Bruno

Thank you Jean, According to you they are overevaluated by the sellers? They worth less than prices asked? I will go there soon by curiosity. Regards

Jean, They do have Japanese swords at mont de piété/pawn shop in Paris? Is it what you were saying?

December 1941? Isn't weird for a sword in a mount created in 1943? Well I guess it has been remounted, hasn't it?

I personaly use this website instead of searshing on Ebay. It screens quite well Ebay guenine to junk fake swords.It helps you quite well in avoiding craps. But I am sure most of us know it. http://www.nihontoswords.net/

Yes, Chimata stamp obviously. Gifu stamp is very similar:岐

May we see pics please, if you have some? I only saw one showa Tachi.

I think this one is the Showa stamp different from the one on ours Kanemune. Yes it is better printed.

The Type 3 Shin Gunto was also mounted in wood saya semi gloss uneven coating. http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_062.htm Fred Lohman could probably make this kind of customized saya, but not sure that he has or can make replica of the kuchi gane, ashi, and ishizuke Type3. If possible, it would be the better option with a level 2 polishing. IMHO Regards

Hey Roger, A new wrapping won't cost you too much and if I were you I would not change the tsuka ito. Finding a light brown Type 3 scabbard that fits you sword will probably be the hardest thing to manage. A profesionnal polishing costs around 2000$ and I am not talking about a possible tassel! I do no advise you to customize it. You can possibly remount it in a shirasaya instead of spending money in an hard-to-find saya and new wrapping. I am not sure the sword deserves a pro polishing, but it deserves it if you think it does.

Thank you Steve, George, John and others, This is true, Chimata and Gifu marks are almost the same. The Gifu one seems to have 2 strokes/lines(in the first kanji) shorter than the Chimata.And it appears to me that it is this one(Gifu)we can see on the Roger's picture. However, the mark on the nakago is inside a sakura blossom and as I never seen any Gifu mark before, I do not know if it can be found inside a sakura blossom too. If yes, I think the stamp on the Type 3 nakago is a Gifu stamp. If not, 33%Gifu 33%Chimata 33% unidentified one!!! :D (I still wonder why two different words like Gifu and Chimata are written with so similar kanji, and what does Chimata mean.) Once again thanks everyone for your precious help, I really appreciate it. Regards

The katana looks like a late war pattern army Type 3. Machine made, oil tempered, maybe hand-finished, not a great sword but an authentic military Japanese sword. Yoshichika is one of the numerous Seki Kaji Tosho. Regards

Showa or Chimata stamp....I do not know for sure. According to Fuller and Gregory, the showa stamp appears to have been superseded by production-centre stamps such Seki after 1942(the 2 Kanemune were forged in 1945). Furthermore, every Showa stamps I saw, were a much bigger.

To Roger and Stephen, thanks to you guys! Well, my stamp is completly unreadable(to faint, not as well printed as Roger's one), that is why I asked if someone has a more or less same Kanemune sword with a better stamp that could be the same as mine. As mine like Roger's one is a Type 3 and forged only 2 months after Roger's sword, I beleive it is the same mark. Even with Roger's pic, I am not able to tell which stamp it is. Stephen, you vote for the Showa one?Right? Kind regards

I guess it is on the pic you just posted, it seems that a faint mark is close to the washer, neer the hole. It could be also a defect.

Thank you Roger! But, I beleive that yes,there is the small mark too on your tang. Or maybe I have a bad view.

Kanemune(Fukumoto) used to work at the SEKI NIHON TO RAN JO in Gifu prefecture, he is the legitimate son of Fukumoto HAMAHIDE who was another smith, if that could help you....

Well I am certainly wrong, but the mei looks like my Kanemune one....

Gentlemen, I have this Type 3 sword made by Seki smith FUKUMOTO KANEMUNE, dated Showa 1926 NI JYU NEN SAN GATSU(the 20th year of Showa era, the 3rd month, March 1945), signed KANEMUNE. I have already asked about it in previous topic, and I have noticed that the nakago has a very small and faint stamp/mark that I have never been able to identify. I have now plenty of very interesting books(thank you Stephen! :D ) with relevant infos, but no way to know more about this mark. So, if some of you, friendly people of the NMB, has a KANEMUNE sword with a stamp on it which is not a Seki or Showa one, I would be gratefull if you can post a picture of your nakago. Kind regards

Get rid of your stones before doing something worst with them! :D

Can we see pics of the koshirae and tip of the blade? The signature looks like the typical arrow head style commonly found on machine made swords.

Agreed with you J.W. If you did not pay "too much" for it and if the koshirae is nice looking(if there is a koshirae), it is not that a bad purchase.Yes the crack on the nakago is disturbing, but are we sure it is a fatal deep crack? difficult to tell only with the pics. Sentimental value is as important as pecuniary value for me too. Yes, not a master piece, probably a standard showato with defects I guess many of us have had or still have this kind of sword in their collection.I do! :D

Hi Jock, Thank you. In fact, I 've made a mistake! I meant the ha machi instead of the munemachi. 4mm is good enought anyway. I have been told that the ha machi should measure at least 4/5 mm otherwise the blade could be a bit tired to tired to death, and that sometime nakago have been filed at the hamachi and/or munemachi to make them more important, so the sword younger.Thus, it is more difficult to determine how the sword is tired.

Munemachi and hamachi are close to unexistant anymore, it seems to be a sign of a many times polished blade.It could be hard for a habaki to fit. IMveryHO

Jock, Is the munemachi descent(3-4 mm)? I have been told by skilled man that it is one of the good good way to see if the sword is tired or not. May we have a pic of it please? Regards

Yes Stephen, you are one of the pillar of the forum. I will be very disapointed if you would decide to leave. You are a very helpfull person, with a nice sense of humor. Sometime direct but always against contemptuous people. Please stay!