Historynut

Thank you for the responses. It is really nice to know something about the blade. Especially since the kids did not get the details on how their grandfather acquired it.

Thank you. I admit I could not compare the characters to listed kanji. I am surprised it is a mid 43 as, from what research I have found, the brass tsuba would have been earlier. Perhaps the materials shortages were not hitting that hard by that time. The hilt is fairly worn, so it likely saw hard use before the end of the war as, other than kids touching it, it was not used once it came to the US. I forgot to include these earlier, but here is the tsuba and hilt.

I found this Gunto at a garage sale and the history is vague. I believe it is a Type 94, but I could be incorrect. No translation software has been able to read the Kanji and most translators return "unknown". The Tsuba is brass and looks to be standard military issue. The temper line is very regular, so I believe it is an arsenal sword and not an older family blade. If more pictures are needed, I can add any requested. Thank you