Gunner1171 Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 I found this sword at an antique shop. The owner said he found it in a barn and the guy he bought it from said his dad brought it home from the war. It’s a matching number sword and saya. The blade is mostly clean but does have some patina. No cracks or chips. The saya has some missing paint and surface rust but it’s pretty solid. The paint on the aluminum tsuka is mostly intact. only think I can see that is missing is the screw/ mekugi. I have never found one of these in the wild and am not sure what this particular one would be worth. just making sure there is nothing wrong with this and I make an educated offer before I make a mistake. I know condition is everything. also I apologize for not having awesome pictures. This was on the fly with my phone with the person over my shoulder… 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 Nice one Shawn! The maker is officially a mystery, but we're pretty sure the "Ichi in Sakura" stamp is of the Kobe factory for the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal. The stacked cannon balls are the supervising Kokura Army Arsenal and tells us the sword was made prior to 1942. Current fleabay prices are ranging from $875 - 1,400 USD. Couple of dealers putting them at $2,000 +. Anywhere from $900 to $1,200 should be fair, depending upon what he is asking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner1171 Posted January 19 Author Report Share Posted January 19 8 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said: Nice one Shawn! The maker is officially a mystery, but we're pretty sure the "Ichi in Sakura" stamp is of the Kobe factory for the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal. The stacked cannon balls are the supervising Kokura Army Arsenal and tells us the sword was made prior to 1942. Current fleabay prices are ranging from $875 - 1,400 USD. Couple of dealers putting them at $2,000 +. Anywhere from $900 to $1,200 should be fair, depending upon what he is asking. Thank you Bruce! I got him down to $900 and I can pick it up tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure that wasn’t too much for this sword in this condition. is the missing screw a big concern? I see they possible make reproduction ones. I’ve read on the forum that they are hard to find originals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 7 minutes ago, Gunner1171 said: is the missing screw a big concern? The blade is still being held in place with the barrel screw at the end of the tsuka (where the sarute is), so it's not a safety issue. They are not impossible to find, and if you want one made Don Schlickman does a great job. Send me a PM if you want his contact info. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simon R Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 I am no expert whatsoever on NCO gunto but I believe this may be the screw you are looking for. https://page.auction.../auction/u1120511765 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 Nicely spotted, I've shown new screws before only to be told they were looking for org. What bloody difference it makes is beyond me. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner1171 Posted January 19 Author Report Share Posted January 19 11 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said: The blade is still being held in place with the barrel screw at the end of the tsuka (where the sarute is), so it's not a safety issue. They are not impossible to find, and if you want one made Don Schlickman does a great job. Send me a PM if you want his contact info. I think you’re right! I think it’s going to be challenging ordering from that page tho! Haha I need a translator 🤣 thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner1171 Posted January 19 Author Report Share Posted January 19 3 hours ago, Stephen said: Nicely spotted, I've shown new screws before only to be told they were looking for org. What bloody difference it makes is beyond me. Haha in the end it doesn’t really matter as I’m the end “user” but it’s just nice if you can keep artifacts of militaria original when possible. Thats all 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 Well we all know military collectors have a screw loose 🙄 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiipu Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 23 hours ago, Gunner1171 said: It’s a matching number sword and saya. The sword was made by Kōbe under Kokura Arsenal supervision. There is a slight mismatch in the numbers though. I have seen this type of mismatch before and think it could have happened while still at the factory. Blade: 141089. Scabbard: 141039. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner1171 Posted January 20 Author Report Share Posted January 20 On 1/19/2024 at 3:31 PM, Kiipu said: The sword was made by Kōbe under Kokura Arsenal supervision. There is a slight mismatch in the numbers though. I have seen this type of mismatch before and think it could have happened while still at the factory. Blade: 141089. Scabbard: 141039. Wow! That’s a good catch. My brain didn’t even register that! were these sets serialized by hand or at least by a person on a machine? Was this a human error like maybe the end of a long day and they were cruising along and thought the 3 was an 8 or visa versa? its just funny how close the two numbers look. im interested in this. What are your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vajo Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 On 1/19/2024 at 3:05 AM, Gunner1171 said: is the missing screw a big concern? I see they possible make reproduction ones. I’ve read on the forum that they are hard to find originals Not that screw. The tiny little screws on a Type 98 saya are hard to find 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 On 1/20/2024 at 4:42 PM, Gunner1171 said: were these sets serialized by hand or at least by a person on a machine? I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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