Your "Never Say Never, or Always" Sword

[Lordd_Humungous]

One of my favorite phrases I've heard in this community is "never say never, or always" in reference to the massive world of unique gunto. So my question is, what are some of the most unique customizations, modifications and/or features you've seen on a gunto? 

 

I'll post some of mine, but this is the ultimate example: 

 

I wrote a short story called "Gunto Naoshi" in which a gunto is referenced that belongs to an officer descending from the Hojo clan, and I found almost the exact sword I described (as far as mountings go) on Ebay the other day. Here's the paragraph where the sword is described for reference: 

 

"A captured deserter, naked save for his underwear and a blindfold, was led from a tent by a rope around his neck and brought to the top of that very same hill beside the officer’s quarters. He was made to kneel with a shove, the rope was untied and removed to save it from being cut, and Officer Hojo drew his especially long, deeply curved ancestral blade from its red iron scabbard. Hojo’s gunto was a unique sword passed down through his family since before the end of the bakufu in the middle of the seventeenth century, and early in the war he had paid more yen than one of his soldiers made in a year to have it mounted in a beautifully crafted ornate handle with his clan crest displayed alongside the imperial chrysanthemum in a gold charm laid between the white samegawa and the brown silk. The decorated iron scabbard was custom made to fit the blade, which was as long as a man’s leg and nearly as curved as a crescent moon. The sword took the deserter’s head off in a single blow with a meaty thwacking sound, and we soldiers all cheered while Officer Hojo smiled and bowed and poured a canteen of water over the blade to wash the blood off of it."

 

[Lordd_Humungous]

Here are a couple more examples of swords that I never thought I'd see: Beautifully decorated Type 3s

[Lareon]

That type 3 is immaculate 

[PNSSHOGUN]

You don't often see Type 3 with Mon, this was an exception: 

 

[Mister Gunto]

Now that is a beautiful Type 3! 

[Bruce Pennington]

"Army gunto always have white rayskin, and Navy kaigunto always have black rayskin."

 

We've seen a couple of kiagunto recently with white same'.  I started a thread to track them, but have forgotten to follow up.

I just saw another over at Leo Monson's house.  Next week, I'll get photos and add to this post.

 

Also, have recently seen Army gunto with black rayskin.  Here is one of them, posted by @kotkinjs1

 

This one posted by @PNSSHOGUN

 

[Bruce Pennington]

On 6/5/2025 at 10:22 AM, Lordd_Humungous said:

Beautifully decorated Type 3s

Just a side-note: We don't know why, but the high-end Rinjis are seen in the latter years of the war.  They were invented in 1938, produced from 1940 onward, but they really didn't seem become popular until '43 and later.  That is where you see the nice custom jobs appearing, and most of them with star-stamped RJT blades in them.

[waljamada]

On 6/6/2025 at 6:56 AM, Bruce Pennington said:

"

I ended up buying this koshirae and actually managed to find a blade to fit it at the Chicago Sword Show!  The menuki on that tsuka aren't the gunto ones so have always have wondered about it.

[Bruce Pennington]

Wow, that is one unique sword! I’m sure you’re a proud to own it.