Conway S

Not aware of any clubs, but there is a great show in Chicago each April. http://www.chicagoswordshow.com Have you been to the military collectibles shows in Novi, Livonia, or Toledo? There are usually Japanese swords there. Conway

Mike, I believe it’s signed Amachi Masatsune. No date here. The paint can reference a production sequence or can be used to help keep the blade and its fittings itemized during assembly. Conway

Brandon, Can you also post additional pictures of the saya and tsuka? If you search “island sword” on this forum you will see similar types of swords. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if these are modern fakes or WW2 period. Conway

It’s also missing one seppa (spacer). You should have two seppa. Conway

@ribendao If memory serves me, I saw one on eBay recently that sold with buy it now of $295. I have seen a few others, but not sure what they sold for. The seller formerly known as "smallsword" occasionally has them for sale on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/str/jewerlycoin If you care to go for originality, remember there are subtle differences between the Nagoya Arsenal and Tokyo First scabbards. Conway

Came across this listing from an often discussed dealer on the forum and thought to myself that it looked familiar. Just realized it was recently sold by another dealer on eBay and then the saya was repainted by the current seller. The seller also appears to have tried to clear up some of the corrosion on the blade too. No wonder why I see so many NCO swords "sold" and then re-listed by this seller. Maybe once the buyers have them in-hand, they realize something doesn't look right. Suffice to say this early NCO would have been best left alone even with the black painted saya. Original Listing: RARE WW2 Japanese NCO OFFICERS SWORD matching numbers on blade & SCABBARD Current Listing: Japanese Army NCO sword in type 95 mountings, matching number Conway

Kevin, That gold accenting is common. Looks original to me. I was wondering if your fittings were brass and painted brown or made from copper like the one posted below. It looks like the sakura on your kabutogane are copper accented. The lacquered saya is very good condition. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/48660-what-about-this-94-sword-set？/

Kevin, Are the fittings on the saya copper or painted?

I came to post about something @Bruce Pennington mentioned in the thread on tachi vs. katana mei only to find he's brought the thread over here too! I came across the following Type 19 cavalry parade sword and the maker's mark of "T" in sakura made me wonder about the practice of logo within sakura. Perhaps it's been mentioned before, but does anyone know the significance of the sakura? Could it signify "approval" or "appointment" as a contractor? I'm thinking in terms of stamps like the Ichi and Kobe on Type 95s and the one below. Conway

Here is another example of a mon on the fuchi. This time located on the opposite side of the chuso release. This zohei-to also has a pinned kabutogane and the thicker pierced tsuba. WW2 Japanese ARMY OFFICERS SWORD & SCABBARD MATCHING NUMBERED MOUNTS & MON

Alex, That's a Type 8 precursor to the Type 19. Note the absence of open-work metal design on the guard. This type of sword is fairly uncommon compared to the Type 19 which saw use through WW2. Normally if this was a mounted nihonto, there would be an ana for the mekugi. It looks like the tang of this sword is threaded into the back on the handle. A picture of the back end of the handle would help in determining if this is an older blade or not. If it's screwed on, would not recommend trying to remove it. Conway

There were 2 swords in this auction with field grade tassels and one with a general's tassel. This one sold for $1500 before buyer's premium of 28%. Unless they had better pictures on their auction house website, the pictures of the blades were pretty unhelpful. Nonetheless an interesting piece and I also like the yasurime. Conway

Greetings, I know this thread has not been active for a while, but I came across some documents for sale that may be of interest to some members here. A few of the documents reference the Imperial Household and Yasukuni Shrine. See below. It's regrettable that the US made a specific effort to remove swords from museums in order to destroy them or send them to the US. WW2 US Officer Occupation Japanese Imperial Household Museums Access Swords Tech Conway

@Bruce Pennington This sword reminded me of your post linked below. This one is pretty late for type 98 mounts. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/27137-very-unusual-konan-essei-mantetsu Conway

I don’t remember seeing this particular sword, but I may have missed it since they rotated their display a few times.

Greetings, Saw this is an upcoming auction. Has anyone seen a 1945 sword like this? Japanese WORLD WAR II SHIN GUNTO KATANA WITH PATRIOTIC "TETSU DAMASHI" (IRON SPIRIT) INSCRIPTION Conway

Looks like Yoshichika 吉近 Conway

It looks like you’re trying to sell it on eBay too! https://www.ebay.com/itm/386982802969 Conway

Lance, I would say “worthless” is a bit of an exaggeration even in its current condition. If you live near Orlando, there is a Japanese sword show in June. There may be a few people there who have the specialized skills to wrap the tsuka. Conway

For future reference posted more photos here:

@PNSSHOGUN Here are some pictures of the kai gunto I posted in the translation section. As you can see it's signed: Tenshozan Fujiwara Akimitsu made this from stainless steel and it's dated a lucky day in November 1938. Minus some patination on the fittings, everything on the sword is in great condition. Conway

I think Brian is correct. As a collector of British swords, I have been confused to find references to old unit names after the unit amalgamated with another. As a matter of heraldry, I think battalions wanted to maintain ties to their original regiments. I think @Dave R also collects British swords and may have some additional insight. Conway

Peter, Here is a useful link for these types of zodiacal dates. http://www.japaneses...com/kanji/zodiac.htm Conway

Thank you both for your assistance! I greatly appreciate it. Conway