Bruce Pennington

Ah! I couldn't find a "omi" that was signed the same way, so I suspected I was wrong. Thanks Piers!

Nick, The sword is a Japanese officer Type 98. You can read up on those on Ohmura's site: Army Officer Shingunto - 1938 Care and cleaning: Japanese sword Care There are three Kanemitsu smiths that worked WWII in Sesko's list. A good clear photo of the signature might help ID which one. If you will take a couple good, clear close-ups of the blade body, showing hamon (temper line) and steel texture, we might be able to make a guess as to whether the blade was made traditionally or not. Values vary with what we find. Non-traditional bladed gunto sell anywhere from $900-1,400, depending upon where you sell and to whom. If the blade was traditionally made, the value can be higher.

Asking for someone on Gunboards:

Tried improving it a bit:

Thanks for sharing Paul's article. Lots of thoughts swirling, most already stated so far, and trying to solidify them in my head. While I recognize the significance Paul pointed out so well, I think I fall on the side of the fact that the "spoils of war" has always been, and always will be the norm. Agreed, as Paul pointed out, there have been recent examples of nations returning great treasures stolen during recent wars. But they are almost singular in the specific items. These swords are the opposite of that. Thousands of swords that can never be traced to their original family - how would they ever be repatriated? Dan's idea of sending them to temples might work, but they'd need a pretty big warehouse (which is not impossible) and the individual families would never feel true closure by such a mass deposit. Like the Germans, the Japanese people were wounded by their own leaders. And it's a wound that, while decades/centuries may heal, the scar will always remain.

Someone may correct me, but I'm not aware of any regs or documents that discuss this. We've seen a good number of them appear here at NMB. It is our assumption that they were made on private contract.

Hi David! The other guys have your sword ID'd pretty well already - late war, made in occupied areas of S.E. Asia for either Japanese officer or officer of collaboration forces. It is quite common to see them with solid wooden handles covered in leather, just like yours. Good eye, Marcin!!! You nailed it!

Ron, I would encourage you to continue. Post on NMB if you have any doubts about the next one.

Adding a cross-reference link to John's thread:

John, I have mistaken lacquered fabric, in the past, as leather. I think this one is one of those. See the fabric weave: We see the same effect in the RS (Type 3, etc) tsuka ito. Now, to your question - I don't know. There are examples out there, but I haven't tracked them. I feel like it was rare.

I have a Ko with no arsenal stamps. Interesting to hear the theory about a date when stamps were not used. @Kiipu - do your records indicate a timeframe where stamps were not used and then a point when they began using them on the Type 32?

It would be nice to know which of the fittings you had originally, and which were the new constructs, thanks. We have two other examples of that kabutogane (end cap on handle). One posted by @robinalexander on page 1 of this thread, and the other, on the same page by @PNSSHOGUN. John's Rob's

Was that your chogi oil and baking soda treatment?

Another one posted by Sky Gao on Facebook. He says it's a Koto mumei blade. Doesn't show nakago:

I no longer have a budget for buying blades. Wish I did. I'd buy this for the Chintamani Wish Jewel as well as Hisakatsu's ties to SMR Mantetsu. Good luck with the sale, Peter!

It's quite unique, actually. It resembles late-war kabutogane, but it's not the same. I starting thinking it was civilian, but then realized a civil one wouldn't have a centered hole for a sarute. Here is an example of the "standard" late-war style (though, as in most WWII stuff, there are variations) Standard Daniel's So, close enough. I suspect it was just a custom piece or a shop trying to make one that looks more attractive that everyone else's work.

A zoomed shot for those who don't follow links:

Moving this to the Nihonto forum for better review from those guys. They'll likely want photos of the full length of the blade, no fittings; also a good close-up of the blade body showing hamon (temper line) and hada (steel texture); and one of the tip. Measurements of the nagasa and sori are often useful:

Any stamps, Ron?

Seems like I read once that the machi going away was due to too many polishes.

well, that’s really unusual. Even for a post war, modification, unusual.

Welcome Dan! The only two military items on your rig are the late war very end cap of the handle and the leather scabbard cover. The cloth wrapping looks quite new, so could be late war also or something redone after the war. The rest of the sword is civilian and older. I will leave this conversation in the military section until comments run their course, but we need to move it over to the Nihonto section to get those guys to evaluate the blade and its age

That’s just scary!

Agreed. I could see $150 but not $650 to have one in hand. Oh, and another curiosity - Still using the 30000 range for the fakes!!! Anytime you see a 95 in the 30's, 40's or 50's immediately be cautious and examine more closely!!! Don't know why they are locked into this number range, but glad they are still.

What Joe said, plus 1 stroke vs 2 strokes in this kanji