Late war 1944 pattern officers sword (RINJI SEISHIKI 1940) Kaneyoshi

[grapppa]

Acquired this sword recently at the SOS show....the tang inscriptions are discussed here https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/48028-late-war-1944-pattern-officers-sword-rinji-seishiki-1940-date-inscription/

 

Blade measures 27" from tsuba to tip..

 

This variety has a screw and a peg...and from what I can see - it will be very difficult to get the screw to line up with the embedded nut and the holes...

[Bruce Pennington]

How did the screw and mekugi come to you, in the tsuka or already removed?

[grapppa]

Bruce, the screw and peg were in a bag apart from the tsuka...so it was already loosely assembled when I got it...

[Tensho]

I do not own any of this model, but the habaki does not appear to be for this? 

 

Look at the shinogi-ji on the blade compared to the habaki. Completely off. 

[grapppa]

Yes.   The habaki is about 1/8" off from the shinogi.   I would think that since brass was scarce, they used whatever habakis were available - and fit them to the blade even with the mismatched shinogi/shinogi ji geometry.

[Tensho]

I mentioned it because the tsuka and nakago holes do not seem to line up fully, and you are unable to install the screw/mekugi. Is this correct? 

[grapppa]

Tensho,   I looked at the alignment of the holes and while the screw hole can be aligned, the mekugi hole seems to be off by 1/4" or so    It is somewhat difficult to get an accurate picture of the situation, see pic.   I would swear on a stack of bibles that this tsuka is original to the sword, so it stands to reason that the habaki may be the culprit.  I will have to go through some more examples of late war swords to see if most, if not all, had habakis that matched the shinogi geometry....

[tbonesullivan]

How does the interior of the Habaki fit the blade? I've seen some before where the exterior of the habaki can be a bit off from the interior. It also could be that someone over the years has played the old switcheroo with parts, trying to make one sword better at the expense of another.

 

The screw in the hilt is a bit interesting. Is it brass or steel? RJT Rinji Seikishi usually have a brass bolt / screw in the upper Mekugi-ana.

[grapppa]

The screw is steel and the threads are worn down pretty significantly...

[John C]

Sorry if you have mentioned this already, however have you measured the exact distance between the holes on the tsuka vs the holes on the nakago? If they are not the same, the problem may not be with the habaki.

 

John C.

[grapppa]

John C,  excellent suggestion!   I measured them and the tsuka is about 1.5mm larger; thats probably within tolerances/accuracy that was customary (?)    I took off all of the fittings; the screw hole lined up well but the mekugi hole on the blade (rear) was off center to the upper left.   It may be possible to insert the peg at an angle to compensate...

 

Bottom line, if I decided to make modifications to improve the fit - the habaki would have to have about 1mm-2mm removed.   I am hesitant to do this.... I am thinking that there may be something internal to the tsuka that may be interfering....hmmmmm

[John C]

Remember too that wood is organic - it changes with time and humidity. If the tsuka were to swell or shrink, that may affect the position of the hole slightly as well.

 

John C.