Conway S

Tony, You have the characters correct. The smith is Takeyasu. I take it no translation is needed for 作. The blade is made from anti-rust steel which accounts for the bright appearance of the nakago. It is in late-war kai gunto fittings. It is 100% genuine. You may have noticed the numbers on the nakago match the numbers on the tsuba, seppa and probably the fuchi and tsuka as well. Conway

25+

Hi Maurice, I wouldn't recommend disassembling parade swords. They are not meant to be taken apart and there is nothing to learn from looking at the "tang" of these plated blades. Sometimes they won't go back together as nicely and the components may be loose. Here is the link to Dawson's book - sold by the author on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/126589207911 Conway

I was literally typing the reply when I say you posted... Conway

Sherif, The other is a lightweight parade sword in shin gunto mounts. See the below reference. I also have one that looks very similar to this example. Very cool! @Shamsy@Bruce Pennington Conway https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22122-paradelight-weight-gunto/#comment-225012

Michael, I think it’s Tadamitsu, 忠光, but not 100% sure on first character. Looks like a name on the mon. I’m drooling a bit…. Conway

Vern, The III III tick marks on the nakago are Roman Numerals. Is the German soldier painted or a print? Looks cool. Conway

Do the seppa and tsuba have any markings on them? The nakago has tick marks near the mune. Just curious if those correlate to any markings on the fittings. Conway

The smith is Kanekado 兼門. Dated June 1943. The stamp looks like the Nagoya “Na” 名. Conway

Bruce, Here is another example of the STAR A on late war kai gunto fittings.

Looks like a Kokura Arsenal zohei-to. Very nice condition! Conway

There's a thread for mon identification here:

Paul, The handle is aluminum on this one. @Kiipu I believe Suya in this range should have the brass pierced tsuba. Perhaps the whole sword was reworked in addition to swapping the saya. Conway

PM Sent.

Michael, It’s a Nationalist Chinese sword. I don’t have Jan Culbertson’s book handy to post the specific page at the moment. Conway

@PNSSHOGUN Mon on kabutogane.

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