John C

Mike: My Kanemoto mei is very similar to the one you are looking at. I've also included a pic of his typical hamon. I think the jury is still out re: oil vs water quenched. Mine looks mostly water quenched but one could argue oil quenched. I suspect he would be considered average for WWII smiths. John C.

Winning bid was 3,001 dollars. John C.

The stereograph pic is a street-side sword salesman during the Edo period. Just another possiblity for the disposition of collected swords. The pic is from a book called Photography in Japan found here (I apologize if this has been shared before): https://archive.org/details/photography-in-Japan-1853-1912-by-terry-bennett-z-lib.org The book has many pics of samurai who wanted a record of their kit prior to the Meiji restoration and ban on samurai/sword carrying. John C.

Emil: I have virtually the same sword but with even more difficult markings. At first glance, they looked like a punch and scratches. But on closer examination, they are triangular shaped (e.g., like a chisel) and appear to be the numbers 023. I suspect the assembly number would match numbers occasionally found on the wood scabbard insert. John C.

Thanks for the replies. 1,700 is already beyond my reach but wanted to share in case others are interested. Was wondering why someone would donate it to Goodwill if it has been recorded (i.e., discovered in the wild already). John C.

Not sure about this one. Looks good at a glance, however the details seem off (stamps are rough; chromed blade?, posibly repainted?). Already at 1,700. https://shopgoodwill.com/item/236264839 John C.

Steve: The left column should be the manufacturer (sorry, don't know the name), the middle column is the date (looks like Showa 17 [1943]), and the right column I believe is the size chu meaning medium. John C.

Thanks, Bruce. 16092 is now logged under Leo Munson. BTW, second to the oldest on file. Still seems likely only 17,000 were produced. John C.

4604 is now logged in - thank you, Conway! BTW 4604 helps to narrow down when they stopped stamping the serial number side - somewhere around 4500 would be my guess at this point. Thanks to everyone's input, I'm also getting a handle on which stamps were used and when. I've translated a couple and still working on the rest. Also, other swords from this era (including an artillery sword) have some of the same inspection marks. John C.

@BANGBANGSAN @Conway S Apologies for the late replies. Thank you both very much. Here is the latest serial number tally. I believe this may represent the most published serial numbers for the Meiji 1892 (38 as 5-12-25). 325, 487, 575, 1539, 1996, 2379, 2522, 2930, 3397, 3587, 4077, 4429, 5578, 5988, 6251, 6784, 8170, 8572, 8782, 9090, 9536, 9777, 10123, 10781, 11393, 11448, 11871, 13121, 13197, 14013, 14323, 14408, 15383, 15773, 16019, 16065, 16416, Unk serial number sold on Worthpoint. John C.

You're right. I meant to say chrome but it could be silver coated. John C.

A quick question...were there carved wood kozuka in the Edo period or are they modern tourist pieces? I've seen listings on Christie's for them, but have never been sure. Thank you for reading, John C.

The red and brown tassel is a field grade tassel (Major or Colonel); the brown and blue is a company grade (WO, captain, lieutenant). General tassels would have yellow fringe. Also, I'm not sure about the tsuba and seppa. The tsuba nakago ana does not seem the right shape and the seppa seem too shiny (aluminum perhaps?). I would wait for the opinion of others before making any final conclusions about it. John C.

Tristan: From those pics it seems legit, however the tassels are different in some of the tsuka pics. John C.

Dion: It appears the blade has been coated with cosmoline. You could remove some, possibly under the habaki, with denatured alcohol or acetone (nail polish remover). It may take some rubbing, however if it comes off you might be able to see if there is any hamon. John C.

Ouch...

The first pic is the date Showa 20 (1945), 1st month. John C.

Showa 59 = 1984. He would be a modern smith. Do you know his background at all? John C.

I think that may be the same person I emailed a few weeks ago. They refused to change the listing. John C.

Ron: In Downloads, there is an article by Bruce Pennington called The Mysterious Naval Landing Forces Sword, which goes into great detail about these souvenir swords and their origins. John C.

I thought about other materials, however I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. Cutting a piece of PVC and using it as a clamp would have worked as well, however I wanted the materials to be natural. Even the cord is hemp cord. The pole actually tapers the entire length so a rigid metal tube would have required more shimming etc. to fit. At some point, I will do a permanent fix by using double headed screws, glue, a filler piece (to account for the taper), and matching lacquer. But for now, it displays fine. John C.

This will hopefully be of interest to some folks. As some of you know, yari poles often come cut here in the US, due primarily to shipping costs and storage issues (see pic 1). I wanted to display the pole as a single piece, however not by doing a permanent, blended repair (may come later). I also didn't want the fix to look completely out of place (e.g., clamps, duct tape, etc.). I decided on a quick collar that resembled a kaburamaki to somewhat blend in with what would normally be on a pole (I know - its position is too low but that's where the cut was). See pics 2 and 3. This attaches without glue or fasteners so the pole can be disassembled for storage or shipping. Here was the process for those interested in doing a similar fix: 1. get a pole of larger diameter. In my case, a wooden curtain rod worked. 2. cut to length and drill out the center. I used a 1 inch forstner bit. 3. Sand to a barrel shape to represent the kaburamaki 4.Wrap with cord. In this case, I used yellow hemp cord that I dyed black. 5. Slip over the ends without glue or fasteners. It will hold for display and allow the pole to be quickly taken apart and shipped/stored. John C.

Mal: In reference to the OP and the anchor stamp/kakihan, have you seen anything like that before with military smiths? I know you have a reference to Teruhide in Naval Part 2, page 68, making kanna blades, however I was wondering how prevalent it was among other smiths making items other than swords. John C.

If anyone is interested (beyond my price range). https://www.ebay.com/itm/316468073826? John C.

Jose: The black mark on the tang is the number 8 (hachi); an "assembly" number. The fittings look like the type carried by Gunzoku, civilians working for the military. Are there any marks above the signature closer to the habaki? John C.