substandard

Thank you Kaigunair and George for the translations.

Thanks Brian. I didn't want to post any images until I knew for certain that it was ok. The canteen is marked on front and back The cleaning kit has something stitched in the back And the oil bottle also has an inscription that I imagine is the soldier's name (?) Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

I hope it is okay to post this in this forum, if not, then I apologize and please remove the post. First, this will be for commercial purposes, I operate a pawn shop and had a WW2 Japanese canteen and cleaning kt come in to the store. Both are inscribed with writing. I would like to have these translated, one because it would naturally help sell the items. However I am also a history and WW2 buff and my own curiosity has gotten the better of me. If anyone would be interested, please contact me and let me know the rates you would charge. I can send some hi-res images of the writing. Thank you.

No, I bought this sword from a local woman getting rid of her father's estate. I have uploaded more images of the blade and the writing on the scabbard to the Photobucket library. Thanks to everyone for the valuable information.

I received two more blades that I need help ID'ing and getting an idea on the value of the blades. Thanks in advance for any help. The first one is a sword brought back by an American GI in WW2. There are no markings on the blade or fittings and the blade length is 28.75". The tip of the blade is broken off. The scabbard is leather over wood with a modern "snap" type fitting. There is some Japanese writing on the scabbard that is hard to make out. There are more images available in my Photobucket library here: http://s516.photobucket.com/user/definc/library/Japanese%20Blades?sort=3&page=1 The other blade is a short 7" blade that I am not sure about. It also came with some WW2 items. No markings on the blade, and a rough leather sheath/scabbard. The edge is dull almost like a letter opener, so I was wondering if it wasn't made from scrap metal by a bored soldier. There are more images at http://s516.photobucket.com/user/definc/library/Short%20Blade?sort=3&page=1

I have found yet another Japanese(?) sword that was brought back by a returning GI. Well maybe it is Japanese... The sword has a 23" blade from tip to tsuba. There are no markings on the tang or blade. The scabbard is leather covered and has some faint Japanese writing by the throat. I had thought that the sword was a NCO's sword or Gunto, but I thought that it would have at least some markings. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Chris

I would like to once again thank Chris, and all the members of this forum that have taken time to comment. This is a very helpful and polite forum, some times those are hard to find on the internet. After considering the information, and getting some advice, I have decided to keep the blade for now. I hope to get the blade polished in the future, but for now I will keep it in the gun safe as an interesting bit of history.

Thank you very much for your translation, Chris. If I understand correctly, "Dated Meiji 3 April" would mean this blade was made during the reign of Emperor Meiji (1867-1912). Having an interest in history and weaponry, how would the quality of this blade compare to, say, an earlier 1600 AD era sword? I know that Japan was shifting toward a more modern military in the late 1800s, and I assume the demand for swords would have declined during this time. The blade measures 43.25" overall with a cutting blade of 32.125". There is some pitting in the metal and nicks in the blade edge. To my untrained eye it looks as if the blade tip has been altered as well. What would a rough value be on this blade? I would like to see it go to a person that would give it the respect that it deserves. Thank you to all the members of the forum, you have been most helpful.

I recently acquired a Japanese sword blade, that unfortunately has seen better days. The blade was found rusty in a trash dumpster, and the person who found it sanded the rust away. I had a local Japanese woman look at the sword, however she was unable to read the inscription as it is in what she termed, "old Japanese". Any help in determining more information on this blade would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Inscription on one side of the tang. Starting from the tang going towards the area where the Tsuba would be. Inscription on the other side, again starting from the end of the tang