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I have seen showa stamped blades in original iai koshirae. That is what this looks like. I would bet against it having been mounted originally as a gunto. I have read that some Japanese civilians employed by the military during ww2 were issued stamped military swords.

Does that mean machine made practice sword? if so, I'm guessing that's not a good result. :| Ben, having a tang stamp like that just means that something about your sword is not traditional, either the steel or the method used in making it ( oil quenched instead of water quenched ). There is nothing wrong with it unless you were told something different when you purchased it. Many ww2 era swords were handmade but are not considered to be true nihonto and are considered to be showato. ( "Showato" is used by collectors to also refer to non-traditionally made swords of the Showa Era. It also implies a lower grade of blade not usually of interest to Nihonto collectors.) from > http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/showato.htm?200527

Robert, depending on how small your bid was I say you did alright. Original poles are hard to come by and over all it looks like a nice piece. Did the blade come with its cover?

Here is a great picture.

Chuck, I am going to say that something does not seem right with this one, my first impression is that there does not appear to be any wear on it at all, hard to believe that its from the 1800s, second their seems to be some rough areas were there should not be any...I will see what someone else thinks, this is good practice though.

Keith, after swinging that thing around trying to see how it could be used "bashing weapon" just seemed appropriate. It is not delicate at all, sort of like a sledge hammer, and even though it is surprisingly light, because of its length it seems like its made for a over head strike as swinging from the side puts you off balance. As for the name, I have been told that tetsubo originally meant an all iron club, but after swinging this one around I can not imagine one of any size being all iron, it would have been an unwieldly monster. Since I do not know how long the terms kanabo-tetsubo have been around and in use I cant say what their original meaning was, but now most people who use either term mean some kind of long wood bat or club ( sometimes with iron coverings on one or both ends) with iron spikes or knobs partway down one end. Here are a couple of pictures of smaller ones....one is an all iron bar with knobs on one end so I would call it a tetsubo and not a kanabo.

Unlike the Europeans, the Japanese did not seem to make or use a lot of bashing type weapons. I ran into this one recently and it seems to be old but no telling how old. Although the names kanabo and tetsubo may have different meanings they seem to be interchangeable when used to describe these types of weapons now. This one is 4' 9" tall.

Well you did the right thing and asked some questions, now you need to do some research and find out for sure if some ncos came without stamps.

Keith, if you are not seeing something you think should be on a sword, ask the seller a question or for extra pictures of the area and see what response you get.

Henry, thats what we call "ninjerz"

Thats interesting info that a cast steel tsuba could only be a modern piece, so the steel used on a tsuba would have more carbon content than wrought iron but less carbon then sword steel?

Casting has been used by the mirror-makers (kagamishi) who have been producing tsuba too. So that would be bronze? What about cast iron?

If you look at the return policy...We will accept it when the article was damaged or different from a description. Within 7 days after receiving the items. Please email us before returning Shipping and handling fees are NOT refundable. All returns must be in original conditions. Buyers will pay for return shipping charges. Damaged or different from a description....I would not buy from someone who would not offer a return period for ANY reason...If you are not sure if a piece is that great or even authentic having a return period would give you a chance to examine the item up close and to ask someone for a second opinion. Many collectors and dealers do offer you the option to return any item you purchase (at your expense) and that makes it a lot easier to buy something without as much risk.

Ford, maybe side by side comparisons of similar tsuba....a reproduction next to an authentic one would make it easier to visualize your explanations. You mentioned steel...how do you tell steel from plain iron and in authentic tsuba would they always have been steel..with the exception of the leather ones? As for cast tsuba.....was casting ever used to your knowledge in the Edo period for tsuba or is this a strictly modern thing...thanks!

Ford, I have always thought that Ebay is a good learning tool...either for good or bad items....pointing out items that might fool someone and showing people what to watch out for should not be seen a inappropriate. I for one do not know enough about this subject and appreciate being able to learn what to watch out for. What I do not see is any sign of age or wear on these items. Is there anything you are seeing that would be a warning sign for someone?

Stephen, one of the honorable members asked me to do a write-up of this gun so I obliged. Took a bit of time and head-scratching though. Tried to remain factual and neutral. Certainly no intention of making anyone jealous! Glad you enjoyed it though. :lol: Piers, I noticed the box your gun is sitting on, it that what it would have been carried or stored in? I have seen ones like it before but did not know they were possibly tanegashima related. If so can you post a picture of how the gun rests in the box..thanks for the great photos! Great pics, again this is info that would be hard to find. I imagine there would have been a cloth bag used while transporting and for storage?

Stephen, one of the honorable members asked me to do a write-up of this gun so I obliged. Took a bit of time and head-scratching though. Tried to remain factual and neutral. Certainly no intention of making anyone jealous! Glad you enjoyed it though. :lol: Piers, I noticed the box your gun is sitting on, it that what it would have been carried or stored in? I have seen ones like it before but did not know they were possibly tanegashima related. If so can you post a picture of how the gun rests in the box..thanks for the great photos!

Thats a good question..was that all swords, or just certain types? Maybe someone here can answer that.

Keith, this type of sword tuska and saya is made from carved bone and for the most part any blade mounted in these will be just a blank piece of metal shaped like a blade. People collect these for the carvings, some of which can be quite elaborate. I do not know how the seller knows that it is post ww2 and you will see this type being described as being for the tourist trade.

When you see that damascus look in a blade that goes all the way to the cutting edge with no hamon it will always be a non Japanese blade of some type.

One of the most basic problems that I see here all the time....a person with a lot of knowledge is trying to explain some very simple problem to someone with very little knowledge and they get frustrated ..its sort of like Albert Einstein being asked to help someone with their high school math problem. It might help to have a list of people who are not so advanced, that have been helped by more advanced members here in the past. A list of people who would not mind getting a private message about the more simple questions that come up all the time. Another thing is that you can tell someone all you want to just buy some books and put off buying their first sword for possibly years...while thats good advice and it would save everyone a lot of problems thats just not how human nature works..try telling a man to just read books about sex for several years and study the subject and just say no to a one night stand good advice but how many would follow it? If members can help someone avoid buying a complete fake and help them buy at least a real nihonto thats not to expensive then that should be viewed as a success. There is nothing wrong with pointing out the flaws in a persons first purchase (in a nice way) so that they can then learn and do much better on their next purchase......life is all about learning after all. We are an instant gratification society and that has to be taken into account.

The ammunition manufacturers were in heaven!!!! Those were the days.

I have noticed that Nanban-tetsu swords seem to be treated as nihonto, any thoughts?

Keith, its not unusual for the habaki to be damaged or missing as they get stuck on the blade sometimes and people destroy them when they try to remove them, also they an scratch the blade at the same time. Blades are also damaged by sharpening, or by cleaning the entire blade with chemicals, sanding,steel wool, etc, also the value of the sword can be greatly lowered by cleaning the patina from the nakago. There are many things to look for on a blade so close up pictures are mandatory to see the true nature of the blade. You might want to write your post and then go back and add punctuation before posting so you do not lose your train of thought.

Keith, I understand what you are saying and yes the one you posted is a far cry from the completely fake ones, but if you notice, there are no clear close up pictures of the blade which is the sign of someone who is not used to selling swords, ask them if they can post better and more pictures of the blade or if they will send them to you, a honest seller should not have no problem doing that, it will also help to prove that they actually have the sword. Here is a link to a glossary of Japanese sword part terms, if you use the Japanese name for the part you are asking about you will earn forum points!! :D http://members.shaw.ca/nihontonut/glossary.html