AikiScott1

I apologize if this has already been covered, but I was thinking about the meaning of at least some of the arsenal stamps and the blades they are on and how different perspectives and assessments would be if Japan had won. If this had happened I think so many of the blades, with their associated stamps now so reviled especially amongst more serious collectors, would have probably been viewed as great treasures and symbols of the victory of Bushido. I cant help but think that it is only because Japan was more or less forced into a more peaceful mold after total defeat that art was valued over practical might, with most of these signs of militarism shunned. Thanks for your time and sorry for the tirade.- - Scott M.

I am sorry I tried to email but things were not working, then when I thought I finally sent a message it was sent back as spam. Should I try from a desktop, as I have been doing all this from my phone? Thanks again and have a great day. - - - Scott M.

Thank you so much for such a quick reply and how best would I get my sword to shinsa? Any chance there will be one in the New York area soon? Thanks again.- - Scott M.

I am guessing that the best way to tell if the signature is truly genuine is sending it to shinsa huh? Should I do this before having it polished, or would there not be enough there to tell at this point? Thanks again. - - - Scott M.

Hello and thanks so much for the number hint. I was able to come up with kinoe hyaku ju shi go, but I don't know what this means altogether or what the significance would be. I will try to do more research and see if I can come up with something. Thanks again.---Scott M.

Hello and good evening again. I was hoping someone could help me translate this sword backstrap. I have been trying for some time but I could not find anything definite. My guess is that this writing is more like Japanese script than the writing usually found on nakago? Do these characters mean something altogether? I have attached a link below to the photos. This sword is what I guess to be a Japanese civilian officials sword, possibly with a naval connection as it has a folding guard and a traditional osuriage blade. Thanks so much.- - Scott M. http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/Aikis ... t=3&page=1

Hello again, and here is a link to more pictures of the blade in question. I hope this helps, and again I apologize for the glare and pitting. Thanks again.- - Scott M. http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/Aikis ... t=3&page=1

Hello and good evening. I don't know how others may feel but I am not so sure that you should put it back to issued condition. With my collection, I just tried to make sure all original parts were in place, the dirt was off, any rust was stopped in its tracks, and any patina was as undisturbed as possible. However, this is just my two cents. Thanks. --- Scott M.

PS--Sorry for the picture quality. With that and the blade pitting and poor polish its hard to make out much detail but the whole blade has that high wavy hamon on both sides, though it is not completely uniform throughout. Thanks again.---Scott M.

I hope you are all doing well, and I was wondering about this sword I have had for a while now. I have attached a link below to pictures. I think the mei says yamashiro kami fujiwara toshinaga, but I am not 100% certain about this. What I also wanted to know is, is this sword worth getting polished? Is it gimei? What is the likely time period? Thank you all and have a great day.---Scott M. http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/Aikis ... sort=3&o=1

Hello and I was wondering if anyone has ever noticed a significant difference in shin gunto scabbards? I bring this up as I was just handling one of my swords and the scabbard is metal, though significantly thicker and heavier than others I had seen or handled, including steel and aluminum versions. Just wondering, thanks.- - Scott M.

I got my first real Japanese sword more than 20 years ago at the age of 14. It was a late war 1944 pattern shin gunto my father bought for me for getting good grades. It was nothing great really, but at that time I thought it was amazing. While my tastes have matured since then, I still have that sword and the memories.---Scott M.

Thank you so much! Would this be a shin shinto smith? I ask because the blade in question still has some ubu ha and looks really healthy still. Gimei?

Hello and good evening. I hope this works out as planned. I am looking for help with a mei translation and the only way I could figure out to upload the picture of it is to attach the link to my photobucket below. Thanks so much and please let me know of any issues with this.- - Scott M. Http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/Aikis ... t=3&page=0

I get the proper gauge (though I forget what that is now) double twisted wire, then coil wrap it carefully in almost thread like wire. However, like I said I find it maddening. - - - Scott M.

Hello and good evening. I was wondering if anyone knew where I could get coiled twisted wire for sword grips? I am trying to restore a Kyu Gunto sword handle and while I have made this wire before myself, it is a very time consuming pain and I would rather just buy it. Thanks so much.---Scott M.

Hello again, and the reason that I said that the term Kyu Gunto is technically incorrect for this sword is because, as Jim Dawson points out in his book, the term Kyu Gunto means proto, or first military sword, but this pattern was in fact not the first military pattern sword mounting approved by the Japanese government.--- Scott M.

Hello and thanks for posting these pics, I love Kyu Gunto (even though I know this designation is technically incorrect. ) Besides the blade, which seems still in great shape, I find the mounts interesting as they are army type 8 mounts, dating from 1875-1886. I hope this info is of some interest and again thanks for the look. ---Scott M.

If I might also add something that may be of interest, it looks from the tassel that this sword was owned by a field officer, though not a general, as they had a different tassel pattern.---Scott.