Bridges

Title says it all. Do y’all think it’s worth restoring? My father in law is a carpenter so I can fix the handle and strip the paint off the scabbard. Blade appears to be, well, alright. The crappy paint probably preserved the scabbard. I’m willing to bid on it, I foresee this sword selling for 120. Is it worth it?

@Grey DoffinI just sent you a message threw your site regarding the book.

@Briani totally agree, upon further inspection of the type 98, the end piece on the scabbard as well as the tsuba do not match other type 98 informality mounted blades. I asked for more pictures but it’s not looking good.

@Brian Here’s the link to the seller. https://simpsonltd.com/Japanese-sword-m3554/ I misspoke, the seller did not label it as a WWII blade rather they placed this sword in the militaria section (with the other WWI/WWII blades) and did NOT label it as a reproduction as they do other reproductions they have. They put in the description the sword is “possibly Chinese made” but with their reputation and customer base I find this very misleading. I’ll also link what I believe to be a type 94 I was interested in buying but am now seriously reviewing. https://simpsonltd.com/Japanese-wwii-Japanese-sword-w-leather-scabbard-c49851/

@Brian I’m appalled honestly. They have a sword I was considering buying but now I’m seriously reviewing it. I’ve purchased from this site before and this is unlike them.

Hello all, I’ve been immersing myself in NCO swords made during the war and I stumbled upon a reputable website that had a interesting piece with some red flags…first off the handle has a traditional silk tsuka with ray skin instead of the metal variations that were made aluminum copper etc or the wood ones made much later in the war. Further more, there is a DRAGON yes a DRAGON engraved into the side of the blade. This threw me for a loop. Blade is machine made as well. Please chime in as this piece is being advertised as a Japanese piece from WWII and this is not a website that piddles fake trash.

Good evening all, I’ve posted a few times and somehow managed to miss this thread! I’m new to collecting Japanese nihintos and as of now, I’m sticking to military blades made in 20th century Japan. So although several of these blades aren’t technically traditional nihontos, I love the history! Looking forward to being able to learn from everyone here and get opinions on blades! I’m located in SC/NC so if anyone knows of good sword shops to frequent let me know!

Thanks for the input @Bruce Pennington, right now my goals are 20th century Japanese bladed militaria. Which this one barely squeezes in! DTM agreed with your opinion as well. I’ve ordered vintage Seppas and I think I will change the seppas and mekugi out so the sword can at least be tight in the scabbard. I think I’ll keep it as I currently cannot find a Russo-Japanese type less than a grand and this one was purchased by me for $335!

@DTM72i have the Richard fuller Ron Gregory book headed to me now and want dawsons but that book is very expensive lol I’ll definitely buy the seppas I’m just concerned about the replica Sakura. I’m wondering if I remove whatever was filled into that hole if it will damage the handle. Believe it or now, feels like leather filling in the hole.

@DTM72wow thanks Dan! I really appreciate this. I will look into getting a brass seppa to fix the issue! Lastly, do you have any points of information for me to refer to? You’re clearly informed on the matter and I would like to make myself that way for future purposes. Side note, I spent 335 on the sword, I talked him down so you gave me some reassurance on that as well

@Brian I posted a way more complex post in nihonto section regarding the sword. Do you think the blade is machine made or traditional? I may display it as a Koshirae, that’s a great idea.

@PNSSHOGUN Gilles, Bruce and DTm all believed it to be legit so for the price I got it at. It was worth a gamble

