wiktor69 Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 Hello everyone. This sword was found under the floor in an abandoned house. I think the number is useful for information. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiipu Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 Thank you for the photo-essay. As you already know, it is a mid-production Type 95 Military Sword that was made by Iijima, one of the main contractors for Kokura Arsenal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BANGBANGSAN Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 2 hours ago, wiktor69 said: Hello everyone. This sword was found under the floor in an abandoned house. I think the number is useful for information. Was it found in an abandoned house in Russia? The first Kanji looks like 関 ,the second one kind of like 野，but I'm not sure.Maybe @Kiipu @george trotter can help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiktor69 Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 Trystan, yes, it was found in the Artyom, not far from Vladivostok. I bought it before Christmas and received the parcel yesterday. Kanji is hard to see, but it's interesting to know its meaning. Maybe someone has a clearer picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiktor69 Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 5 hours ago, Kiipu said: Thank you for the photo-essay. As you already know, it is a mid-production Type 95 Military Sword that was made by Iijima, one of the main contractors for Kokura Arsenal. Thomas, thank you too. Is it possible to determine the approximate year of manufacture from the number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiktor69 Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 One more detail. I was surprised). A simple method of sealing the elements of the handle is applied. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 Victor, Nice one! The blade seems to be in decent shape. You the tsuka and saya could be restored with a re-paint. Some collectors prefer to leave gunto in the condition they were found in, as it is the "life of the blade". Some will restore. I have one Type 95 that I repainted. It looks too new and too good, so it's not ideal, but it's better than the gold paint it arrived in. Even the blade had been painted gold. I had a buddy who paints model airplanes do the tsuka, and I did the saya. Hard to get the WWII Army green just right. On another note, I have 5 Type 95s on file with the "W" or "M" stamp and 3 of the 5 are Iijima blades. One is a Kobe and the 5th is steel fuchi, but probably Seki. All 5 are Tokyo blades. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiktor69 Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 Bruce, special thanks to you for introducing me to this forum. (Your publications on Guns.ru) There is a very competent community here and a lot of interesting information. The blade of the sword is really very well preserved. Thanks to two wide dents in the scabbard, the blade got stuck in the wooden elements. As for painting, I'll think about it, but most likely I'll leave it as it is. There is a lot of paint left on the scabbard and it does not crumble. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiipu Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 12 hours ago, wiktor69 said: Is it possible to determine the approximate year of manufacture from the number? Yes and I can narrow it down to late 1942 and early 1943. By early 1943, I mean prior to April 1943. 12 hours ago, wiktor69 said: Kanji is hard to see, but it's interesting to know its meaning. Maybe someone has a clearer picture. I have never seen this marking before but it does look like 関 as Trystan indicated. Hard to tell what the second character is though without having another example to compare to. The other character on the wood handle liner looks like 大 which means "large". Victor, below are two links about Type 95s that you might enjoy looking at. Start with the first one and then move on to the second one. IJA Type 95 NCO Sword Info Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiktor69 Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 2 hours ago, Kiipu said: Victor, below are two links about Type 95s that you might enjoy looking at. Start with the first one and then move on to the second one. Thomas, thank you very much for the links, this is really very interesting to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smee78 Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 Welcome Victor, I always find it interesting to see where these swords end up. I would expect to find more German WW2 items than Pacific WW2 items? Interesting sword, glad you shared it with us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiktor69 Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 Ron, thank you we have much more German militaria here, and the Japanese come across to a limited extent and often in this form (photo from Guns.ru) : 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 Laws in Russia are pretty strict regarding certain edged weapons. I know they are crazy strict about bayonets and "cold weapons" but I'm assuming there are no problems with swords? It was funny a few years ago when I used a translator to ask on guns.ru if anyone could assist me with finding a rare mechanism for my NRS/NRS2 (HP2/HPC2) Spetsnaz knives....there was deathly silence followed by a swift ban They don't like to discuss such items. (Btw, still looking for any such items ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stegel Posted January 23 Report Share Posted January 23 On 1/20/2022 at 3:53 PM, wiktor69 said: Is it possible to determine the approximate year of manufacture from the number? Welcome Victor, I would place the manufacture date of your Sword at mid 1942, most likely in July. Thanks for sharing your sword with us here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kolekt-To Posted January 24 Report Share Posted January 24 What direction are you headed with your collection? All types of gunto? Just Type 95's? What's your vector Victor? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiktor69 Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 On 1/24/2022 at 8:00 AM, Kolekt-To said: What's your vector Victor? I collect militaria and faleristics of the WWI and WWII. Finished this sword today. It turned out well. Horseshoe shape with inspection mark? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BANGBANGSAN Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 It's 社 Mark for the army arsenal subcontractors 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiipu Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 Wow, the sword cleaned up nicely! As indicated by Trystan above, it is a factory inspection mark used by civilian companies working on army contracts. The appearance of this inspection mark indicates the scabbard was made by a civilian company and not an army arsenal. Arsenal Stamps., Page #14 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiktor69 Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 Trystan, Thomas, thank you very much for the detailed information. Now it’s clear why there is another brand on the wooden part of the scabbard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiipu Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 11 hours ago, wiktor69 said: Now it’s clear why there is another brand on the wooden part of the scabbard. I had not thought about that and it is an interesting observation. I think @Stegel would like to mule it over as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stegel Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 Not sure if i've missed something, but, are we saying the stamps on the liners are private sub-contractor stamps? I did know about the Sha stamp appearing on scabbard drags, indicating non-arsenal production and IJA acceptance. So this would be correct and in line with what we would expect. I've never pulled liners out from scabbards to be aware of any markings, but it would make sense. Victor, you have done well with the sword, it has cleaned up nicely! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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