Gregory J Liebau

Thanks again for the replies! The subject of terminology is very interesting, and I'm fine with calling it a kyu gunto based on what I see online when I search that term. Glad to know what it is. The "type 8" hilt pattern was mentioned, which also pulls some photos of similar hilts online when I post it, but just searching for kyu gunto also leads to similar results without the assurance of the hilt's age (1875-1886 was mentioned). Any more information about the hilt and fittings specifically? I see many that seem to have the same initial casting as this piece, but are much more ornately decorated or have additional details of various sorts such as wire wrapped between the rayskin ridges in the tsuka. Would these sorts of details have been left to the individual makers/patrons of the swords, or did they signify distinctions in rank, etc? Are there any books on the subject of Japanese military swords that I can try getting a hold of to learn more? Cheers! -Gregory

Thanks for the information, Mark. It definitely was not on Gunbroker! I took all of these photos this morning. Grey, no fears. I do not plan to attempt any more maintenance on this sword. I'm just going to lightly oil the side of the blade that I stripped the varnish from, put it back together and hang it back up on the wall for the time being, or until I'm spurred to have a specialist look at it.

Hello folks, This sword was gifted to my grandfather after WWII. He was a captain of an American minesweeper, and was charged with overseeing a number of Japanese sweepers that were tasked with clearing out their own bays full of mines. My father knows more of the details of the story, but I regret that I do not know which bay it was, or who it was that gave my grandfather this sword. I do know that it was the captain of the Japanese minesweepers, and that he gave it to my grandfather as a sign of gratitude after my grandfather allowed the Japanese several days' holiday leave amidst their work. The captain approached my grandfather's boat a second time (after returning from holiday with his crews) armed only with the sword, so my grandfather, being hesitant, equipped himself with a pistol and met the officer in open water on a small lifeboat. He was given the sword at that time, and returned home to California with it several months later. I am an enthusiastic collector of reproductions of historical weaponry and have read some about Japanese swords. When it comes to recognizing the details of swords like this, I am ignorant. My father has the sword taken apart some years ago and a man confirmed to him that the sword was apparently re-hilted, and they were unable to decipher the text on the tang. With this in mind, I decided to take it apart again this morning for photos that could be shared here. The bare blade measures 90cm straight across the top. I know no details about this sword other than the obvious, that it was given to my grandfather by a Japanese naval officer and that I've seen the same sort of hilt setup on other "naval" swords from the WWII era. I would appreciate knowing anything further about this sword! My grandfather applied the varnish to the blade in 1945, and I decided to strip it off one side of the blade to reveal it in its fullness (I used rubbing alcohol and paper towels). He had the nickel plating re-done at some point since receiving the sword, though the sword itself has not been touched since 1945. Cheers! - Gregory J. Liebau (p.s. Larger images available in the photostream: Click Here!)