phil reid

Hello Gentlemen , have just aquired this ww2 sword but require a hand at the translation , any assistance would be appreciated regards (photo file marked as bangkok as back from conference there, sword bought in melbourne ) Phil

Hello , A friends just purchased this off ebay and was after a translation , I only dabble in military swords so im well out of my depth here so any help would be greatly appreciated http://www.ebay.com/itm/111537695109?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Hopefully the link works Thanks in advance Phil

Thankyou George , and an extra thankyou on the swordmiths name as couldnt for the life of me find the 2nd kanji on the http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kanji/kanji1.htm swordsmith translation page and turns out "shiki" characters not on it so not feeling quite the failure i was . Regards Phil

Just got this WW2 officers sword (kane something ) and it has a "fish tail " faint Hamon near the tang , Yahazu is the cloest ive come across , is this common in a WW2 blade that im assuming is machine made .Apologies on the photo but hard to catch but this fishtail / fletched arrow polish goes for about 30% of blade from tang , will try better shots on the weekend .

No thats good to know , wouldve been Fantastic to be an honest Yoshimichi but very happy as it was still reasonably purchased if it is a copy signature . Best Regards Phil

Excellent Klaus and Geraint , Your help is greatly appreciated . Geraint , going by that post link showing the different Tanba no kami Yoshimichi signatures from different "generations " I didnt come across one with characters as smoothly / roundly executed as the one posted ? As the blade isnt dated is anyone aware of similar Tanba no kami Yoshimichi characters as thecomparison ones seen are quite angular in comparison . Geraint if I missed something in that posted thread my apologies as its been most helpful seeing the comparison signatures cheers for your superb help Phil

Hi Geraint , Was actually taking hilt to bits when you mustve posted your reply . Yes from what I see of this piece id gathered the grip had also deteriorated and been replaced but wasnt sure when . In taking the hilt apart what i thought was leather is actually a woven material , strong scent of gun oil to it as mentioned . No markings to blade and its a fairly unexciting machine made single fullered piece with numerous surface (minor ) pitting . The chaps been nice enough to let me hold it for the weekend so can take better photos as its 2050 at night and lights pretty ordinary for photos but hopefully youll be able to see that the wraps of material ( hopefully someones spotted its like before ) Thanks so much for your help Phil

Hi Ive come across this 1883 naval gunto in fairly good condition , thinking of buying but havent seen one with a leather handle before (heavy smell of gun oil to handle ) , certainly has some age to it , blades single fullered and abit pitted , rayskins missing off scabbard but present under the mounts Any thoughts would be appreciated as just concerned about the leather grip handle as its the first like this ive seen and if anyones seen one before cheers Phil

No dates , only markings are those posted

Hello , Friends just purchased this and asked me to have a look at it but having no luck on the swordsmith kanji page Any help would be appreciated ( of to get some nurofen ) cheers Phil

This was my question Stephen concerning the signatures on blades as all the signatures in the index seem to have slight to major differences in the execution of the characters 信光 ( have put one from the index and one off my blade as examples ) and the tales of apprentices " signing off " on the blades .Im gathering that the characters are translated correctly but are your comments saying theres something suspect in the signature or where its signed?Just seeking information but should i have listed this item or be asking these questions on the militaria forum where theres possibly greater knowledge and handling of ww2 military blades ? Regards Phil

Translated this type 3 blade as being Nobumitsu for a chap be he says a female friend (whose also checked the signature and "has parents that live 2hrs away from where most of these swords were made" ).said the 光 looks "wrong " from what I gather means its fake or "new" , ive told him that it was usually some young underling who would be left to do the finishing signing and sometimes the signing wasnt the best ( am i correct?) What i worked it out as is Nobumitsu 信 光as the sword smith , with sword date as Showa 19 year 12th month 昭和 十九年十二月 (december 1944) but that was me translating > Your thoughts to the signature and its authenticity would be appreciated Regards Phil

Out of my depth on this one , chaps asked me about this sword , age etc , hes in Perth Australia and have told him that we have a Militaria fair here in the ist week of september and to take it along and ask the boys there whos best to chat too ( I believe Mr G Trotter may be working the tables ) .Hes sent me some photos which ive listed requesting better ones but there still not that great . Thanks in advance if anyone can help Phil Reid

Not suprised you didnt see the hamon in earlier shots , you have to catch it in the right light and near impossible to catch on the camera. temds to pop out better in dusk light than daylight , tried to take photos today but nothing came out better than already listed . Your insights are greatly appreciated cheers Phil

As ive been asked about the blade , yes , 1 big nick and 5-6 minor ones , light pretty bad and still havent worked out this HD camera to knock out glare but tried to capture the faint hamon which id describe as large crested waves (sorry about the junk in the background but twisting around trying to get the best exposure) ill try again in the morning but hopefully itll give those who asked an idea phil p.s. the 2nd photos in my replies arent downloading for some reason and will have to be clicked on if interested

Katatemaki certainly very similar , so leather wrapped around a core of "cotton" thread to bulk it up as per the thread coming out where theres damage to the wrap where the hilts pegged Many thanks to all Phil

blades older but thought the wrapped blade maybe newer , leather sheath is ww2 ofcourse , have tried to add photos of blade for those who asked . Wrap isnt leather but some sort of hard plasticy (only way to describe it ) substance over a core of thin cord ( you can see these protuding out in the 2nd initial photo where the wrap around where the hilts pegged has been damaged)

Have what i assume is a wartime wakazashi but stumped on the handle wrapping , has a finish like leather but where its been damaged it looks like multiple cord thats been coated , has anyone come across anything like this ? metal fittings actually quite nice on this and the menuki which are nolonger present appear to have been cemented on!

Thankyou John K , Much obliged Regards Phil R

Picked up this ( 1930s?aluminium ?) cigarette case , very plain but quite pretty ( latch broken unfortunately ) and curious about the characters on the facing .If anyone could help that would be greatly appreciated Regards Phil

Ive owned a few of these type 32 cavalry and transport swords but this is the first ive come across with Japanese characters to the blade ricasso . Standard for these are western numerals and Japanese arsenal stamps to the facing of the handle guard which are easy to decipher but lost on these characters . , not sure if there dating or manufacturing characters , some of which is worn smooth on the right hand side , any help would be appreciated Cheers Phil

Sorry ( sleep deprived with twins) 9mm brass tsuba

Thanks Stu , Apologies , its the 1st variant ( according to Dawsons book) with the aluminium handle and copper tsuba , which Mr Dawson has as possibly produced Sept 1938- early 1941 , couldnt find a date listing of serial numbers so possibly no records exist. Cheers Phil

Does anyone know if theres a production dating list for the different manufacturers of the type 95 nco swords ? Have a 3rd pattern nco Tokyo First Army Arsenal inspection mark "To" stamping serial number 141882 and wanted to know a possible year dating on that number range cheers Phil

Awesome Geraint , Link has the listing of the one i first saw on ebay a few months Appreciate the reply Phil