hello all, I had recently posted the sword in the military swords forum for identification and I decided to buy it but when it arrived let’s just say I was a little disappointed. Upon removing the blade from the packaging, I noticed the hilt was loose on the blade. The mekugi for sticking out one side of the blade and appear to be fractured. I took these pictures before removing it a but a few things seemed off. The first things being the fittings had notches for where the scabbard locks up with the handle. However, that mechanism on NCO swords is not present on this one. So two of the fittings seem to not match the sword. As I removed the handle, I could not tell if the handle is bone or plastic but I believe it to be plastic. Is this common for early swords in the 1900s? The hilt appears to be brass and there is no signature on the nakago but a cross like marking. At the end of the nakago is not uniform, a piece of square steel is jutting out. It almost seems intentional? The nakago has three holes but there is only one mekugi going through the hole closest to the blade. Apparently where the chrysanthemum is where the second mekugi would be appears to be filled in on one side by some type of metal. There are filing marks that appear to be present when I remove the handle on the Nakago closest to the end of the blade. I will post these pictures in IMGUR due to their being 30 pictures and I am unable to post that many in here. The scabbard appears to be pretty heavy and has some minimal pitting on the surface. But touching back on the fittings the fittings consist of two brass and one leather fitting. On top of the hilt between the Habaki and hilt resides the leather fitting with the cut out for the locking mechanism and a normal brass one underneath. Underneath the hilt is where the final brass fitting is which separates the handle from the brass hilt. I ordered a resource that is still in the mail and enroute to me but until then I’m kind of in the dark. Although a lot of the stuff does not add up, if this is a fake then it is extremely poorly done. It may not be fake but I am still a beginner and am pretty reliant. I heard the cross looking mark is the sign of blades cut down but I’m not sure. I want to give this sword a chance but I’d appreciate some feedback as there is VERY little information on Russo-Japanese kyu gunto swords online. https://imgur.com/a/BB5bQQM

Not sure if I should post back in here or make a new thread but here it is. I’m bummed there is no signature but I’m seeing some red flags. I’ve had to load pics in IMGUR due to there being 30. https://imgur.com/a/BB5bQQM note the “tail” on the end of the nakago and the cross looking spot on the nakago. There is a spot for the retaining spring in the scabbard, on fittings but no spot for it on the handle nor the hilt (there is no retaining spring at all). I’m not sure what the handle is made of, either plastic or bone but maybe plastic. The hole mentioned by another user that stated it had a screw in mekugi has been filled in on the handle. The mekugi it came with is severely bent, I’ll post pic on thread.

I’m loving this kyo Gunto command saber. I compared the guard to a legit one and it is identical but the blade is throwing me off 🤔 There is no fake acid etching and the blade itself looks janky

That’s what I was wondering as my Arisaka has a missing mum. I’ll probably go with fullers book for now until I can save up for Dawson. Dawsons costs several hundred more than Fullers. Thanks!

Wow thanks Dan! I’ll definitely do my due diligence and see if I can get better pictures. I will definitely post them if I buy it!

Wow, that book costs more than I plan spending on the sword 😅

Hey Panet, I actually was just considering buying the book military swords of Japan by Jim Fuller but I’m new to this so I’m trying to find the right resource to start with and I think Jim Fullers book is mainly illustrations

Hey fellow enthusiasts, correct me if I’m wrong but the Navy Russo-Japanese sabers have a straight handle and the Army have the “Kyo Gunto” style parade handle with Chrysanthemum. Why is it this sword has no chrysanthemum? Is it similar to scrubbing the mums off arisakas in the field or is this a poor fake? I’m contemplating dropping 500 on it so if I can avert a half grand disaster please let me know! Pictures attached or in comments.

I offered 300 and he bit . I’ll post pics next week!

You think it’s worth 400?

I had it translated and apparently it has to do with the rejection of the Emperors surrender and it was an encouragement to keep fighting on behalf of a general at the Atsugi air base. Essentially a coup pamphlet which is honestly more interesting than the sword lol

That’s what I’m thinking going off the hilt scroll work alone…guy wants 400 for it but the end nut looks like joe bob forced a hex nut on the hilt on the back of his Chevy…

This is the listing, you’ll quickly see why I was interested in discovering the legitimacy https://www.ebay.com/itm/304718528387?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ptgbxlycsxk&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=5b5Igx0HQ7e&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY