Johnny Barracuda

You should have waited, because even at $250, it was overpriced by $100. I was about to point you towards a website where you could have bought one for $125.

The swordsmith did a pretty good job of adapting the shin gunto lock on the kyu gunto. Costed me a pretty penny, buth the sword is now whole and fixed.

Those are Meiji/Taisho era Army officer tassels, used until 1934, when the Army kyu gunto was replaced with the shin gunto. The tassel you are pointing to is for company grade officers, i.e. from sub-lieutenant to captain. It is in great condition but overpriced. It should go for about 120 to 150 dollars. The one I purchased has a stem after the acorn, it is the much rarer field grade tassel, from major to colonel. There is a third one, the general grade tassel, which has the same stem as the field grade one, but is ball-shaped instead of being acorn-shaped. On early Meiji era general grade tassels, you can even find on the stem a number of stars corresponding to the rank of the general (brigadier general, major general, etc). See examples of these three types of tassels put on dress swords on Ohmura san's site (they were also worn on full size kyu gunto) : http://ohmura-study.net/771.html (At the bottom, you will see an example of the Navy kyu gunto officer's tassel, which was the same for all ranks) There are also variants of the above-mentioned, with a flat black strap instead of the golden rounded one, introduced in 1912, along with a more rugged completely black and ball-shaped one for combat situations, favoured by the Cavalry. Again from Ohmura's treasure trove: http://ohmura-study.net/771.html

Thanks George for the enlightening contribution. I had noticed the unusual shape of the nakago, but knew nothing about it. edit: the price just jumped up. Nearly doubled. Sorry for you Ham.

Bought it from eBay. After offers and counteroffers, the seller accepted a reduced price of $350, which is not so bad, since it appears pristine.

No problem with me. I find it very ugly, so no competition on my part. But I agree with Brian, the blade is appealing.

It seems unique, indeed. The mountings are a mix of bespoke parts (the engraved and not cast strap), reengineered parts (the Navy-style folding guard installed on what appears to be a standard kyu gunto knuckle bow) and plain weird parts (the same-covered metal scabbard). Well, considering some very strange variations of the Army kyu gunto showed in Dawson's book, why not this one? The blade looks genuine. Due to the anchor engraved on the same covering, my guess is that this sword belonged to an officer of the Naval Special Landing Forces, with poor taste and money to waste, because this unique and rather ugly same covering must have cost a lot of money.

Thanks Thomas. I am rather certain that it is the one that sold for $143 on Saturday night...

During flea market days in temples and shrines, you can find some interesting stuff. Of course, discussing with sellers in broken English, one might have to praise the military might of Imperial Japan to facilitate transactions... I agree on the surprised faces triggered by the kyu gunto question. However, a Japanese good friend told me that such swords are not widely known as "kyu gunto" in Japan but rather as type 1875/1886 or type 8/19 swords.

Well, clicking on the link leads to a Nazi SS dagger, which is rather off topic from the NMB. There may be an addressing error.

I know it was a good buy, for someone else. I was away with no web access and I came home too late. This is incredibly annoying. However, kyu gunto tassels were made for 45 years and are not so rare in Japan. In Japan.

Agreed, the asking price is too high for the condition. Would the fittings be pristine, the price would be in accordance with the scarcity of the sword.

Hello, I am looking for a gold sword knot/tassel for an infantry officer field grade kyu gunto. See picture below. One just escaped me on eBay last week end because I was away and I am rather put out about it. It was sold for $ 145. I am proposing a purchase price of 150 to 250 dollars.

Another Naval kyu gunto on eBay. What a year! The blade seems a bit damaged (see what appears to be nicks on the kissaki) and the saya lacks its shagreen cover in some parts. On the other hand, the tsuka and knuckle bow are in great shape and it comes with two sword knots, both infantry and not navy, but also in great shape so could easily be resold for $100 apiece. All in all, a rare sword, but a bit expensive considering its condition. http://www.ebay.fr/itm/1883-1914-LARGE-NAVY-KYU-GUNTO-SHINTO-BLADE-GUARD-SIGNED-VET-PICK-UP-0353-/151716818358?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item235306edb6

The scabbard was in an average condition, but the rest of the sword was clean and the sword knot was impeccable. By the way, apart from the pictures in Dawson's book, I have never seen a full-size general officer kyu gunto. I guess they are extremely rare.

Well, even for sport, I would not think our benevolent founder and moderators would appreciate a flamewar on the NMB. Please forgive my Gallic tongue: I meant enthusiasts, which is one of the meanings of amateur in French. Did you buy the sword or are you an AMATEUR ebayer? :glee:

Cheers Brian. I think it is a sad fact that many postal services neglect unregistered letters and parcel to push people towards paying more for registration. I have had this problem with French, English and German postal services. Speaking of the UK, posting antique weapons can be such a hassle and a cost, that I think it is sometimes simpler to board a Eurostar and collect the sword myself. In France, we are "very lucky", the Poste will never go bankrupt, because it is funded by tax payers' money...

The postal service nowadays does not give a damn about non registered letters. For their less honest employees, the lack of trackability even means open season... I had no answer from the French Mail Service.

Neither, I am only interested in combat swords, not parade sabres, so no competition on my part. I just signalled it for amateurs!

Sadly, the story ended badly. The part Thomas fixed was lost either by the Danish or the French Mail Service. Unable to find a replacement kyu gunto catch, I had to buy a shin gunto release catch, which is too wide and too long for a kyu gunto, but which is currently retrofitted by a weaponsmith to fit my sword. I hope it works.

Hello, Just to signal a parade sabre for general officers (with a tortoise shell covered handle) currently on sale on eBay. The sword knot / sword tassel for general officers (round golden ball) is also included. http://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-Japanese-ARMY-OFFICERS-PARADE-SABER-FOR-SHOGUNGENERAL-WWII-SHOWA-/131532583712 Cheers.

Had not I bought one last year, I would consider the purchase. This is the first one I have seen on eBay in a very long time.

Hello, Just to inform that a Naval kyu gunto is for sale on eBay. The rare combat sword, not the common parade sabre. http://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-Japanese-SAMURAI-SWORD-NAVAL-KYU-GUNTO-KATANA-NIHONTO-/221785204292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33a36da644

To add on Thomas' answer, I would say be careful because there are many many fakes on the web and, when genuine, type 32 swords are nearly always sold as cavalry swords because it may be felt as more prestigious than "mere infantry". They are some differences between Ko and Otsu swords, the main one being the blade lenght: - The type 32 Ko (cavalry) is about 83 cm long - The type 32 Otsu (infantry) is about 77 cm long

Indeed, but, to my humble knowledge, that remains an exception. I am just assuming that some blades were traditionally made then stamped to ascertain their military zone of origin an the arsenal which they should be returned to for refurbishing.