rallypointmilitaria

I do not have a better pic just yet, but what exactly would a "Na" stamp tell us? ---Chris

Thanks for everyones help on identifying this sword. My questions at this point are: 1. Whether this blade is traditionally made (gendaito) or showato quality? 2. Whether this Nobumitsu is one of the two Nobumitsu's on pps 134 and 135 of John Sloan's book? Here are some more pics of the Nobumitsu. ---Chris

Here is another pic. --Chris

Mr Moriyama's link seems to confirm that the blade is Kanenori. In addition, his link states: "Some smiths in this list worked as Rikugun Jumei Tosho and they produced "both good and poor blades together". However most of these smiths produced low grade Showato." My questions at this point would be whether this particular blade is traditionally made (gendaito) or showato quality? Also, would this Kanenori be the same (Kojima) Kanenori on pps 56 and 57 in John Sloan's book? Thanks in advance for helping me out. I am totally green at this. Here are more pics of the blade, but they are not the greatest quality. ---Chris

That first one could look like a candidate for this mei... --Chris

Mark, Thank you for your contribution. The swords are being sold by an online militaria dealer, and I was given first dibs on them. The swords are already on the net. That is how I discovered them. I've privately offered and/or sold militaria to people in the past that has ended up on forums with the intent to obtain a consensus regarding authenticity. In fact, I’ve encouraged buyers to do this if they have concerns about an item I have sold them. I am curious, is it breach of etiquette for a person to post pics of an item they are interested in without the permission of the seller? Like I mentioned earlier, I am often the seller of items, and I have no problems with people posting images of things I’ve offered to sell them, but that’s just me. ---Chris

This is seriously mind numbing.... --Chris

Thanks! That explains why I was a year off. ---Chris

I looked at the kanji in Yumoto's book, and I can see why many of you think that the mei is Kanenori (as opposed to kaneuji), but when I look at the oshigata for Kanenori in Sloan's book, the examples for the symbol "Nori" look nothing like the symbols for "Nori" in Yumoto's book. However, the oshigata on p. 57 showing the date (on plate B) looks very similar to the pic in this thread. Can anyone explain this? ---Chris

I am trying to take a stab at this translation. Wouldn't showa (1926) plus ju-hachi ( 18 ) make the date 1944? ---Chris

We all seem to be having a great time with the last two swords I posted yesterday. So, I'm throwing another sword on the table for review. Sorry about the photo quality. I've asked for better pics. Thanks! ---Chris

Would that be the Showa smith Yamato Kaneuji? ---Chris

You mean the one posted in this topic? http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessageboard/viewtopic.php?t=781 Tachi mei refers to the side of the tang the signature appears on. "Katana mei" is signed on the side facing you if the blade is pointing up and the tip pointing to the left, "tachi mei" is the other side (as far as I know, feel free to correct me anyone). It relates to how tachi/katana were worn (blade up/blade down). Steve, That was the sword you have a link for is the one I was referring to. I think you're right about tachi mei. I remember reading it in my sword books, but at this point in the game, I'm having a hard time retaining everything I read. ---Chris

Brian, This may be a silly question but what is "tachi mei"? ---Chris

Ray and Brian, This sword is in Army shin gunto mounts. I can see where one would think the tang looked stainless. I don't think it is though. I didn't realize you guys noticed my ebay auctions! I mostly sell militaria. I like to collect named uniform groupings from WWI to Vietnam, but that has never stopped me from branching off and collecting other stuff. I have always dreamed of owning nice shin guntos, but it took me awhile to jump in with both feet and really learn about this field of collecting. Last week, I sold an oil quenched shin gunto w/ a cool Seki stamp on the saya. You may have noticed it. I have been searching for nice gendaitos for my collection. The two swords I posted today for mei translation have just been offered to me and I want to do my homework. I cannot translate Japanese, so I am very appreciative that this forum is here to help people like me! ---Chris