paul griff

Hello, Very impressive....An absolute beauty...! Paul...

Hello Charlie, Nothing on the tang about special steel.. Bruno, No problem,some photo's attached. Regards, Paul..

Hello again Bruno, Sorry,forgot to add it was Dr Kotaro Honda,a world famous inventor of "Honda Steel" alongside Seijuro Masahide who in October 1939 succeeded to make the sword... Regards, Paul...

Hello Bruno, Is it the "Shinbu-to" made by the Toyo - Hamono Co Ltd...?These we laboratory designed for use in very cold conditions...You will find some details on Ohmura - study net....I have one of these swords so if you need any more information or photo's let me know... Regards, Paul.

Hello Bruce, Nice finds...Nothing like a knot or tassel to finish the sword display ...Havn't been brave enough to bid for original gunto items from China myself ....well done ! Regards, Paul

Hello, Joo's got a nice sword there...and Jean,must add,awesome film...one of my favourites...! Regards, Paul..

Hello Joo, Congratulations on your purchase and good luck on your future acquisitions...Wise choice to use the for sale section of the forum... Regards, Paul..

Hello Peter, Nice find,well done...The complete package so to speak will always appeal to certain collectors...The box certainly looks right and I wouldn't have passed this one up if I'd come across it ( priced accordingly of course ).. Regards, Paul.

Hello Chris, Interesting topic...I have what I would consider a really nice shin-gunto signed Tadayoshi...a Gimei of the 9th generation and signed Hizen Kuni Tadayoshi..A beautiful shinshinto hizen-to-tachi with a graceful and slender shinogi-zukuri tachi sugata with suguha hamon.Nakago is unusual with one mekugi-ana...The gunto fittings are all custom made and high quality then assembled in the arsenal ( red assembly paint on the nakago ).Probably made in the 1930's at a considerable cost ! As Dave highlighted .... buy the blade not he signature ! Gimei doesn't bother me in this case because I liked the sword and the history that accompanied it plus,and importantly for me...the price was right...! But,if I was paying what I would consider big money for big names and found it was a Gimei I don't think I'd be so positive..! Copies can be better than originals but I feel they will always be resigned to the 'second division',be it sword,car or watch....Just my opinion of course ..... Regards, Paul..

Hello Dave, To be honest and after all these years I didn't realise honoki was the material of choice for saya and tsuba...The wood has some very interesting characteristics which has led me to some interesting reading....Cannot help you with your question but thank's for the post.. Regards, Paul..

Hello Dave, Well done,very nice sword with added bonus of a surrender tag..If it's your first gunto....nice find ! Regards, Paul...

Hello, Yes you are right there John....The Bonhams 'Conflict of the 20th century' sale on 21st oct 2015 had a couple of jems ! Lot 75 was a stunning type 94 with gilted fittings and also lot 14 the sword of Major General Kenji Matsumoto,a type 98 with full provenance...Sadly wasn't in a position to buy at the time ! Both swords and indeed many others in that sale are fine items for any collection...One day hopefully...! Regards, Paul..

Hello, Provenance and documentation ! I like to collect gunto' that have preferably both or failing that either , otherwise, you are right Ben....It's the price of the gunto plus the knot ! Regards, Paul..

Hello John, Good luck with your quest and I hope something suitable comes your way soon...Hoping to buy a similar item myself but probably next year ( my pot is pretty empty at the moment ! )... Regards, Paul.

Hello, Very interesting topic and Markus Sesko's report supplied by Allan is fascinating reading...Thank you. Regards, Paul.

Hello Matt, A copy sold for,or rather it was advertised for £275 with a militaria dealer in Cheshire recently....Actually the price above is a good one and there is no problems getting them sent from the U.S. I've been looking for ages and will have to " bite the bullet " so to speak and order one...Have bought off Grey's site above in the past so that's where I"ll be getting mine. Regards, Paul..

Hello Wah, Interesting article,well found. Purchased a nice Emura off a board member last year and very pleased..Stephen..... Done the same thing....twice..! And yes,I would like to get them both back,but maybe...." tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all "... Regards, Paul...

Hello Brandon, Nice sword...The nakago has a nice shape with a well cut Mei and even though it looks to have been well cleaned at some point it does not deter from the attraction... Regards, Paul.

Hello Steve, Glad it is working out for you.....Maybe I'm too cynical these days ! When it comes to taking a chance I've become a bit of a coward......Have enjoyed revisiting the books as a result of the post. Regards, Paul.

Hello, Actually Bruce "Frankenstein " would be my description.....The blade has no redeeming features...it is terrible.! The kanji looks like it was done with a felt pen,it doesn't seem overlay like paint....but without item in hand could be wrong ? There are plenty of tsuba,seppa and associated hilt fittings to be had on the market for unscrupulous sellers to build on.....and the kind of contradiction there is that the tsuba,seppa's with their matching factory stamps are 100% genuine ..... I don't think a last ditch or occupied area sword would have these fittings with a nice spring clip..! Finally the officer's tsuka and NCO's saya ? This is of course only my opinion and it is not a rude attack on an interesting topic... Regards, Paul...

Hello, Ha,ha...like that one Stephen..." yesterday-to "... Regards, Paul.

Hello, The discussion may have detracted somewhat from the original post but to interesting avail.. I originally bought a Mantetsu and a Shinbu-to before they gained their relatively high price status..Luckily ! I feel those were better times when someone starting out and/or on an average wage could buy a nice gunto and get " bitten by the bug " and trade up the ladder...Getting difficult now for people to start out....Maybe this is relevant to the original post....I don't think a lot of the afformentioned blades were worth a polish a few years ago...but now...? Regards, Paul..

Hello, What a sword ! " The business " as they say..! My choice if I had the cash....Someone will get a great blade there..! Good luck.. Regards Paul.

Hello, Yes,well spotted and well done... Regards, Paul...

Hello, Back to the question...Would a proper polish be a financially viable proposition on Gendai-to ( and that includes Yasukuni -to ) swords ?.... ' No brainier ', not necessarily so..! With every polish the shape,thickness and structure of the blade will change and you may in fact be altering what the maker intended it to be ! And what may you uncover ? Just because it's got a particular name or stamp on it doesn't make it a good sword ! Take for instance a Yasukuni shrine sword offered for sale by a well respected U.S dealer recently....Sword by Yasutoku or alternatively pronounced Yasunori....A very nice sword still in gunto mounts in original wartime polish and displaying a 'ware'...indeed, considered in the Nihonto world as a ' non - fatal ' flaw but nevertheless this is a fault between layers normally due to a poor weld...! Take a chance and polish it...maybe it will go...or maybe it will get worse...? Enjoy the sword for what it is and who gives a damn what name is on it...? If you are in the U.K bring what you consider to be a quality mounted blade with you to the next Birmingham Arms fair in June and let's do a " blind taste test "....I have a sword with a Showa stamp in gunto mounts and it feels ' the business ' but most people would poo,poo it in favour of these hyped up big names....Again,enjoy the sword not the name..... Regards, Paul....