Shamsy

You alway need to look at the sword as a whole. I've posted comparison pictures of bohi before, maybe in this thread or elsewhere, not sure. They vary considerably, even with the same manufacturer. Iijima is a great example of lack of consistency between swords during production. Some bohi are lovely and defined, others the 'grinder' style with less defined terminations at either end. Neither means much on their own. As pointed out, the same is not dimpled as often seen on fakes. It can be quite flat though and that's fine. The fuchi stamps look correct, clear and defined. Handle lacks paint, but that's a potential warning sign, not proof of being fake. Saya paint is weird, but there are a variety of shades used. Can't see under the cover but the wear and patina would be the better indicator than shade (pretty sure there are no other photos, right?). Agree cover is probably just something added later. I don't see anything else that's a glaring issue, so I'll add a little detail that's a positive sign. Have a gander through this thread (it's a long one I know). Fakes very rarely get serial number details right - matching the font in style, space and size. The 7 in this example has the characteristic 'kick' at the very start of the horizontal stroke. That little down line. The size and positioning of the numbers are spot on. For all 95s, as well as the 7, other good numbers to look at are the 4 and 1 in serial numbers. Check some real examples from the same manufacturer and compare (but always bear in mind the possibility of exceptions). Another little detail I like is the shallow stamp. Gifu seem to have liked adding the Nagoya stamp after heat treating blades. Last little positive detail, the kissaki is defined. Fakes often have a smooth termination without definition. Here are some of my Gifu to compare. Not the best pictures, but all have the Nagoya stamp after the numbers, shallow and hard to see as they are post heat treating. The same in most are pretty flat too. See what you think. I'm not providing an answer, only what I observe. It's important to form your own opinions. I've seen a few unsubstantiated claims about Japanese military swords including 95s, touted as fact, so please be critical and always state when something is an opinion or hypothesis. We don't need another Type 44-Type 0-SNLF debacle, crew gusto assumption based on nothing or 'paratrooper sword' nonsense that people then take as gospel. I only popped in to offer some assistance to someone asking so had a quick look around. I'll catch you all again some time! P.S. If you ever come to Australia, Bruce, make sure you visit! Open invitation.

Good morning everyone, I've been absent for a long time. Just a quick post to let you know what's been going on. Thought I'd pop it here as this is my beloved section. Feel free to move it, Brian. Twofold; I've not really been feeling very passionate about my collecting for a while now. I have a complete collection, bar something new being discovered or those elusive Type 32 conversions surfacing. I guess that's the natural conclusion to collecting. The chase is exciting, but once you hit the finish, the question is 'what next? Secondly, I got double scammed by Enemy Militaria. Fool me once, fool me twice, you know the drill. Not really unexpected, it's happened before and would happen again. I've usually been able to resolve it, just the nature of things. However, it put a sour taste I my mouth and you could call it 'the straw that broke the camels back'. I've met a few reputable, upstanding dealers over the years. I've met more of the other kind though. Some outright scammers and liars like in this instance, but also dealers that are willing to omit small details that would make a difference overall. It's still dishonest. So without much drive and with something like this happening, I've just ignored the hobby. I have many others to focus on. I tried to sell the collection a couple of times, but the problem with a large collection is that it's too large to sell easily! I'm also wracked with indecision. Will I regret it? Why even sell, since I don't need the money? So hopefully things will change, but I may not be around for a long time. I just wanted to let you fine folks know why, since there are some absolutely amazing gentlemen here and I can truly say it's been an absolute pleasure to contribute over the years. Hope to find my feet again. We will see. My absolute best wishes, sincerely, Steve

Ouch, nasty. Chinese from eBay, to be avoided.

I've been thinking of asking Brian to delete some of the posts here that aren't so much examples of fakes but requests for validity. On the mobile browser though, they are not numbered so not easy to pick.

Doesn't Dawson pretty much say the same thing? I have plated fuchi, but do toy mean something more specific?

Hard to know. I mean, is there any indication it came from a soldier originally? Forgive me if I am not understanding, but it sounds as if it just came to the Clerk of Courts without any history, other than being part of an exhibit? As to quality, I've seen far better. Neil had one that was far nicer from memory. I've also seen much worse (Java swords, the single Island Sword I can verify). Just such a difficult area. We know genuine examples exist but since they are all basically unique, how can you ever know trash from treasure? There is the PoW that made swords, accounts of collaboration forces making them, the Java Sword Works, the sword smithing team that made them in the field... but then the Aussies made a bunch and of course lots of fakes and weird stuff.

Well that is interesting! They left the factory with that throat being painted (not entirely sure why, I guess rust protection), so saya and throat must have been stripped down at some stage. Thanks for doing that, Mich.

Nice to have a matched sword. Shame about the missing screw and... unusual alterations to the saya. Grey paint appears somewhat frequently on bayonets too, Bruce. Post war, they were painted grey, often had writing added and sold as souvenirs to servicemen. Hence they exhibit the appropriate age patina. There are a number of examples in the excellent book Bayonets of Japan, which I posted in another thread when the topic of plexiglass on swords and bayonets came up. @Mich, if you could carefully remove the screw on the saya throat (it is brass so use a properly fitting screwdriver), the throat will lift out and you can see the original colour, green or brown. It won't hurt the saya at all.

That looks like a cheap Chinese blade with an acid etched hamon... But not really my area. I'd be sceptical, but will see what other come back with.

"Boy, the paratroopers and NLF seem to be the go-to guys for every odd-ball sword people find". Yep, I feel we're at least thinking along the same lines, Bruce. So here we go. People making up unsubstantiated names/designations and because it's in a book, new collectors won't question it and a new myth is born. Funny these are "often used", yet this is the only example I've seen. Anyone got another on record? And no, the 'second example' isn't exactly what I'd call the same, it just has SOME of the same characteristics, which means absolutely nothing I'm afraid. Sorry for the rant, but this kind of invented nonsense just muddies the waters and is such a disservice to collectors. I look forward to the strong denial responses, which I suspect will have nothing to back them up. Edit: Because I see it coming a mile away. I'm NOT making comment on the sword here. Check the thread Bangbangsan linked for those. I am purely talking about the implications and consequences that reckless, unsourced and unsubstantiated names and claims have in this field if study.

Those over 200,000 are the rarer range, Thomas.

Had a brief read through the thread. I'm in the 'not post-war' camp, but always open to changing my position. I have a Type 98 that is late war. Pretty average oil blade, nothing fancy but not garbage. It has VERY crude fittings and a black painted wooden saya with the seki sticker on it. Some sort of saya cover that's... either fake leather or maybe paper? Instead of same on the tsuka, I think it's card or paper? The relevance? Only that there are swords that have really crude late war fittings, have black painted saya (far worse than the souvenir swords). So not sure I'd place too much weight in that being a factor.

Damn, a frankensword. It looked like it had so much potential, despite some shoddy refurbishment.

I'm seeing a great deal that I like and suggests this could be a very nice sword... habaki, tassel, saya spring latch... pretty sure there looks like a nice hamon there too. You've likely done very well, but the nakago needs to be viewed.

Fantastic array of photos, Trystan! So many Type 32 and a good array of 95s. Love the cross hatched one! Off topic but also right on topic... attending militaria shows and only displaying swords for education and people's interest (not selling). No matter how many and how big you make the PLEASE DON'T TOUCH OR HANDLE sign, there are at least a dozen people that just grab up swords and slide them right on out. Usually cutting edge down.