Shame On This Seller ...

[TheGermanBastard]

No apology here. This is just the most blunt wrongly described piece of junk I have seen in a very very long time:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/World-War-2-Japanese-Sword-/273126371429

 

How can anybody who has the faintest idea of a sword claim that the sword is in ok condition?! This is about as bad as it can get. It is just worthy looking at these images for that reason.

 

This is anout the most motivated seller I may have ever seen playing all the sweet sales tricks by saying he doesn't dare to remove the Tsuka (not wanting to damage something) to see if it is signed.

 

A nice Habaki though.

[TETSUGENDO]

Ebay never ceases to entertain!

[Katsujinken]

Caveat emptor!

[Curran]

Yes, it _might-have-an-issue_ 

 

I almost never look at blades, and never on ebay. Still, I clicked on another from your link and up came this beauty:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OLD-Japanese-SWORD/323161292926?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D44040%26meid%3Dcf1efca066ad4b6b99d019c4bb539059%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D273126371429%26itm%3D323161292926&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

Click through a few photos till you get to the nice "hairline crack".

Whole lot of ugly on eBay. Hard to wade through it to find the few nice pieces now and then.

[Surfson]

A minor bullet wound - it's just a scratch!

[lonely panet]

I'm  sure it will polish out      

[PNSSHOGUN]

I'm  sure it will polish out    

[dwmc]

I definitely agree with the above comments as to how ridiculous many ebay sellers can get while trying to sell their items.

 

However, having said this, and looking beyond the sellers comments, I have to say, I actually find the sword rather interesting.

 

This is a sword that has literally been there...the officer obviously lost or damaged beyond repair the gunto saya, and most likely had a native craftsman construct a wooden replacement.

 

The habaki is rather nice and could indicate an older family blade set in gunto koshirae. The tsuba appears a thicker upper end pierced type. Whats left of the same may also have been a upgrade.

 

The damage could easily suggest this sword's last battle was a result of striking a blow blocked by a gun barrel. Would look great as an example of a potentially real wwll battle damaged sword in some ones collection.

 

I love a pristine Nagamitsu or Sadakatsu in a nice type 3 or 98  Gunto koshirae. Possibly with nothing more the a bit of ito discoloration from minimal handling. However, outside of being in almost pristine condition, they really don't offer much as to actual battle conditions...

[Surfson]

I have a wakizashi repurposed for WWII that has a bullet hole that goes through the saya and the blade.  The bullet, which is long gone, was probably stopped by the blade, since I don't recall the hole exiting the other side of the saya (not sure about this and the blade is not here right now).  Are there collectors interested in memorabilia like that?  

[Stephen]

way back, a gunto that still had a 45 slug stuck in it sold for BIG money on ebay, everyone loves a story with their guntos!

[Grey Doffin]

Gunto with bullet damage, while not common, do show up occasionally.  I would be willing to bet, however, that the majority of them suffered the damage after war's end, while standing upright in a sand pile and being shot at by the GI who wanted his war relic to have a story with it, not in actual battle.

Would a GI who captured a sword in battle even have been allowed to keep the sword?  What would he have done with it, where would he have stored it while engaged in war?  The Gunto we see today in the west were largely surrendered during the occupation, I think.

Grey

[vajo]

A kirikomi only makes sense in the mune of a old sword as a battle scar. All other make a lost sword. No value.

[PNSSHOGUN]

The value simply changes from Nihonto to historical relic.

[dwmc]

Gunto with bullet damage, while not common, do show up occasionally.  I would be willing to bet, however, that the majority of them suffered the damage after war's end, while standing upright in a sand pile and being shot at by the GI who wanted his war relic to have a story with it, not in actual battle.

Would a GI who captured a sword in battle even have been allowed to keep the sword?  What would he have done with it, where would he have stored it while engaged in war?  The Gunto we see today in the west were largely surrendered during the occupation, I think.

Grey

 

Yes, that's quite true Grey. The majority where occupation surrender swords. My Father managed to return home with four.

 

However, I see many, many post battle theater photo's with GI's holding captured swords. Some how they managed (I suspect) to return home with them. It would be an interesting topic to learn just how they accomplished this...

 

The damage on the Ebay sword looks very much to me like blunt impact, yet as you suggest, it could have happen in any number of ways. We could speculate into eternity..

[Surfson]

So cynical Grey!  I will ship this one home next chance I have and take photos and list it on ebay.  It was an otherwise nice signed shinto wakizashi that I think is one hole and ubu.  That doesn't prove that it wasn't shot intentionally, but makes it more unlikely.  It also has a very rusty patina throughout, including the injured part, at least making the "event" appear to be long ago.  I have assumed that it has minimal value which is why I asked..... Cheers, Bob