Dave R

Just to help you avoid future embarrassment in the UK "Wank" has a very specific meaning! Wonky is probably the word you were looking for.

You might like this one... http://www.naippe.fm.usp.br/hobby/Namban_steel_and_Hizen_swords_latest_fina.pdf

Original posted on "usagiya".

The scabbard looks like it is one of the aluminium alloy ones, which are original, not common, but do often have issues. Are there any signs of a "Seki" or "Sho" stamp on the tang?

Ouch, you have my sympathy.

I have also seen photo's of armourers anvils in Bronze. It's not just a matter of cost, but also of production restraints. Anvils are a whole subject in themselves.

Looks good, but I have seen the same/similar set from a Chinese seller who was clear that they were reproduction. These might be original, but I would be wary.

5 cm in size, not 5 inches.

It's a dust-proof seppa for one model or another,,,,,,

I think I have one, photo to follow.

As my two'peneth, I have had in hand at a militaria fair, a rust resistant blade signed by the polisher! Apparently his contribution was important enough to be recorded in a permanent manner. Rather wishing I had bought it now.

There is also a film clip linked in a previous thread on this site........

Follow this link for more on the subject of "sharpness". http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/sharpness.html

Not Nihonto, but the urge dates to a long way back.

I am still dubious about the saya, but the rest of the package is good enough that I would not fret about it.

It looks more like a flaw in the metal to me.

To fit a blade to a hilt you either file/grind the tang to fit, or you excavate the hilt to fit. In this case it looks like the tang was altered, so we need to look for evidence of recent work, or a 70 year old patina on the reshaping. I other words, lots of detailed pic's of the tang.

A cursory review does not show any such in my files. I can of course go digging further, but I charge £75 per hour for serious directed research, as opposed to sharing casually on social media, 2 hours to be paid for upfront! I think we have established though that factory made blades of the NCO pattern do turn up in officers mounts, in one form or the other, and with better provenance for when they turn up the other way round..... The question is, at what stage of manufacture did they usually get pulled from the production line, or from service?

"Update, as you posted the new pics as I was typing: Dang! That nakago (tang) is not a normal Type 95 nakago! This would imply the blade was made special for an officer rig, yet I don’t see why they would do the serial number, unless maybe they expected to get it back, like a rental." Altered at a late stage or even pulled from a mounted sword, and just chopped short, and remounted, so the mekugi ana is moved, and the hole for the end screw removed...... And here we have another, posted by Leen Van Ochten on the Fb page. This one probably pulled at an earlier stage in the manufacturing process.

And another, that I forget where I got it. (Nowadays I file with more info as to where I found stuff). Mr Komiya on Warrelics.eu reckons they were made because of shortages in wartime supply. Myself, I think they would have been a damn good practical sword, with a Gov't guaranteed blade.

Not unique, but certainly not common. Here is one from a sellers site, posted some time ago by Bangbangsan.

Not the original saya for sure, but the sword looks OK. The menuki look to have patinated with age, but the rest looks righteous. When you get it in hand give it a shake to test the fit of the parts. I think you got a decent deal, but I suspect some missing or replaced parts, in particular, have a close look at the Habaki.

I missed that, so there we go, sadly it is a fake and I was caught out by my hope to find another Amahide.

Like I say, they do turn up, and when they do they cause furious arguments because most collectors are not familiar with them... and if they don'r recognise them they cry fake. Of course there are fakes about, and they often have an in your face pattern welded blade. But I think yours is a genuine Shin Gunto. This one below was posted on this message board by lindus.

This is one of Amamahide' mixed metal specials....