Saya matching for Type 95 NCO swords?

[brentlewiis]

I was thinking a bulletin board/database might be created where folks could post the serial numbers from  their mismatched Type 95s in the hope of locating someone with the matching saya. Does anyone know if anything similar has been tried?

[Scogg]

Hi Lucian,
 

It's a noble idea, and it would be nice to reunite mismatched swords with their saya. However, the chances of it working out in practice are very low. The main issue is that a mismatched sword and saya are not necessarily linked to another corresponding mismatch. For example, if sword #1,000 is currently paired with saya #3,000, that does not mean sword #3,000 is paired with saya #1,000. All it tells us is that sword #3,000 must also be mismatched. Its mismatched saya could just as easily be #8,000, or any other number.
 

So, while I think it's a worthwhile idea, I suspect the number of successful reunions would be quite small and exceedingly rare. 
 

For what it's worth, I keep a running database of these swords, including stamps, serial numbers, and saya numbers. I have around 1,000 entries at this point, and after a quick look through the records, I could not find a definitive mismatched saya that matched a known blade's serial number. I'm sure they are out there and will turn up in time, but of the roughly 200,000 swords originally manufactured, and considering what has survived today, it would be a rare thing. Most of the swords that I encountered and cataloged have matching saya, which was a surprising revelation to me when I started this project. 
 

That said, if you have a sword serial number and saya number that do not match, I would be happy to search my archive to see if I have encountered the corresponding mismatch during my cataloging efforts.

All the best,

-Sam

[BANGBANGSAN]

That’s a good idea, but it’s not easy. Aside from what Sam just mentioned, a lot of Type 95s were sold into China, including non-matching ones. Usually, sword dealers will have someone grind off the serial number on the scabbard, re-stamp it to match the blade, and sell it as a matching set. That being said, the original number on the scabbard is gone forever。

[brentlewiis]

I thank you both for your considered responses.  I realize that the odds of finding a direct match resulting in two ‘reunions’ would be extremely low.  I envisioned a utility which might result in someone finding a numbers-matching saya which might be obtainable through purchase or exchange.  Hopefully this would result in one less mismatched sword/saya combination.  
The potential for exploitation by bad actors had occurred to me as well.  Hopefully the incidence of stamped spurious numbers would be small—small enough to not be a general problem.

All that being said, I am motivated by the recent acquisition of a Type 95 with iron tsuba, with mismatched numbers.  Saya # 117949.  Blade # 103062.  I would be interested to know if either number appears in the database.

[Scogg]

I have not yet encountered Blade# 117949 or Scabbard# 103062 in my cataloging efforts

It could appear someday, but I have not yet seen either personally.
According to my records, your sword was likely manufactured prior to September 1942.
Best of luck,

-Sam

[BANGBANGSAN]

6 hours ago, brentlewiis said:

I thank you both for your considered responses.  I realize that the odds of finding a direct match resulting in two ‘reunions’ would be extremely low.  I envisioned a utility which might result in someone finding a numbers-matching saya which might be obtainable through purchase or exchange.  Hopefully this would result in one less mismatched sword/saya combination.  
The potential for exploitation by bad actors had occurred to me as well.  Hopefully the incidence of stamped spurious numbers would be small—small enough to not be a general problem.

All that being said, I am motivated by the recent acquisition of a Type 95 with iron tsuba, with mismatched numbers.  Saya # 117949.  Blade # 103062.  I would be interested to know if either number appears in the database.

If you ever come across 103062, you could offer cash plus a trade for the scabbard throat, just in case the owner doesn't want to ship the whole scabbard。