paul griff

Hello Bruce, Well found ...Very enjoyable... Regards, Paul.

Hello Kris, Yes,your right red rust is active and must be treated..Here in the U.K. I use Renaissance metal de- corroder,same stuff they use in the British Museum and it stops rust dead....Must be something in the U.S that does the same thing..?After it's treated a thin coating of mineral oil should do the job ( if it was a traditional blade I'd say camellia oil or choji )....Also use Young's 303( a gun product that's a cleaner and rust preventer ) to temporary coat things if I'm working on them...but again ...not sure if that's in the U.S ...! Good gun products in the U.S... If it's good enough for a beautiful blued Colt it won't harm your blade.... Regards, Paul..

Hello Kris, Always controversial the topic of "cleaning swords"....If I bought a similar example to this I would clean the tsuba sympathetically with a bronze suede brush that doesn't scratch, for the hilt I normally use a clean soft shoe brush ( that hasn't had any polish on it ) and for the blade of similar type ( non-traditionally made oil quenched )...I use solvol autosol chrome cleaner to clean any grime off it then apply a thin layer of mineral oil thereafter....Blade only that is... and you have to remove the tsuba and seppa's ( washers either side of the tsuba...remembering to keep them in the order they came off...Also the brass sleeve ( Habaki ) in front of the tsuba needs to slide off...Handling the blade by holding the tang ( nakago ) is ok,if fact the oils off your hands add a patina to this part of the blade...Hope this helps and only my way of cleaning this type of sword not traditionally made ones that can be ruined easily... Regards, Paul..

Hello Kris, Nice find,especially off a veterans relative...Sword is for Imperial Japanese army and as Bruce advised,made in 1942..The stamp near your thumb in picture two is the makers name Yoshida Kaneuji as is the signature identified by Neil... Regards, Paul..

Hello, Thank you Raymond and everyone for your fast response,much appreciated and sorry for the poor photography... Regards, Paul...

Hello, It's not for lack of trying but just cannot see the " wood from the trees "....! translation help appreciated.. Thanks in advance, Paul..

Hello, Battered wakizashi blade....albeit genuine... made up as a late Meiji tourist piece would be my guess...! Regards, Paul..

Hello Chris, Lovely blades....I do like the clean lines of a suguha hamon ( I'm not a very 'arty ' type ) . Regards, Paul..

Hello Chris, Nice sword ! I don't care what's on the nakago if I like it....I like it...! One of the best swords I have has a Showa stamp..23rd Generation Kanefusa...If you closed your eyes or hid the nakago you would think you were holding a masterpiece....A sword snob friend of mine wouldn't even hold it...Sarute and knot on your sword and it would shine !! Only my opinion of course and I am not buying for investment...Just enjoyment.. Regards, Paul.

Hello Bruce, Nice to read something from the Japanese perspective....Enjoyed reading it this morning when I should have been working....! Wish I could have corrected the author on one point though and I'm sure you would agree....Master Sergeant Kimura was probably very proud of the sword he would have carried whilst commanding the small garrison at Abemama..( paragraph 14 The Garrrison of Abemama )...Thank's for posting,very enjoyable... Regards, Paul..

Hello, Both look fine to me...First one is a nicely worn silk company grade army tassel and would compliment any any shin-gunto with a " campaigned" appearance...Second one in red and brown for army field officer major or colonel and very nice,it's silk , the crown and slide being nicely woven...This one I feel would compliment maybe a " minty" type of shin-gunto.. Only my opinion of course and have been known to be wrong...! Regards, Paul..

Round two,ah ah.. No problem Bruce,pm sent...Great minds ? ( maybe not so great in my case ! )...got engrossed in the topic last night at the same time drinking everything I could get my paws on..! Back on the rum so here we go...Chris, Law used as a synonym so not literal...Advice given to me by a wise owl when I started out and funds were precious....If it doesn't look right...walk away..! That's number one...Cannot progress to number two...Does it feel right ? Maybe over cautious using this system but I've done o.k up until now....But venture out of the comfort zone...Bang...caught...It's a minefield out there...! Steve ( Shamsy ) , Your extensive knowledge and detailed information is appreciated and valued.. With the meteoric rise in price of nco swords and subsequent investment potential of these swords topics like this are priceless so thanks for posting Guy... Regards, Paul.

Hello Chris, Photo's are worse than the ones I take...But agree ...REAL... Regards, Paul.

