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unknown tanto


phil reid

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23 hours ago, mtexter said:

I never knew that Bruce.   it makes sense, and I guess it beats being burned or melted or dumped in the sea, still sad though :(

Richard Fuller, "Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks", pg 249, said they were cut in half before melting.  I have seen full sets of koshirae (fittings) for sale with the half-blade still in the tsuka (handle).  I don't recall where I read the letter, but it was from a Japanese citizen who witnessed many blades being cut in half.

 

6 hours ago, phil reid said:

Interesting that theyd be able to sell even repurposed broken blades to the occupation forces.

 

You would be amazed, then, at what G.I.s are willing/gullible enough to buy, back then and today!  While the war was still going on, there were scammers, even G.I. fakers, selling fake stuff to souvenir hunters who weren't on the front lines and wanted something to bring back home.

 

This thread is about flags, but it highlights my point: https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/ken-jasper-international-militaria-forums/Japanese-militaria-forum/944383-allied-made-banzai-flags

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Very cool knife, nonetheless. Kind of a snapshot in time as to what was being sold to the newly arrived GI's by the locals, in a bad spot there just after the end of the war. It's always interesting to me to see how weapons often end up being "recycled" into civilian uses. 

 

You'll often see western miltary bayonets that with cut-down baldes, and much of the hilt removed, in order to make a Hunting / Camp knife for someone. 

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