Stegel

Personally to me both handles and fuchi appear to be genuine, the one Chris showed seems to have been buffed removing the definition of the dimples. Neither has the punch marked dimples which are telltale fake, just my opinion.

Trystan, The S/n 35914 should be in the gifu range, Iijima was the previous range with the highest recorded at 35652. I have Gifu records before this S/N and one 2 digits higher -see picture. In my opinion it has been refitted at some point with another blade. I tend to agree with your thoughts that it is a fake just by looking at it. If there are close ups of the S/N and Inspection Mark, it would be interesting to confirm with the font style used. I cannot see the numbers clearly when close up. I also think the tsuba edge profile is not correct and most likely tsuba was swapped with blade at same time.

Just getting back to the sword @TimJ posted, i agree with everyone that this is a genuine Type 95 from the Nagoya Arsenal. For Thomas, my records show this is almost in the middle of the Gifu range, so looks legit to me going by serial numbers. The leather combat cover is in my opinion a post war addition from an officers type 98 sword, where the scabbard was clearly a little longer than the type 95 one. It would be good to remove it and see the scabbard by itself, this colour paint , although not very common, has been seen before. Confirming it is original (paint or re-paint) would be interesting to find out.

Here's a photo for comparison with a type 32 and a type95, can't believe i didn't do this straight away! I think it may be a bit long/big for a machete, but that's an interesting thought. It doesn't appear to be like any machete handle i have seen from the period, such as the dutch cutlass conversions done in Indonesia. John, i agree with you on the nakago shape, however i think it could possibly hold an old wakizashi size blade.

one more picture of the metal backstrap and retention rings

Came across this handle recently, what caught my eye was its Japanese appearance... it wasn't expensive so i bought it. It has a Kyu Gunto appearance, yet is definitely some sort of Spartan like 'budget' build. The only thing i know is that i bought it from a fellow in the U.K Assuming it was found in an arena which the Commonwealth Forces engaged during the war, so we have India/Burma/Malaya/Borneo/Thailand etc Please give me your thoughts on this piece, is it Japanese? Last ditch of some sort? or some collaborationist forces under the Japanese- so possibly island made etc I have some very last ditch swords with this type of handle construction, they may have been supplied as either NCO issue (my belief) but also possibly for officer use because of the type of blades used. I'm all ears for any ideas you might have. Thanks!

Good job taking notice of this Conway! I second Kippu's comments that this is 'right' inside the Kobe serial number range, it is now the second of it's type (with brass tsuba) that has surfaced. The serial number range before Kobe (37k-39k) is from Gifu, and Suya continues on after this range. However, i'd be a bit cautious buying this sword personally. If you are after a Kobe example, i'd pass on this one, regardless of the serial number. Looking at the other pics from the Auction, i can see that the handle is different to all the other Kobe examples on file. It has the final variation of the Symmetrical Aluminium handle as used by the Tokyo 1st Arsenal, this doesn't automatically exclude it as original though. This version had the left side menuki repositioned higher up towards the sarute by one cross in the ito wrap pattern. Look at the pic below to see what i mean. This pattern also appears sporadically in the lower serial number ranges, giving credence to the idea that these may have been repaired at some point. I have only one on record with an Ichi fuchi in this serial number range, it is 39157, at the end of the Kobe serial number range. It also had Brass tsuba, and this is the highest recorded number i have. It is also a bit cleaner of an example than this one and appears to be a more honest or genuine in my opinion, see below. Bruce you could be spot on with both comments as per repairs and the connection that Ichi and Kobe are of the same shop. The 39157 example being the highest, may provide evidence of this. With Ichi taking over from Kobe, parts such as the fuchi may have been used when the original kobe fuchi's had run out. I believe this may have occured, otherwise they could both be examples of shop repairs which we know did happen.

Congratulations Markus! A very nice sword, i agree with the others that both are genuine swords. Did you get both of them or only one?

I agree, it is a Sam Browne style of Belt. I can't comment on originality, however this style was used by officers in both IJA and IJN (land garisson troops). Here's a few pics of the one i have. It has two buckle prongs- not three, or the middle stud. It came with a sword captured in New Guinea.

i wonder what happened to the bohi?? 100% original in my opinion

Nice original Black saya with grey overpaint, even some on the throat piece. strange way the drag fin was removed, I haven’t seen one like that before. Mich you should add this to the black scabbard thread as an original example in my opinion. There is no green or brown visible anywhere that I can see.

Hi John, Kippu has beaten everyone to the punch and answered your question with his reply. I just want to add that if you do look closely, the brass whistle has the IJA Army star cast on the top of it, so perhaps they ordered some from Arkay to be specially made for their use. I actually remember my friends in primary school back in the 60's bring them to school to play with, at the time i had no idea of any Japanese connection to them and took no further notice of whistles as such until i got one on the sword.

Hi Jay, I have been collecting for quite some time and have heard about the whistle in the NCO tassels as well, but have yet to see or find one. The closest i found was a US 1902 sword tassel that had the whistle built in. These tassels have twisted leather cords instead of flat straps and normally don't have whistles in the leather barrel knot end. They have been mistakenly called rare versions of the Japanese NCO tassel in the past, even Ohmura's web page incorrectly shows one as a rare version, see here (at bottom of his page). I do have a brass whistle at the end of a leather tassel, it has had the original leather knot removed and the whistle attached in it's place. It came with a Copper Handled Type 95 i bought years ago. Here's a picture for you to see.

