Newbe with value question

[MHC]

Hello all,

 

I've had this Shin-Gunto mounted Katana kicking around for a long time now. Frankly i do not even remember what i paid for it, somewhere around 20 years ago +/-.

 

The inscription states "Showa 1945 January" & "trust & light" or something along those lines.

I assume it's a machine made blade since no Hamon, grain or anything. Simply a wall hanger, but i'd still like to know the current value, for my own edification.

 

Anyway I've attached probably way too many photos of it, for all to see.

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Mark

[MHC]

I failed to state that in the picture, last row, third from the left side, you can barely make out a teeny-tiny stamp that appears to be a "Seki" stamp. It is about a 1/2" above and 1/4" to the right of the hole. 

 

Thanks again.

 

Mark

[Bruce Pennington]

Mark,

That was one, tiny, hard to find Seki stamp, for sure! I couldn't keep my eyes off that "G" above it!

 

That's a really nice piece, overall, with the leather cover in good shape. Pricing is tough to call, as the market is almost completely stopped with the COVID thing going on. WWII officer gunto NORMALLY are in the range of $900-1,400. I personally feel yours is worth $1,000-1,200. But good luck getting a buyer.

[MHC]

Hello Bruce,

 

Thanks for your insight. I'm really not in the market to sell, just looking for info.

 

I just picked up a nice signed/date 1692 Wakizashi, so I'm more in the acquisition stage of the hobby, not the selling stage.

 

And the "g" is a trick of the eye. If humans stare at anything long enough they'll see Christ on a cookie!

 

Mark

[Bruce Pennington]

Ha! I suspected as much.

 

Trust me, the collecting side of the hobby is WAY more fun! I'm about to give up on my buying/selling effort.

[george trotter]

Hard to read but the two kanji mei seems to say Nobumitsu.

[MarcoUdin]

The leather looks great on this one, I'm sure whatever you paid it was worth it, very nice piece.

 

For the experts what is the reasoning of the those mekugi-ana like holes at the bottom of the nakago. I always thought those happened whenever it was a longer blade that was cut down, but if this is machined wouldn't it have been made to spec?

[PNSSHOGUN]

For a late war sword the mounts are unusual for a few reasons:

 

1: Pierced Tsuba

2: Kabutogane without normal cherry blossom castings

3: central retention latch position

 

Does the blade fit well in the mounts or is there alot of movement?

[vajo]

Its a wild mix of swordparts 

Tsuka and fittings are from a shingunto. The locking clip can not work with that combination of seppa.

The blade is a very late showa-to blade as John said and looks to fit in a rinji koshirae.

 

From my experience 700 - 800 Dollar would be a fair price.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Good eye Chris, I didn't see the seppa but it confirms my suspicions. Unfortunately non-original mounts hurt the value of such swords, as later war examples tend to rely on their condition more than anything else. Given the wild assortment of parts there it's difficult to say what was original to the sword but my guess is the Tsuka and maybe some of the solid Seppa.

[16k]

Yes, a Frankensword! Could be recent but could have been done in the field, don’t you think?

[vajo]

All is possible JP but not proofable.

In such case i only add the actual prices of the seperate parts. 

[Bruce Pennington]

Marc,

 

This blade has 2 holes because it was likely made to go into "Type 3" or Rinji Seishiki fittings which used a screw in the hole nearest the tsuba and a mekugi in the hole at the end. But this was cut off to fit into standard Type 98 fittings.

 

Mark,

Would it be possible to get a picture of the end of the nakago? Does the cut look fresh (post-war) or is it aged?

 

I have 2 Mantetsu in the files with 2 mekugi ana, yet fitted in Type 98 fittings. The ends weren't cut like this one, so the fittings were obviously made to fit the longer nakago. But I mention them as examples that the mix of blade and 98 fittings was done during the war. Depending upon whether we can get evidence from the cut end, this may have been a field re-fit or it could have been done post-war. May come down to one of those "who knows?" cases.

[MHC]

Ok guys,

 

The Tsuka fits very tight.

 

The Seppa's are a mix-n-match assortment for sure.

 

I think the Tsuka and Saya and the blade, are original to each other, simply judging by their fit to one another and the even amount of patina.

 

The end of the of Nakago is as aged as the rest of it, and appears for all intents and purposes, to be as it was leaving the factory.

 

The leather is NOT as nice as it appears in the photos, the stitching is missing on the top, and the leather has tears at the front of the Ashi location, running down each side.

 

Otherwise, no history at all on it, I bought it at a happy crap (antique) store long ago.

 

I have always suspected it is Frankensword, at least to some degree.

 

However, when it comes to Japanese swords,........I know just enough to be real dangerous and not one once of knowledge more!

 

Mark

[Bruce Pennington]

Well the good news is that it’s all legit WWII stuff. Oddly sometimes that matters less with officer gunto than it does with NCO gunto (I mean original vs price-together).

[Dave R]

 A "bitser" but when was it done and to what extent? It could even be one that started life as all together, but then had extra or replacement seppa as wood and leather shrank. 

 You say the main pieces fit well, have you had a look, end on to see if the total overall curve is even from one end to the other....

[MHC]

Hello Dave,

 

The curvature of both the Tsuka and the Saya match the blade exactly.

 

Despite the apparent mix-n-match Seppa's, once stacked up and all installed, the mounts are nice and tight.

 

So if it was not an "end of war" thrown together affair, whom ever arranged the pieces, they at least got the fit right.

 

I think in the end here, the mystery of the parts-n-pieces really does not matter, it appears all WWII stuff, it all fits, and is a great wall hanger.

 

I plan to keep it just as it is, and would only part with it if I could use it as a stepping stone toward an earlier (pre-1700's) Katana.

 

Mark

[Dave R]

If you have a nice even curve, and all the parts are tight, then I would (with usual disclaimers) say that you have a decent legit' sword. We know that they did field repairs, and were more concerned with function than art.  

[vajo]

But they had removed the fuchi against one without hole i think, when the lock button clipper was damaged.