Scogg

Sounds like an interesting sword. Typically, you see the swordsmith name on one side of the nakago, and a date on the other. I have heard of swords with the officers names inscribed on the nakago, but in my years of collecting i've never personally seen one. Thanks for sharing your sword with us. Best of luck, -Sam

Good eye Conway, I didn't even notice that small mark half under the seppa. Almost looks like the top half of the Nagoya sea creature stamp. Possibly a sub-assembly number makes sense, thank you. I am mostly curious about the main stamp above it. My first thought was a naval anchor that's been stamped over, but nothing I find quite fits

Here’s a head scratcher. Is this two stamps ontop of each other? Found on Reddit, on a Japanese saber known as “Taiwan sword for sonin level officials” in Dawsons.

Hello J, @buzzukka, welcome to the forum, and very cool tanto! I'm going to relocate your post to the "Nihonto" section. Your grandfathers WW2 story is cool and may be true, but I believe you have an older, traditionally made, Japanese TANTO here. Also, it's not outfitted in WW2 military fittings. Therefore, I think you will get better feedback in the Nihonto section. Proceed with patience and caution, and best of luck. Let me know if you have any issues/concerns, -Sam

Hi Roger, This is a noble goal, but it's very unlikely the original owner can be found. Even if your sword is signed, it would be signed by the swordsmith, and not the last person who carried it. There is no way to associate a swordsmith signature with most recent individual who carried it - UNLESS a surrender tag was included with that individuals family information. Long story short, don't give your sword away unless you're absolutely sure it's going to the right place. Nobody at the Japanese embassy in Colorado is qualified to make that determination, and they don't have some secret military personnel+sword list. Just, beware, because we've seen swords be "repatriated" and then end up on the auction sites months later. Best of luck, -Sam

Hi @RFM, Relocating this to the military swords of Japan section because I think you’ll get more responses there about the fittings and these type of swords. Let me know if you have any issues/questions. Best of luck, -Sam

I’m sure @Bruce Pennington will be around soon. I could also use a pair of calipers on mine and get you some exterior measurement, let me know if that would help. But for reasons that would take too long to explain, I am unable to disassemble my koiguchi to get the interior measurements; and my other Type95 is a side latch. In the meantime, I found this link on eBay that may be of interest. https://ebay.us/m/BXoJpb Would you care to share the stamps and number? Looks like a Tokyo saya perhaps. Best of luck, -Sam

I think it’s just an artifact from the lighting. We all know how challenging it is to photograph boshi. Looks like a lot to enjoy, Congrats

@LastSamurai Relocating to “wanted to buy” Best of luck, -Sam

Conway is correct. This looks genuine, and the Pattern3 variant with black tsuba shows up all over the place - even below serial number 20k. With congruent manufacture between multiple arsenals and subcontractor + the possibility of repair; it's not always possible to make generalities with serial numbers alone. To make an accurate assessment of a sword’s authenticity, you really need to consider the entire piece and every component. All the best, -Sam

On a wakizashi I used to own. Had a sticker on the leather saya with a name

Hi @Sunseeker, welcome to the forum! I am going to relocate this thread to the "Translation Assistance" section, because I think you will get a faster reply there. Let me know if you have any questions/issues. Best of luck, -Sam

Love to hear it, thank you Thomas! I will be diving into some AOE reading to prepare Thanks, -Sam

He's a busy guy lately, but he'll chime in if he's got the time. I'd also be curious to hear @Bruce Pennington 's thoughts, as i've seen him comment on these potential "island swords" before. I agree with everyones skepticism above; but to me the question remains: Is this an item meant to deceive? Or something put together in Japanese occupied territory during wartime? -Sam

Good spot Conway, no wonder this sword was so familiar Great to see you posting Stegel , -Sam

I'll be there! I am very curious/excited about what that NBTHK-AB display might be... Say hello if you see me, and apologies in advance for my social ineptitude Looking forward to it. -Sam

Hmmm, interesting one. I agree, that you should probably walk away. Too many things are not quite right, and any attempt to move this sword in the future would raise the same red flags. I have actually seen this same sword before, and recorded it as a "heavily altered example". I record things in red font that do not adhere to factory specifications that I am aware of; while I record fakes on a different list. 2282 東 Copper, ? Punctured offset ito Steel Copper Suya, TO 東 , Kokura**** Wrong saya, leather covered Facebook 2025 Real blade+parts but suspect sarute. Steel tsuba. Heavily modified or repaired* What I see as wrong: Pattern3 tsuba, wrong saya, wrong sarute. The Pattern1 copper handles did not have a mekugi in that spot, but rather relied on the barrel nut where the sarute is located. What appears right: The blade looks good. Correct Pattern1 habaki. The tsuka has the correct ito alternation, and the mekugi is in the right place for the ito situation, which matches early Pattern2 placement. You sometimes see this with field/wartime repairs. My opinion: I think everything is real except maybe the sarute. I suspect this item is either pieced together from parts, or a heavily modified wartime repair. Just my thoughts with not ideal photos. All the best, -Sam

I always love hearing that someone want's to save a piece of history! So, there's a few routes you could take, but the first step I would recommend is looking at this website's "restoration" list. At the top of the page click the pulldown menu named "Nihonto Info" then "links" then "restoration". I'd recommend doing a good bit of research into each individual before contacting any of them, as they are often very busy. Others will hopefully add their own input on restoration, Best of luck, -Sam

You've got an interesting item, no doubt. As Brian and others have mentioned, it will be expensive to restore properly. Lets break it down: Sword purchase = $1000 + Polish = $150 x ~27 inches = $4050 + Shirasaya = lets just say ~$750 Total approximate investment = ~$5,800 and a considerable amount of time. BUT for a very beautiful, complete, and desirable WW2 katana. It will boil down to what you're willing to invest. Best of luck, -Sam Edit: There's a chance that a flaw is hiding beneath its condition that could devalue the item. Unlikely in your case, in my opinion; But my point is that a restoration is not entirely without risk.

No doubt. And your gut gives the best advice. I agree with Rawa and Lareon. We’ll be here if you have questions while shopping around Best of luck, -Sam

Ultimately it’s up to what you want, and what will satisfy your collecting interest. Personally I like to admire the steel itself, so I like things in polish. That being said, if it’s just for display in the scabbard.. A Takenori in nice 98 fittings is nothing to scoff at

Probably. There’s also swords that don’t have an edge, but those are more typically “dress” swords. Never seen a type 98 without an edge. It’s evident that many individuals who brought swords back from the war did not carry the same respect that we might today. I’ve seen swords abused in all sorts of ways, some much worse than this. My own inherited sword, my grandpa spray painted gold . Maybe someone, sometime in the past, decided to “make it safe”, maybe in fear that a kid in the home may mishandle it. Looks legit to me, though. All the best, -Sam

Hi Larry, welcome to the forum, and cool sword! To add, your sword is "Kai-Gunto" military fittings https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/military.htm All the best, -Sam

Looks good to me too, although the photos on the listing are very bad. It's pretty common for people to clean up the blades on these, and I agree with Conway about the saya. The iron fuchi didn't take stamps as well as the copper fuchi, so the stamps are often missing entirely, or very hard to discern.

Hi @Tyler sword, welcome to the forum, I have deleted the posts of your sword from the others threads. We don't want to remove focus from other people's discussions. I've left this post you've created for your sword, so the info can be consolidated here. @Ray Singer and @Rawathat included one of your replies on those threads, I hope you do not mind. Apologies for any confusion. All the best, -Sam