FletchSan Posted October 12, 2015 Report Posted October 12, 2015 Hi All, I have a Kai Gunto that I have some questions about. I have done some research and determined that it is by Kaneuji a Seki smith and it also has his hot stamp and a Seki stamp, so I assume not traditionally made. The fittings are curios though as it almost appears as though it's a Shin Gunto in a Kai Gunto saya ... though it doesnt match the Shin Gunto I have. The blade is magnetic so I guess not stainless steel either.. In particular - the following fittings don't seem to fit Kai Gunto. 1. The Fuchi with the dots 2. The Kabuto-gane is more like Shin Gunto though a more gold colour than normal 3. The Same is white instead of black 4. The Menuki doesn't look military 5. The seppa are a silver colour vs brass Welcome any other comments you have - overall I like the blade though interested in why its not standard. cheers, Ben Quote
Kai-Gunto Posted October 12, 2015 Report Posted October 12, 2015 The same and ito-maki looks new. I think its post-war mounted. Quote
SwordGuyJoe Posted October 12, 2015 Report Posted October 12, 2015 Looks like a hodgepodge of fittings to me. Part Kai gunto (tsuba, Seppa, and saya), part shin gunto (tsuka and kashira) with a rogue fuchi that doesn't match either. Quote
FletchSan Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Posted October 12, 2015 Thanks - I think you may be right. Now what to do - keep it as is and assume its part of its history or try to turn it into either a Kai Gunto or Shin Gunto Quote
FletchSan Posted October 13, 2015 Author Report Posted October 13, 2015 But I like this blade compared to my other Shin Gunto I might hunt down a Kai-Gunto Tsuka for it.. Anyway, I did some googling last night on Kaneuji & Kai Guntos and came across this which I'm convinced is the same sword sold before it was "restored" as the damage on the saya lines up perfectly! http://armsandantiques.com/fine-wwii-Japanese-kaneuji-gendai-naval-gunto-katana-sword-j212 Interesting thing is that although clearly the Tsuka has new wrapping, the Fuchi & Kabuto-gane are the same and the saya does fit the sword perfectly.. any chance these are original to the sword or were they all standard and would almost be out of uniform for them to be different? I also noticed that the Tsuka is considerably shorter than the Tsuka on my Shin Gunto - was it also common for there to be different sized Tsukas depending on the maker? cheers, Ben Quote
truelotus Posted October 13, 2015 Report Posted October 13, 2015 I disagree with the rogue fuchi. I have similar shin gunto with dotted fuchi instead of the normal cherry blossom fuchi. and it was original to the koshirae. I got 3 specimens of gunto tsuka, one is high end - definitely custom made with oyatsubu in the same - came along with a nice koto blade, the other is koa isshin mantetsu sword with standard text-book quality tsuka, and the last one is mumei koto blade in lower quality koshirae, equipped with this dotted fuchi my best guess, seeing the kokuin on the nakago is this was a shin gunto, mix-matched with kaigunto tsuba and saya ... and err ... with kaigunto tassel Quote
FletchSan Posted October 23, 2015 Author Report Posted October 23, 2015 Hi, This will be my last post for this topic - just thought I'd share an update. I decided the cheapest option would be to source a replacement tsuka vs. try to convert it to a shin-gunto. It's still not perfect as the kabuto-gane even on this one is still a shin-gunto style though apparently original to the tsuka. Anyway, looks much better now and I'm happy with it. cheers, Ben Quote
Kai-Gunto Posted October 23, 2015 Report Posted October 23, 2015 The shibabiki is turned the wrong way. The leaf must face the dragshoe (ishizuke) , try look for traces of it on the saya. Quote
FletchSan Posted October 24, 2015 Author Report Posted October 24, 2015 Ah, thanks. Didn't even notice. I managed to get it off and on the right way. Quote
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