Scogg

@JBHIII Relocating your thread to the TOSOGU section. I think you will get more input and opinions over there. Best of luck with your fathers collection, Some cool items there. -Sam

So that’s a little tough for me to guess with my level of knowledge. Especially with a naginata naoshi, as much of my studies has been with katana and tachi. Simply put, I’m just not there yet to give you a good age estimate. The thing with age, is that it’s generally assessed based on SUGATA and the form of the blade. When a blade has been shortened, much of that profile has been lost or altered. That can be said 2fold for naginata, because they’re often not only shortened from the bottom up, they are also often altered at the tip. Please see the heated discussion below. Lots of arguing, but also lots of valuable info: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/52155-naginata-naoshi/page/3/ From what little we can see, I think koto is likely. But because of what I mentioned above - big grain of salt. -Sam

I’m not certain, but it could be partly due to the sugata once being “U no Kubi Zukuri”, perhaps? http://meiboku.info/guide/form/zukuri/index.htm Looks interesting, and I like the profile. Nice find, and I would be curious to hear what a Togishi might say about it. All the best, -Sam

What I notice right away is the nakagojiri shape looking straight, and that it does not extend into the pommel area. Whereas the aluminum and copper variations the nakagojiri is more chestnut shaped and has the large hole for the grommet screw through the pommel. This is not altogether surprising considering the double menuki serving as mekugi situation; but it’s interesting to actually see, and also to see the nakagojiri shape and location. I’ve put a bid on this sword for curiosity sake. I hope nobody outbids me, because I feel I’m one of very few people something like this would appeal to. Wish me luck -Sam

While we’re on the topic of ha-machi and mune-machi alignment. Here is a rare glimpse of the machi on a wood handle Variation#8 that displays misalignment. Looks like a seki stamp on the blade, and I think the serial number is 215465, although the eBay photos make it very hard to see.

@MichaelL Relocating to the fake Japanese sword section. Sorry for the not-so-ideal assessment of your sword. For what it's worth, some people here on the forum started with a fake blade, which inspired them to find and collect genuine examples. Regards, -Sam

I think Kiipu is speaking of blades that we have seen the tang and machi alignment. Rare to see on the Type 95. For your records, 857 belonged to a friend of mine and has a 東 stamp on the tang. Serial number 4 is my lowest recorded. Serial number 71 is the lowest that I've personally observed photos of; and it has the cutout for habaki. But we have not seen the tang or the ha-machi/mune-machi for this blade. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22385-type-95-nco-copper-hilt/ All the best, -Sam

This can happen when copy/pasting from another app or translator program. When pasting, you will be prompted with an option to "post as plain text instead", and that will fix the formatting. I recently encountered something similar when copy/pasting from my phone notes app and my text looked good to me, but those in dark mode could not read it. @Gerry123, I'm going to relocate your post to the Nihonto section, because I feel it better fits that category. Like has been said, there is not anything that is obviously military issue that I can dicern. Best of luck, -Sam

Here is a really fascinating thread from Nick Komiya about the Type 32 Gunto production. It includes a document on a change in tassel production which I thought was interesting and attached below. https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/system-kaizen-behind-type-32-gunto-production-1930s-788442/ I have two tassels that I beleive display the before/after of this change. Left tassel looks greasy from antique leather conditioner. Regards, -Sam

Hi Chris, The blade has 関 stamp which is for SEKI = 名古屋陸軍造兵廠関監督班 = Seki Supervisory Unit of Nagoya Army Arsenal. Your sword was likely made around June/July of 1944. No doubt in my mind that it's 100% genuine. Great looking example of the Pattern#5 (or Variation#8) Type 95 Gunto. -Sam (Also, that's a great book )

Here’s what I believe is an Akasaka tsuba, from my collection with this feature. Thanks for creating this thread, I’ve always been curious about it. -Sam

As far as I am aware, amongst the metal hilt Type 95 Gunto, only the copper variant had aligned machi. All aluminum variants of which that I have seen the nakago; have misaligned machi. I do not know about the wooden variants, but I suspect that they are also misaligned. Even my early aluminum transitional pattern has misaligned machi. So it appears, according to my interpretation, that the introduction of misaligned machi occured at the transition from copper to aluminum hilt in 1938. Photos below serial number #857 Copper, and #7249 Aluminum. To those reading along... I do not recommend disassembling your Type 95 swords. Bruce and I have a lot of experience with these; and are doing this with extreme care and for educational purposes. There's very little information to gain from taking them apart. All the best, -Sam

I see a lot to be excited about with your sword. I'm sure I'm not speaking for myself when saying, I'd love to see the nakago! My guess, with some thanks to our prior discussions, would be high quality old Bizen... From photos, I think it looks very nice. Best of luck, and looking forward to what Shinsa has to say. -Sam

Hi Dan, It’s already implied that uncited conversational comments are your opinions. Calling someone a “snob” is name-calling, and accusing others of being part of a conspiracy to benefit restoration businesses, something you’ve entirely fabricated, can be viewed as slander. In the opinion of others, you are sharing bad advice and therefore receiving pushback for it. If that makes you feel intimidated, ridiculed, berated, or belittled, that is your perception, but it does not justify personal attacks or spreading false claims. This forum is explicitly for the study and preservation of genuine Japanese swords and fittings. I sincerely hope that means we’re all “snobs” when it comes to this stuff. -Sam

The dimensions of the tsuba look funky to me; the circumference seems small. The drilled mekugi ana seems unusually placed. The kobutogane has some extra material around the ana for the sarute that I’m not familiar with seeing. All that being said, I’d still like to see more photos… You do see some weird stuff sometimes with WW2 swords. I’ll relocate the thread to the military section for some more eyes. We can always move it again if needed. Sincerely, -Sam