Hello, Bruce,yes,your right 22.5 ins... Dave,again yes looks like a " Christmas special " three for two...! All the items are genuine but whether they arrived together originally who knows ? Stegal , I'm a bit lacking in photographic skills otherwise I'd be able to show the tsuka and tassel have the same 'dirt' or 'mud' ingrained in the material...I haven't cleaned it but just applied a leather dressing and that's the feel of the 'stuff' that was left on the cloth....The tsuka cover fits perfectly even a flap is worn when you put it on and the tassel exits it...Leather has same tone as saya cover..It's only when you see it "in the flesh" it looks as if it all belongs together...! Got this and one other late war emergency issue sword that had the permission to bring back slip with it ( friend now has that )... I swore I wouldn't buy any more gunto...In fact been trying to save to get something really special....But I just can't resist...! This was the one a Chinese chap that I mentioned in another post was trying to buy off me to send back to China...I found it quite ironic that somewhere down the line you will have a copy of a copy ! He couldn't get that ! Nice chap though,very polite.....Interesting journey...! Regards, Paul...

Hello, A nice example of an "Ersatz" or Occupied territory made sword...Despite initially thinking it was "crude", on closer inspection I found it to be very well made..Blade is nice and tight in the hilt with the mekugi having been only just removed prior to me buying it.... ( I wouldn,t have bothered ! ) Leather nice and supple wih only the retaining strap broken ,original field grade officers tassel and rare to find leather foul weather hilt cover .Flag is a bit stained and yellow although looks white in photo's..Medal a bit worn and dented but complete,,Described on the old dealer label as " Surrender package"....Makes a nice display ( If your allowed to do so )...!! Regards, Paul.

Hello, And with not such a heavy sigh ! As stated,there is no question whatsoever that the sword is genuine " ... That's a very opinionated response..!..I'm here to learn and obtain useful and interesting information and at the same time pass on anything that could be useful to fellow collectors.So far,and when applying the "laws" of collecting to the sword it fails on every count..! The comparison swords to me only solidify my suspicions that the sword is a fake...Prototype ? No...! Not even for the saya... If it was a prototype surely it would have a serial number or some form of identifying mark..? As for the 'patina'...I cannot agree !! Just look at the Kuchi-gane...patinated on the outside but unblemished where it meets the hilt...As if painted whilst blade is in the saya... And finally,as I mentioned previously ...the brass alloy just doesn't look right and to me that's highlighted in the kuchi-game and ishizuke...! Here to learn and only to happy to be corrected but not dictated too... Paul..

Hello Guy, The last time I got into a debate over real or fake it nearly caused an internet fight...but here we go...FAKE...! That applied patina to the fittings always gets my alarm bells ringing...The brass alloy is typical of the modern material and it just isn't right..Look at the safety retaining clip it still has the applied finish,no wear from use at all...Poor casting on some parts mixed with good casting on others ( tsuba had good definition as does hilt ) ..Sarute poor casting especially seen on the barrel locating lugs...Screws are wrong...It's a Chinese made "Frankenstein"... That said at the right price these things are handy to learn and compare...No insult's meant and only my opinion of course.... Regards, Paul...

Hello, Never seen one like that but it looks very well made and nicely woven...Also appears silk as opposed to an artificial material like rayon...In which case I opt for REAL...! Regards, Paul.

Hello Steve, You could be right...He actually didn't know the first thing about swords...If it looked good he would take a photo send it off and a reply would come back on the phone...He offered to buy my stuff plus 30% on top...It's kind of ironic though because one of the swords he wanted wasn't technically Japanese it was 'ersatz' made in occupied territories.... albeit one of the nicest I have come across !If he's at the next fair I'll give him a grilling... Regards, Paul.

Hello Akunin, As above...100% fake...just look at the fit on the saya throat...But yes they are getting better...Bought a sword at a recent big militaria fair,actually two swords...left them with the sellers instead of carrying them around when I came to pick them up was approached by a very polite Chinese fella who offered to buy them at a premium off me...He didn't hide anything said he was sending them back to China...At the end of the show he had bags full...he looked like ' Buckin Bronco ' carrying them away ! Not just Gunto but Napoleonic ,K98 bayonets you name it...So look out in the future ! Stick to reliable sources more Han ever if you want to avoid getting burnt ! Regards, Paul.

Hello Brad, Maybe some strange anomaly ! It doesn't look like the excessive heat type blue hue after someone's been at it with a grinder or polisher....That type doesn't go away with oil....not the ones I've seen anyway...! Regards, Paul.

Hello, Nice items but have not been very successful at auctions for quite a while...Between the normally unrealistic estimates and commission rates ( 24% at this one ) coupled with another 3% if you use the saleroom...! Maybe I'm doing something wrong ? Regards, Paul.

Hello, Very nice sword...good find...Well done.. Regards, Paul.

Hello, Nice sword...very classy combination...! Regards, Paul..

Hello Brandon, Nice sword ..Seen a few over the years with similar damage and just like John has indicated It looks like someone has been stabbing it into something...I often wonder if it was the bored G.I onboard ship returning home poking and stabbing away at maybe a wooden deck board or similar hard wooden material ? Maybe a nihonto collector or blade " purist " would shy away,understandingly..But as a militaria item and personally, I like it..! And Bruce,if your reading...Nice type 3's you have for sale....Just haven't got the cash ! Regards, Paul.