DaveM4P99

OK I am going to have a few more of these type of posts coming up in the next few days / weeks / months...I belong to a HUGE website called ar15.com and there are a LOT of WWII collectors on it...many of whom have fathers and grandfathers who passed down swords...So more to come...

I am also thinking the hamon looks a little too "crisp." The hamon is a little too defined and neat, no? Could this be a sign of acid etching of some kind?

Hi everyone. A friend sent me photos of a blade he bought a while ago from auction... Not sure, since I am no expert...but looking at the photos, the shape of the nakago looks way off (mishapen in some parts), there is no mei, the nakago looks as though it was cleaned at some point, since there are no file marks...The hamon looks decent, as does the shape of the blade...There is also a serial number on the habaki...not sure what that means. Weren't gunto swords serialized on the blade itself? Thinking fake...

Thanks all...I appreciate the comments. I think it turned out really great, and I am sure it will be in my family for a long time. Now I want to purchase this blade...made by my sword's swordsmith's younger brother, Tegarayama Masashige: http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/wakizashi/12239.html I fear my blade is not the last or only blade I will own... :D And I thought collecting guns was an expensive hobby...

Thanks everyone. I really do think David Hofhine and David McDonald did a great job. It will definitely be treasured. So other than a light coat of oil every month or two...how often should I remove the tsuka and habaki to oil those parts?

Well, the polisher helped to clean away any active rust, while preserving what was left of the mei and the file marks...so it won't be deteriorating any further. It still has a lot of permanent raised pits, as seen in the photo, so I am afraid nothing more can really be done. Trying to remove the raised pits would likely damage the nakago, no? And thanks everyone for the kind words. This blade will definitely remain in my family for a long time. :D

Oh I was referring to David McDonald who rebuilt the tsuka and built the saya. Polisher was David Hofhine...who also did an excellent job.

Some of you may remember me posting photos of an old, rusted Japanese sword… The sword was given to my grandfather by his best friend, Lt. Col. Eugene Melaville, a division surgeon in the Pacific. Below is a scan of his bronze star paperwork for setting up a forward operating hospital on Peleliu Island: My grandfather always told me that the sword and pistol were captured when Col. Melaville’s division sank a Japanese warship, and Col. Melaville’s HOSPITAL ship pulled the Japanese captain from the water…who then surrendered his sword and sidearm to Col. Melaville. Some of this didn’t make sense to some of the Japanese sword connoisseurs when I posted pictures of the sword online…since the saya (scabbard) and the tsuka (handle) were all Japanese ARMY fittings, not Navy fittings. So I started to do some online research on Lt. Col. Eugene F. Melaville, and found some archived war diaries in the US Army’s Office of Medical History that reference his name - http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs ... pter13.htm The diary was written by a colleague of Col. Melaville’s, Ashley W. Oughterson, M.D…the title of his war diary was “From Auckland to Tokyo.” Pretty interesting read believe it or not, when you take it all into historical context. (In 1945, Colonel Oughterson was actually named chairman of the AFPAC group that was to participate in the Joint Commission for the Investigation of the Effects of the Atomic Bomb in Japan). The mention of my grandfather's friend, Col. Melaville, came on August 7th 1945, during the story of the capture of the disguised Japanese hospital ship Tachibana Maru – Quite a famous story, or at least it would have been, if the dropping of the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima didn’t happen the day BEFORE. The Tachibana Maru was disguised to look like a hospital ship, but was actually carrying thousands of troops, weapons and munitions for a last ditch Japanese effort. The diary excerpt reads as follows: A really cool article in Leatherneck Magazine about the capture of the Tachibana Maru…one of the photos even shows a soldier holding a sword that looks just like mine - http://www.leatherneckmagazine-digital. ... &u1=friend And here is a youtube video of the actual capture of the Tachibana Maru…Fast forward to the 10:30 mark and you will see some lucky GI carrying like 5 swords… So anyway, it sounded like the story was a little mixed up…it was actually a Japanese “hospital” ship that the sword was captured from…and when Col. Melaville and Col. Oughterson were flown in, they were the ranking officers in charge, since the “hospital” ship needed to be inspected by the division surgeons first and foremost. (even though it sounds like soldiers looted the hell out of the ship anyway). Being the ranking doctors in charge of the ship’s capture, and being the ones who dealt with the 97 interned Japanese officers, it sounds like Col. Melaville had the sword “surrendered to him” by the highest ranking Japanese Army officer. So this explains the Army mounts and fittings found on the blade…since all of the soldiers on board were Army, not Navy. Mei: Before photos: After polish pics: And photos of the hada: Here is the blade with my 1943 Standard Products M1 Carbine: So after the blade was polished, I decided to get the blade mounted by David McDonald. I think he did a great job.