I personally like it, but would agree with Ian and Matt, that it's refurbished. The saya appears to have no scuffs, yet the fittings do. The Ito is just Brand New, not 80yrs old. Apart from the odd menuki, the fittings are nice. Just my opinion. I looked into his other items for sale and it appears he runs some kind of Disposal store, lots of items in there. He is way overpriced for my liking, he has a type 95 'genuine' bit rough, koshirea for sale at $US 2800, the blade is snapped (being in Japan). If he thinks he's appealing to buyers from outside Japan, then he's dreaming. He's fishing in the wrong market place. I was lost when he also had an obvious Chinese fake type 95 for $US 1600.....also broken blade. Things that make you go hmmmm Links to Fake type95: Get me outta here! Real type 95: not out of my wallet! And he nicely uses Dawson book to try and convince you!! Added pictures to preserve the thread's life.

Looks like a hand carved bit of chop stick to me, will be interesting to see what Nelson reports back once he disassembles the handle. The handle appears to be the regular 'Katana' size, repurposed to fit this wakizashi blade, maybe the reason for the unique fuchi, so the mekugi holes line up. Field replacement? any other thoughts. ( i don't think it's a post war replacement, personally) I'm with Mal, it looks to be an older blade, the scabbard is also non type 98 , so possibly a Civilian sword converted to military use when blade shortages were trying to be overcome. Just my 2 cents.

Looks Good to me also

If you look at the very first photo, you’ll see that there is nearly no paint at all, it is worn and rusty in appearance. This sword has been through a lot and it shows. The photo near the end is misleading as it does appear to be painted. At first glance I thought the bohi had lacquer remaining in it, but it was old cosmoline.

Looks all genuine to me. If you are set on collecting these, and there are not many to choose from, then depending on the price, it is ok for a first sword in my opinion. Keep looking for a better one as it will eventually turn up and then you can decide if you want to sell it or not. if the ‘bug’ bites, I think you’ll probably end up keeping it. It looks like it will clean up nicely and present well with a little work! I believe that Chris and Bruce have assessed it correctly for you.

Here's another strange one, i assume it was respectfully made by (a Navy Koshirae maker??) Does it read from right to left?? It doesn't look like it would be for a Rinji Spec sword (Type 100 / 0 / 3 / Pattern 44 / NLF etc etc), as there is no provision for a locking latch. More likely for a Type 97 IMO. I can't read it and am hoping one of you guys could give a translation. Thanks!

Nice original example. This one has the correct Fuchs stamps with the Tokyo star logo, instead of the Kokura 4 cannonballs. Tokyo produced the top lock Pattern 2(brass tsuba)and pattern 3(steel tsuba) until the end of the war. After the Administration change of Arsenals from Kokura, Nagoya produced the side latched models only. That is pattern 4 (Aluminium handle) and pattern 5. (Wood handle) . The Admin change occurred in 1942, so both Arsenals were producing different model swords from this time on. This sword was produced early 1943 IMO.

Bruce, just an observation, i think we need to confirm the dates. If correct, then i'm unsure of what these numbers actually represent, as they could not be the smiths personal tally as such IMO. (at least what i thought they most likely were) 246 was made in March, but 267 was made in Feb? (a possible time warp- back to the future?) Also assuming 246 was made at the start of March, and 476 at the end of May, then in 3 months he made 230 blades?? The things that make you go hhmmmm!!

These markings are not stamps as such, probably why i didn't mention mine earlier, but Robs is the second one i've seen now, and maybe more exist out there in collectons. We've seen numbers stamped on tangs before and the opinions are either koshirae assembly numbers or personal smith tallys via series/numbering. (even Bruce's Roman numeral numbering system and the 'Dot' punch markings would be included here) I didn't mean to muddy the waters with my example, but highlight the fact that there appears to be another such system which is similar and yet slightly different. Of which Rob's and mine are the two known examples so far. This in itself is not enough to say a system was in place, but we can never say never. My initial thoughts on my sword were the same as Trystan's : however now seeing Rob's i'm not so sure. i'm thinking his looks more like a 19 also, and therefore i'm leaning towards an assembly number of sorts. However, The other fittings are not marked, just the blade itself (on mine at least) I'm was hoping that Thomas upon seeing these as numbers,may have had more info in this matter, to make us all a bit smarter! Looking forward to more thoughts on these!

It's a shame the mounting hole is so close, so as to make ID harder. I have an early type 95 with these stamps instead of the W, and also, some similar scratched numbers on the tang.

Hi Kay, The sword appears to be genuine, and from the photo's i believe it could be matching numbers. It was made by Iijima under the Kokura Administration. They were one of the subcontractors supplying the Tokyo Arsenal. The handle is Painted Aluminium in this case and it is quite clear in the photo's provided. Overall it appears to be in clean condition, that is not very well worn/abused. The serial number range is correct for this manufacturer. These are generally going from $700 to $1200 at auction depending on condition, so this would be at the higher end. You will find some dealers asking hugely inflated prices, even double the high end i mentioned, but their listings are around for a long time and are very slow sellers.( on occasion, they may be rare and will command higher prices anyway - this particular one if fairly common to find) Here's a good overview primer for you to read if you haven't got any reference books https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/ija-type-95-nco-sword-info-228172/ if you want to know more indepth there's this one: https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/short-development-history-type-95-gunto-676112/ Also if you do a search on this site you will find many threads about this particular model. I hope this helps you some. Good luck, and if you do get it, please post some better pics here, as there are a lot of people here who love looking at these!

Here's a Nagoya sword from a UK dealers site found (current listing so won't post the link) The black scabbard appears to be a period paint job, showing nice Patina and old wear from usage IMO. Closer inspection would help reveal if it is original or a 'period' repaint.