Rennz

@Bruce Pennington Yes, the coats are wool. It's difficult to compare that tsuka cover as it's so worn; it looks more like the suede saya cover in the second post.

Yes, I don't believe a shop would have made such a rough looking example. The stitching and rough, uneven seams look to me as though that one was made with a discarded or unserviceable coat during a bit of downtime in the field. Have you seen any others made from this material? I really have no idea what else this fabric was used for, maybe blankets or some such... I am just going off the only example I have.

Hi Bruce, I believe I've found the source of your fabric cover. I have an officers' coat that is made of this fabric and think this saya cover actually may have been made from one of these coats. Here are a couple pics of the coat and inside seams for comparison. I think it's some sort of wool.

So, by shirasaya, you are talking about a plain wood saya and menuki with no fittings?

Ok, so I'm just posting some pics to see if I can capture any hamon, hada, nie, etc. and maybe get some thoughts on anything anyone sees. ...just tryna learn a bit. I took the sword out in the sun for some better light and wiped all the oil off for a clearer look.

Yep, no other stamps, numbers, or special marks anywhere on my nakago either:

Yes, the tusba and its accoutrements are all stamped with the digits "231". The reverse has no other stampings or special marks.

Hey, thanks. Yeah, I kinda wondered if a polish would take anything away from it. That's why I would get a hands-on evaluation first.

Hello, Just thought I'd share a few pictures of a bit of what was handed down to me by my grandfather, who was an Army Engineer and one of the first to step foot on Japanese soil after the bombs were dropped. I've had these for years and have done very little research but have learned a good bit from this forum, so thanks for that. I eventually would like to have the sword evaluated, polished and rewrapped by someone truly qualified. I'm working on building a nice display case for these and other items. Edit: The other items are a bayonet for an Arisaka Type 38 and my only guess for the mini katana would be a letter opener (it's very sharp though).

Hello, I stumbled onto this thread while researching my own Ikkansai Kunimori and thought I would just post a few pics to contribute to the discussion: