Conway S

@IanS I haven't seen fake copper NCOs that correctly replicated the early style saya as seen here. This one looks good from the photos. I would say it's legit. Note it was taken apart at some point and put together incorrectly because both seppa are in the front of the tsuba. Conway

I saw this Kobe with serial number 37,730. The fuchi is stamped with the “一” stamp. I am wondering if others have seen the Ichi stamp mixed in on the initial run of Kobe swords. It was my understanding the "K" is found on the swords in the 37K-39K range. Or is it more likely the fuchi was swapped out at some point and this example is just a coincidence? WWII IMPERIAL Japanese SHIN GUNTO KATANA SWORD Conway

Dan, The first one is fake. You would think an auction house like this one that sells a lot of Japanese swords would know better. The second one is real, but the fuchi markings are very poor. This one actually sold on eBay a few months back. And now that I think about it the first one was also listed by the same seller. Conway

Hi Chris, Does the bayonet have the leather frog (belt hangar)? The frog attached to this sword is for an Arisaka bayonet so you could easily remove it and put it on the bayonet. The frogs for the artillery swords are quite hard to find. Conway

Not an expert on the blade with the double bohi, but it looks like a nice package. Russian Japanese War Sword Famous Samurai Oda Clan Conway

This is a great reference. If you go to the download tab of this site there is also a Part 2. But this article mentions the Kamakura stamp and Tenshozan workshop. Conway

Michael, It is signed 天照山 鍛錬場 作 -Tenshozan tanrenjo saku. Made at the Tenshozan forge. Lots of references on here. You're right about the year (December). Looks like a nice one. Congratulations on the purchase. It has an Army tassel attached to it. Conway

Nick, Looks like two Tsuzumi drums: 違イ皷. Conway

Thank you, Piers. The smith has been discussed a few times on here. Looks like you were correct. Conway

Greetings, I am set up at a military show today and another dealer has a type 98. Any assistance with the translation would be appreciated. Is the first character Taka or am I way off? If the picture is too blurry I will try to upload a better version. First time using phone to upload. Thanks. Conway

Saw this one on eBay. Hiromitsu 1944 with a Gifu stamp on the mune and on the nakago above the mei + a Seki stamp above the date. @Bruce Pennington Conway Japanese Late WW2 Sword with Many Kanji

@Jager are you aware this sword was posted on the forum for sale recently? I think I also saw it on eBay in the past. Conway

As Chris said, don't do it yourself. You can make it more difficult for a trained professional to polish it properly in the future. There are plenty of threads on the NMB explaining why this is not a good idea. Just oil with choji oil or camellia oil. There are also discussions on the types of oils that should be used to preserve the blade and prevent rusting. Conway

Thanks for the replies. I thought gold/brass colored paint would be an odd choice for post-war repaint, unless that is the color of a Rustoleum product I am unfamiliar with... I have seen this hue more than once so I felt inclined to ask. Conway

@B Harbin Note on the fuchi, the center stamp is 名 for Nagoya Arsenal (to the left of the cannon balls stamp) The blade stamp following the serial number, however, is 東 for Tokyo. They should match and the Nagoya inspection stamp and serial are read blade up (upside down). So the blade and handle are not original to each other at least from the production standpoint. Conway

Greetings, I have seen a few examples of the iron tsuba variation 2A and variation 3 (As Dawson terms them) with what appears to be a gold/brass hue to the same paint. I have read the various threads on here that reference almite, and if I read those correctly the later production swords do not have this coating below the paint. Here is one such example where this color really shows. From some pictures it looks like this gold paint is in spots where the brown has worn off. I am trying to determine if this coloration is period patina or indicative of a later repaint. I also included the link to the site where it sold. I would appreciate any input. Thanks. Conway WWII Japanese Army NCO Type 95

The serial number should also be between the bohi (blade fuller) and mune (spine) of the blade. The tsuka (handle) is poorly cast with very little detail and there is no habaki (blade collar). Conway

Hello Everyone, I am curious if the brass tsuba is correct for the Kobe series of Type 95s. The examples I have seen on the forum and in Dawson's Cyclopedia have the the black iron tsuba. Thanks in advance. Conway

When I saw first saw those markings I thought the horizontal line was a 一 as in 1. Interesting that there is a line above the 4 in the example posted by @PNSSHOGUN. Here is a different example of a 2/二 combination. Anyone have thoughts on why the redundancy was used? Is it possible some workers could not read the Arabic numerals? Conway

I saw this one on eBay last week. There are no straight-on photos of the sarute, just the side profile. The mei looks like Kanesada 兼定, but I could be wrong. I initially saw the one Bruce posted then popped over to this thread for more information. Then I found this one later in the day. Conway WW2 Japanese Army officers sword signed blade measures Approx 27 inches

@Bruce Pennington pictures of this one are on Page 13 of this thread. To summarize, 65 in Arabic numerals inside saya throat フ六五 = FU-65. on the tsuka, 六五 on signed side of nakago with old numbers underneath Filed over large anchor stamp on the signed side of nakago 伊 followed by two unreadable characters on the unsigned side Stamped 65 on unsigned side of nakago I have the sword. Let me know if you need any more pictures or clarification. Conway

@Kiipu I am no expert. It just clicked in my head after you brought up the フ that 伊 was maybe a kana symbol. Originally when I saw it on the Takayama-to #65 I was thinking there was some relationship to the Inaba forge. Interesting for sure the combination of numbers and different formats (Roman Numerals on habaki, Arabic/Chinese numerals on fittings) the Japanese used. There are more characters below the 伊 but unfortunately the heat marks from shortening the jiri damaged them. Probably not correct, but looks like 伊五六. Conway

Thanks for pointing that out @Kiipu. Could 伊 also be used as a prefix for an assembly range? The character is found on the unsigned side of the nakago. Also just noticed #65 Masahiro was possibly 四九 first. Conway