in your signature, it's one of the forum rules. Welcome to the NMB Scott!