gunto tsuba

[loiner1965]

i know they are a few different designs on these but not seen this one before.....even as the tokyo arsenal stamp on it....smaller than the normal ones.

could these be for another sidearm rather than the katana.

[Weidas]

considering quality.. i'm sorry, but i think its a fake... of course, i'm not an expert

[SwordGuyJoe]

Agreed

[loiner1965]

i thought so too but it does have the tokyo / nagoya stamp on it....trouble is they are so many things popping up now esp gunto its hard to say real or fake

[Bruno]

a very end of war tsuba maybe? that could explain its poor quality.

[SwordGuyJoe]

In my humble opinion, stamp or not, I believe to be fake. The quality is so poor, that I couldn't even blame it on end of the war. After all, they still had the exact same molds/stamps for their gunto tsubas, so the look/appearance would be the same, I would think the content (metal mix) may be different.

 

The only thought - and now I am trying to think of how this could be authentic - would be that this tsuba was created in an occupied island where they did not have access to the same tsuba molds/stamps (I am not sure how they 'minted' their tsuba, other than saying they weren't carved).

[loiner1965]

In my humble opinion, stamp or not, I believe to be fake. The quality is so poor, that I couldn't even blame it on end of the war. After all, they still had the exact same molds/stamps for their gunto tsubas, so the look/appearance would be the same, I would think the content (metal mix) may be different.

 

The only thought - and now I am trying to think of how this could be authentic - would be that this tsuba was created in an occupied island where they did not have access to the same tsuba molds/stamps (I am not sure how they 'minted' their tsuba, other than saying they weren't carved).

could be fake but its smaller than a normal tsuba ..i was going to say why fake a gunto but as we know they do......as mythbusters would say......busted

[oneshot onekill]

I'm a Newb but I have read quite a bit about WWII Swords and I'd have to agree "fake". Here's why: From what I've read the Tsubas that were cut-out like yours were a more expensive "upgrade" so it would be logical to assume they would be of a little better quality and finish. Yours looks to be of lower quality and lesser finish (no offense). Also, I had a sword with a Tsuba that was cut-out and as I recall it was very nicely made. The Sword had a Muromachi Era "Family" blade and a nice Mon on the Menuki. FWIW