Sometimes Terrible Things Happen

[Erwin]

Sometimes you come across horrible things , like people emptying a spray cap with green paint over what seems to be an OK shin gunto and damage it beyond restoration - what are they thinking !

 

Have you ever seen something like this before?

Erwin

[Ray Singer]

In one of the Facebook groups I manage we had a member (now banned) who stripped an armour down, spray painted each piece white, and used epoxy to attach bull horns to the kabuto.

[gun addict]

easy, they were'nt thinking at all........

 

At least the blade is okay right?

[Erwin]

Hi Timothy,

No idea how the blade is, probably spray-painted green as well. The Katana is for sale at a local trade site in the Netherlands.

Just sad

 

Thansk

Erwin

[raaay]

my guess it is a copy , look at the Ito -wrap,  all going the same direction  !!

[Bruce Pennington]

Erwin,

 

My sentiments exactly! I have a Type 95 NCO gunto that was totally stripped and painted gold. Even the blade was painted with a transluscent gold! In researching it, back then, people came up with some interesting insights, like - right after the war, many still hated the Japanese and anything representing Japanese, so guys would use war swords as weed-wackers and wood chippers intentionally out of disrepect. Another guy grew up in England to a theater family. He said, as a kid, he saw "piles" of swords backstage, most painted gold (when you're doin The King and I, the king certainly wasn't going to have a G.I. green sword! so they painted them gold). I stripped mine and repainted.

[zook]

Wow Bruce - that's what I call a PROJECT(!!)  , and an interesting post-war point!  

[Bruce Pennington]

Wow Bruce - that's what I call a PROJECT(!!)  , and an interesting post-war point!

 

I enjoyed the work, but it WAS work! I used acetone just in case the original paint was still under there, but it wasn't. My late war 95 also had a horrific re-paint. When that was removed, the original paint was still there thankfully!

[Dave R]

my guess it is a copy , look at the Ito -wrap,  all going the same direction  !!

 

 I think the same.

[Bruce Pennington]

I think the same.

Agree. Interesting topic though.

[Mister Gunto]

Bruce, very nice job on the restoration. 

[obiwanknabbe]

My mantetsu was almost a loss.. not so much defaced as played with hard and put away wet...  Still need a proper saya made but it was still better than the pile of rust that was the original. 

[Bruce Pennington]

Wow, what a transformation! Beautiful!

 

(Do I already have the date and serial number on that one?)

[Shamsy]

Bruce, I think the gold on your 95 blade is varnish. Vets applied it in the belief it would preserve blades (which it does somewhat). My Yasumitsu had the same treatment applied, but it came off with methylated spirits.

[Bruce Pennington]

Nice job on that one Steve! Gorgeous!

 

I didn't know G.I.s were doing that, but comparing the two, I still feel mine was a plasticized paint, very thin and not aged like yours.

[Stegel]

I agree, it looks like a copy to me also.

 

Cosmoline was the popular and widely used product to cover blades with by returning vets, particularly the Americans.

It is a type of grease, which dries out hard over time and in thin layers it has the appearance of varnish.

Steve is right, some methylated spirits will soften it and remove it.

 

My little bit of useless trivia for the day!

 

Cheers guys