Magnus Sweden

Some new development that could be of interest.... By advice from fellow forum members I performed a hand polish on a small section of the blade before tossing it away and the findings surprised me a bit. After some hours of carefull work with a fine stone a Hamon has now become visible. Quite faint, but still visible. Its an almost straight cloudy white Hamon about 3-4mm wide along the edge. I tried to snap a photo but it didn't show very well. I will give it another try later. This new finding made me wonder why someone first spent the effort quenching the blade, and then deliberately ruining the blade by getting it to rust (fairly deep, it took quite some polish to remove) to make it all invisible... :? Strange......

:lol: The translation sure gave me a good laugh! This, and the rest of the comments received lead me to conclude that the verdict is out. It's a Chinese rip-of! Darn clever guys these Chinese, they sure fooled me with the patination. I thought I could spot real wear and patination from earlier experience of WW2 rifles, but I still have things to learn... Well, well. Win some lose some. At lest I got a bit further educated in the subject! Many thanks again everyone for your assistance! -This sword will now go into the waste bin.

It's not.... Believe it or not we are a few people living in sweden.... But the timing was a lucky coincident, I have to admit that And I would be a bit surprised if we would reach consensus that it's a fake. I got it from a man I trust and I have no reason to suspect any foul play from his side around the story of it's origin. But perhaps fairly well made fakes were common also 20-30 years ago and we were both deceived. How I'm even more confused...

Hi again, Wow, this was quick response. Many thanks. Regardless of what is the final verdict I'm grateful for your help. Regarding the Mei being engraved or chiseled I have to blame my bad photo If is without doubt chiseled. Clean and deep marks. I was also a bit puzzled by the style of the Mei, but the fittings were tight and everything else seemed ok. I have attached a few more photos. Unfortunately I don't think the blade will tel much as it's heavily covered in black rust. I can take some better photos tomorrow in the daylight if required. Right now it late night in Sweden. -I hope this will help the investigation further

Hi everyone, I would like your assistance in translating the Mei on an Army Shin Gunto. I have read through the book "Military Swords of Japan 1868-1945 by Fuller & Gregory" carefully and all details match a type 94 or early type 98 factory made Army Shin Gunto, but I can't single out the production factory/smith as I couldn't find any traditional factory stamps (perhaps just to faint and I've missed it) but only the Mei on the photo. The sword was bought at a vintage arms fair in the UK some 20 years ago and has a beautiful patina on the Tsuka, Tsuba and other fittings, but a quite neglected blade. I have scanned a few sources attempting to translate the Mei myself, but I found it quite difficult. I think I can se the number "9", the word for "month", "Tani", "Ro" and perhaps the month of "may", but as I understand individual signs can have different meaning depending on the combination so I could be totaly of track.... -Any help would be highly appreciated. Many thanks in advance! /Best regards Magnus in Sweden