Josh man

A friend suggested these are probably merchant blade mounts, and not from a samurai's wakizashi.

Sorry about the quality of the pictures. This is from the seller, I'll get better pics when I receive them.

Can anyone tell me what I have? I only have one late Shinto era sword in gunto mounts, but I've been offered these fittings from the grandson of a WWII vet who brought them back. It looks like they all go on the same blade, but the blade is nowhere to be found (I believe the family has it in the shirasaya but who knows?)

Okay, his full title and name is Tōto Omi no Kami Fujiwara Tsuguhira (real name Fujita Yashiro). This is a fairly nice sword, no flaws other than some openings in the lamination. It has a really nice silver foil habaki with an engraved rain drop like pattern, it's in shin gunto koshirae. Its mei is in sosho script. I think I may want to get a wakizashi one day made by this smith to go with this sword. Not looking at the moment, so just out of pure curiosity, does anyone have a wakizashi or any other type of blade made by this smith? Thanks Josh

Roger that. I will email the seller and ask for more pictures (he posted quite a few, but for some reason I couldn't save them onto my computer).

As long as my computer took to load this, hopefully it shows up.

I was told by a friend who is extremely knowlegeble in nihonto that he has never seen this smith, so i figured I would post it on here to see if any of you gentlemen know this smith. Im sure this isnt enough to determine if the blade is traditionally forged or a machined piece (I will attempt to get more, my laptop and wifi are absolute garbage) Thanks in advance, and sorry if the answer to some of this is obvious. I've done a fair amount of reading, but im still fairly new at these (I'm mostly into WWII Japanese rifles, but am slowly getting into Nihonto).

Only other picture I could get off the forum this is for sale on (the rest I couldn't save as, Im fairly computer illiterate).

Here is a Mei picture (for some reason I cant get this to show up, but it shows up fine if I click on it via the forum)

The mei is sosho (it is not gimei, this was papered by the NTHK). It is a 4th generation piece. Sorry if I couldn't be more specific (I bought this from a member here), I'm a total nihonto newbie, so bear with me. I may or may not have overpaid for it, but I'm extremely happy with it (I'm not too worried about value for now since I know I paid at least retail, I just wanna know more about the smith). I will try to get pictures up soon as possible (I am using an iPhone and don't have my computer with me at the moment). Thanks in advance Josh

I found a possible gendaito in gunto mounts. The tang reads Shimousa ju Kuniaki. Does anyone have any info on this smith? Thanks, Josh

I know he made blades in the late Edo period. I purchased my first nihonto that was a 1775 dated Tsuguhira. But does anyone have any other information on this smith? Like personal information or info on his other works? Thanks in advance, Josh

It's a really beautiful piece. It seems kind of odd to have a katana blade in western style mounts, but regardless of the mounts it's still a nihonto. What kind of modifications to the tang are there with these kind of set ups?

Thank you for the pics!!! Gunto, you have quite a nice collection. Do any of yours have a Pre-Meiji blade? I read in my books that some of these have katana blades.

I agree that he has a fairly nice collection. And I've totally overpaid before for items that I absolutely had to have. My only qualm is with the fake VC flag being sold as an original. While I'm not accusing the guy of being unscrupulous, it does make me nervous about the other items. I feel safer buying from someone that I can be 100% sure knows what they're selling. But we are all humans and we all make mistakes. The Iraqi uniform is 100% desert storm era (I have one just like it, except I'm missing the boots and the Y straps and pouches). The SS helmet I'm iffy on just because the decal isn't where it normally is (could be real, I'm not an expert on helmets). But the best way to stay away from fakes is educating yourself before buying. Happy hunting Josh

I do have the Fuller and Gregory book. I don't have it on me at the moment though. I was toying with the idea of getting a kyu gunto, but I don't know how it would go with a combat troop display if it weren't used in combat. I think I may get one, since they're still a very important part of Japanese history, even though the aren't as pretty as the shin gunto. I've also noticed that some of the Meiji and Taisho era swords have katana blades, would there be a premium in price for a katana with kyu gunto mounts over a katana with shin gunto mounts? Also, we're these still in use up until 1945? Josh

Oh, and the NVA/VC flag from "1972", thats definitely a fake. These were made in Vietnam post war to sell to tourists. While he has some amazing items, I think I'd feel safer spending my money elsewhere.

He has some nice items, but wow, his prices are insane on some of those. The nazi flag he has for over a thousand dollars is a 150 dollar piece (regular NSDAP pattern flags are not rare at all, they made millions upon millions). Also, the Iraqi uniform group he has is around 500 bucks tops (and that's crazy auction price). I know this because I collect Iraqi militaria. Also, the SS helmet he has, I would be wary of it, I won't call it fake because I'm not an expert on SS stuff, but the SS decal is supposed to be on the right side, not the left. I won't throw around accusations, since I've accidentally sold a fake German badge when I was younger (I had no idea, I was new to collecting, but I did give a refund and promptly destroyed the piece when I got it back). I've read that this guy is an ACW buff, so he probably isn't up to date on prices.

I know Shin Gunto were used in combat, but I was wondering if Kyu Gunto were used as well? Or was this just a parade sword like most western nations? Thanks!!! Josh

Just checked again, no visible hada. I will probably pass on this for now. When I get access to a computer (I'm using my phone) I will post some pictures. I'll just spend my money on an old blade like I wanted.

The sword has a nice straight hamon, and overall has the look of a traditional piece in military mounts (I'm guessing it's a post Meiji sword, probably from the late 30's or early 40's). I'm no expert on these, but I've done some reading on them, and it doesn't seem like a machined blade, but that doesn't mean it isn't a showato from what I'm told. Mounts are all matching. This is my first post on here, so I'd also like to introduce myself. My name is Joshua, and I am mostly a Japanese WWII firearm collector. I'm also active military and a veteran of Afghanistan (and a wounded warrior). I've built up a decent collection of Arisaka rifles and other weapons, but now my interest is floating over to swords and traditional weapons. I'd like to get a gunto with an old blade but I'd settle for a gendaito if the price was right and in good condition.

I found a sword for sale made by Shimousa ju Kuniaki. It's in type 98 mounts. Just wondering if anyone has heard of Kuniaki from Shimousa? Thanks in advance. Josh