I may have to go to this... When the blades come up for auction, I will have to post photos here as quicly as possible to get an expert opinion.

Lots of sword pics, and other interesting weapon stuff...

Great ideas Matt! Yes you are correct regarding the original WWII saya...here is a pic... Lots of tough decisions to make here... I will continue to research and speak with restorers and craftsmen...and post pics once I finally get it done! Any more comments welcome! -Dave

Great thanks! I will look into them as well, Robert. One last question for now... So I definitely want to have a Tsuka built using my shin-gunto fittings... But what should I do regarding a new Saya? Would it be proper to get a standard black lacquered saya with a shin-gunto tsuka/tsuba? What about the little saya button release? Would that still work? Or would it not be used? I guess I simply want to mount my blade using the WWII fittings that I have, but I also want a NICE new Saya made... What does everyone think?? Thanks for any help!

Thanks Grey! Point taken...I won't persue finding traditional koshirae and getting it mounted like that... I will get a shira-saya, and have the tsuka rebuilt using my Shin-gunto mounts. I am emailing with David McDonald, as well as Moses Becerra... Seems like Moses Becerra charges $650-$750 for shira-sayas...He says that his "aren't cheaply made shira-sayas." Does that make sense? Or does that sound high or unnecessary?

Great thanks Matt! I look forward to hearing back from others here as well! -Dave

OK great thanks for the info Matt. I will get in touch with David soon! Who can you recommend to build a shirasaya, if he does not?

Thanks Matt! Does David also do Shira-saya? If I can find someone to build a shirasaya, AND rebuild the tsuka, that would be best...but I know it's not always good to use someone who "does it all." But I think a shira-saya needs to be my first step, no? I was thinking Mr. Becerra of Nihonto Antiques for both jobs...any thoughts? -Dave

Hi All. I am looking to find someone who can build a shirasaya for my 1780s wakizashi, as well as completely rebuild my tsuka in WWII shin-gunto style, using my WWII shin-gunto fittings. I would also be open to ideas as to other ways to restore/mount the blade. I may be interested in possibly getting the blade remounted completely using traditional koshirae too...and getting a custom saya made. I may be interested in doing BOTH...getting it remounted in WWII style, as well as getting it mounted in traditional koshirae/saya. Any ideas? Anyone you can recommend? What would YOU do? Thanks! -Dave -Dave

Glad you posted over here! I am sure some of the experts here will be able to tell you more info on the sword... So Moritsugu? Can anyone tell him what Moritsugu it may be? What period? Does the mei look real? I am sure whole pics of the blade, as many as you can get, would be good too. And remember - the tang area is supposed to be that dark brown color. DO NOT REMOVE ANY RUST FROM THAT AREA - OR ANY AREA - ON THE BLADE! The guys here will be able to suggest whether or not the blade is worth the cost of a professional polish or not.

Cool thanks guys...Just cruising some online auction sites, and saw this...I figured the shape looked good, but when I zoomed in on the blade, it was a mess! The damascus grains look really deep and fake...not Japanese at all. The saya and tsuba are quite tacky looking as well! Fun...first time I have spotted a fake! Not like it was very hard though. haha

I am just learning...but that Hada looks...strange...no?

A captured flag in the Battle of Okinawa museum in Okinawa...Any ideas what the markings say? They had a few really nice looking swords there too...who knows if they have been properly appraised though...

So I visited Tokyo and Okinawa, and did the Battles of Okinawa tour...which ended at one of the American military bases, which has a HUGE private collection of WWII weapons from both sides...took a ton of pics...but figured I would post a couple of the captured swords...The curator really had no ideas as to the value or origination of the swords...one of them could be a nice blade... Any gems that can be seen?? Any translation experts??