Bruce Pennington

I don't believe anyone has nailed down that question. We don't know why smiths used a hotstamp on some blades but not on others. If someone knows more about that, please chime in.

54cm - 21.25 in. - you are right, it's a waki. You might ask about the saya labels over on the General Nihonto thread, or the Translation thread.

Steve, Don't know how much you already know, so apologies if I'm giving too much. Type 98 Japanese Army officer sword (gunto). You can read up on these on this site: Army Commissioned Officers Shin-Gunto - Ohmura The red/brown tassel was used by Majors - Colonels The saya cover is an upgrade, but we'll need closer, clear shot or 2 to see if it's shark or ray. I have 10 Kaneuji on file with Showa and other stamps The Showa stamp was used by the civilian (not arsenal) Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association who inspected blades for quality. They are usually non-traditionally made, but with good quality workmanship and hamon.

Agree with Mark. Would love to see more of the blade and nakago (tang). Is it signed? Might be something old?

Oh, crap. I'm not really dyslexic, that I know of, but I had been looking down to the "xi" instead of ix!!! Well, now, he was really off on that name or again, Yoshimitsu and Kiyonobu worked at the same forge. Richard's book does have errors, it's just impossible to put out something that extensive without them.

Thanks Mal. I don't have one, it was just Richard Fuller's attribution in his chart of kokuin above, item ix. Either he made a mistake and miss-named the kokuin in the chart, or there were more than one smith using that same stamp.

Brian, Could I get photos of the full rig for the files? Yours is the first kyugunto I've seen with his stamped mei.

That is the first kokuin I've seen for Yoshimitsu. Oddly, Fuller has that one listed as being found on a "Yoshikane", number ix in the chart below: I have seen multiple smiths using the same stamp when they all work for the same shop. @mecox - Mal, any chance Yoshimitsu and Yoshikane worked at the same shop? Also, do the kana in the stamp say something useful?

Hi Dylan! You'll have to show us the handle (tsuka) and the face of the handguard (tsuba) to tell if they are faking an NCO or officer sword. I have many example of this faker factory work, both officer and NCO.

Hi Frank! What is the cutting length of the blade? I have 4 other waki on file with the large Seki stamp, all different smiths. It is rare, but not unheard of. In case you don't know, yours is Kaneyoshi, Okada Takeshi 兼義 We have seen a number of war blades come out of Japan lately, even some NCO Type 95s! There are a couple of exceptions one can qualify for.

Could I get a closer shot of the small stamp near the top, above the hole in the nakago (tang)? The sword is a Type 98 Japanese Officer sword. You can read up on them on Ohmura's site: Army Officer's Type 98 - Ohmura Care and Cleaning Tips: Japanese Sword Care Guide - japaneseswordindex.com

@Scogg @BANGBANGSAN and anyone else with the reference books - Any ideas?

The whole thing looks to have been re-done. Tassel, menugi, ito, and possibly the same' is all new. But to answer your question - No, never have.

Nice Doug! It also has that mystery bar/loop on the tsuba!

We see these haikan every now and then, but I don't think we've posted one here. It's the kind with an extra hinge. Posted by @Tristan MacEwen HERE.

Thanks Tristan! You can see the cut ends of the tassel in person. Does it look like it was deteriorating or just cut off? Was the end melted to prevent unraveling?

Dave, @Tristan MacEwen posted this one ON THIS THREAD. Can't tell if it was cut and ends melted to prevent the weave from coming apart?

Hey guys, I'm away from my books for a couple more months. Is this something listed in either Dawson or Fuller? I don't have photos of the rest of the sword, yet, and I've asked for shots of the backstrap, handguard, and blade. The workmanship looks a bit poor, like a fake, but I've never seen a fake with such an emblem.

Steve, You might already know, but the blue/brown tassel was used by Company grade officers - Capt's and Lt's - as well as the equivalent grade Gunzoku personnel (civilian force working for the military). I've attempted to enhance, a bit, the mei. Maybe someone can make it out. You might need to take some more shots with lighting/shadows that enhance the writing

And just to make you crazy, Ha!, there are dots at the mune jiri, as well as the ones with dots counting as high as 11:

Alex, The black paint are assembly numbers, something like "16138"'ish. Can you give me a clear, closer shot of this:

Tristan, Do us a favor and post pics of both sides of the nakago (tang). Also would love good shots of that haikan (belt hanger loop) and the blue/brown tassel with the cut off ends. We have threads interested in those things. If you want an evaluation of the blade, whether traditionally made or not, we'll need a couple or close, clear shots of the hamon (temper line) and surface steel. It's a nice looking Type 98 in combat saya.

They got really close with a lot of the details, yet all of the details are off. Yet cosmoline on a fake? I don't know the history of the Chinese faker industry, but this would imply they got started right away after the war when cosmoline was still used by G.I.s bringing stuff home. I hate trying to evaluate swords like this that look fake (reproduction) yet have clear age commensurate with the WWII era.

Just checked old threads. Plenty of long mei, no bohi. One example of long mei, with bohi, but no date. So this one is quite rare! Good luck with the sale.

Might be a small Seki stamp at the top above the mei. Too bad it's blurry.