cel71

Thank you all for your help, I really appreciate it!

Thanks for your comment! It has also been suggested on the military sword forum that it appears to be Sukemune. However, another writes, and I quote "I would not give the signature too much weight as it is not done in a traditional way but probably with a broken screw-driver". So I have no idea.

I did some more measurements. The nagasa is 69cm, sori 16mm

Thanks Stephen!

Hello everyone, I had posted this shin gunto on the military sword forum. Opinions were somewhat divided and the advice was to post them on this forum. The question is from which period this blade is? If more pictures or sizes are needed, just let me know. Thanks in advance for the effort!

Thank you Bruce for the advice! I will post it on the Nihonto forum.

Thanks! Actually it is not rattan wrap, I think it is parachute cord.

Thanks for your comment!

As you may have noticed I am a novice to Japanese swords. I looked up "Sukemune". Does this mean it's an old blade? I see that several smiths have lived under this name in various time periods. Is there any way to determine which one it was or when this particular sword was made?

Wow, that's fast, thanks! yes it does look like toast. I thought I read somewhere that they should be read with the handle up, hence my mistake. Now it should be easier to read.

Hi This is my first time on this forum so just a quick introduction. I am a 50 year old collector from the Netherlands of military Dutch swords and sabers. I came across this forum in my quest to identify a shin gunto. It came with another saber and was able to buy this one at a good price. I also have it on another forum but there may be less expertise in this area than on this forum. This sword was left behind in Indonesia after the war and was later brought to the Netherlands by a Dutch soldier as a souvenir. It is clear that it is very worn and used. I think it is a type 98. What I would like to know is when it was made. It has two kanji under the handle. Because they are not very clear due to the rust, I made a drawing of what I think I see. Hopefully someone recognizes it. Thanks in advance!