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I see, this is interesting to say the least. I didnt realize old fakes where as common as new ones. I will get some pictures of the tsuba. Ive heard the name Kanemoto plenty of times, its a shame its a fake Thanks for your help guys, ill have to break the bad news to my friend tommorow -James M Martin

Also, to respond to the picture comment. What i ment by that is that i would find it odd that someone would fake a mei on a blade only to run out and die on the battlefield and the american that killed him take it... -James M Martin

Ok, understood. What makes it look fake to you? Having that knowledge would possibly save me alot of frustration down the road As for this sword, my friend was just wanting to know who made it and where it came from. Im glad I checked here first, i was about to offer him a couple hundred just for the tsuba as it looked authentic and old to me (based on my limited knowledge). As for the blade I just wasnt sure, it is very well made but I had no way to tell its age or authenticity. -James M Martin

Thanks for your help! How can you tell it looks fake? It would be really wild if it was as I seen a picture taken in the 40's with my friends grandfather holding this blade (along with a Japanese flag). -James M Martin

I also should point out I dont require a translation (although it would be nice) per my last post. I am more concerned about the age of this blade, and if there is any way to tell based on the mei and or any charateristics of the blade itself. My observation is based soley based off of the tsuba. -James M Martin

A friend of mine brought me his grandfathers wakizashi he aquired from WWII. This thing is pretty rough, but the first thing i noticed was the tsuba. It looked like a very old iron tsuba that was very well made, it had a cherry blossom cutout but unlike some of the other iron tsuba I have seen (very few) it had some depth to it and i could tell it took some work to make. The mei only has 3 kanji, and i am unaware of how to read it. Anyone that could would be very helpful, but also since this is a wakizashi Im a little confused about a few things. Where wakizashi stamped in WW2 also? Judging by the tsuba and the fact there are no stamps on the blade i would say this is pre ww2, can anyone tell me if this is accurate? Any information would be helpful and thanks in advance! -James M Martin http://s9.postimage.org/6bzkat4i6/2012_11_02_17_46_29_497.jpg http://s10.postimage.org/dvi00c3aw/2012_11_02_17_47_25_126.jpg

I really do appericiate your help. As for this site, I registered with this site because it is the largest wealth of knowledge (by users) i have found. And not to worry, the lashing was well deserved -James M Martin

Thank you very much! -James M Martin

Very true, I have spent quite some time latley attempting to read the mei of some of my current swords. Most I have figured out, some not so much. It seems much easier when the Mei and date are on opposite sides as opposed to ony one side being signed. I am mearly a collector of WWII items that has taken an interest into Japanese swords lately. I love the history, and the craftsmanship of a true nihonto (only recently aquired my first). Having said that the WWII collector in me still likes some of the gunto blades out there, especially the unusual. -James M Martin

This is what im being told is a ww2 gunto blade that I am contemplating the purchase of, with the very limited pictures availible to me at the moment I cant make this out at all, and i would feel more comfortable with a little bit more knowledge of the mei. Any help on this would be appericiated! -James M Martin

So that tsuba is original?

Thanks for the help! If i did well then its luck, ive bent burnt plenty of times buying gunto blades in the past. :lol: Any idea what the price range of somthing like this is worth? Is it worth paying to get polished? Of all the swords I have this is my first traditional Japanese sword, and im very happy about that no matter the value, but if its worth getting polished then i will have to look into that. James M Martin

Ohh wow, i completely forgot to mention that.. i paid 500.00USD. James M Martin

So, even know I fully understand that I do not possess enough knowledge in this area to be making large purchases, I made one on a whim. So the things I know about the sword: It was made in october 1944, it is signed "Choshu-ju Kiyokuni" and is an RJT sword with a star stamp on the tang. The things I need to know about the sword: In its current condition did I make a bad purchase? Are the fittings correct for this blade? I would be thankful to anyone who can hopefully shed some light on this and i have attatched some pictures for reference. James M Martin http://oi48.tinypic.com/w0ti6b.jpg http://oi49.tinypic.com/2qdszus.jpg http://oi50.tinypic.com/nwa591.jpg http://oi49.tinypic.com/8z2war.jpg http://oi49.tinypic.com/bk65u.jpg http://oi50.tinypic.com/jtly1e.jpg http://oi49.tinypic.com/33wukx0.jpg

Thank you so much! James M Martin