Bruce Pennington

Evolution of the Japanese Type 95 Gunto - Nick Komiya, Warrelics

They range from $900-1,400 USD, depending on your market, that may be different.

That's Ok, the majority of them aren't dated. No idea why. The leather cover set is excellent! Rare to have a complete set like this. The loop on the top end of the tsuba (handle) would have been the place that the rank tassel was hung.

At 58cm, or 22 inches, this would be called a wakizahi, or waki for short. It is the shorter of the 2 swords a samurai would wear. Recommend you post this blade, and tsuba, over on NMB's Nihonto Forum. There's a ton of guys there that can help you with the smith and age of the blade.

I suspect it was a custom order. I don’t remember where I read it, but I once read about a general who specifically requested such a curvature in the tsuka.

I have heard that about the European market. Too bad, there are tons of them in the US markets.

I understand. And I often use more 'grey' language, than black-and-white, when the topic is something that doesn't have 100% documented proof. I agree that both the Showa and Large Seki were put on showato. I honestly think the ones that passed shinsa were probably made using traditional methods, but another steel other than tamahagane. While I'm not expert at all, I cannot believe guys eye-balling a blade can tell the difference in steel.

Not like Stegel and Shamsy. They had 80+ 95s EACH, and really studied them. There are several of us, that together, we can get most of what we need. If anyone would like to take their title, we would sure welcome you!

Some legit items for comparison:

Hello Dan! Tom is correct, sorry to say. This is one of the better made Polish replicas. They are made so well that only fine details, like the bohi (fuller groove) and stamps reveal their true origins. Whoever makes them, like to use the 30000, 40000, and 50000 serial range. There were certainly legit blades in that range, but it is one of the many things that added up, says - reproduction/fake. Oh, and the dimples in the white diamond area in the handle - these are punched in rather than molded. The real ones aren't punched.

@Kiipu and/or @BANGBANGSAN might be able to give you a date range based on the number. Our leading NCO experts are no longer active, or they could give you a really good idea. Interesting to note, that they only made 4,000 of these side latch versions, so they are actually more rare than the copper handled version! Yes, I have seen a few. Working from memory, so could be wrong, but I believe the range was given to the Jinsen Arsenal for production.

You didn't show the other side of the nakago (tang), is there no date?

Hi Adam! You've got a gold mine of interesting (to me) stuff with that sword! And thanks Ray for that last link. It has a really good write-up on him. First, the small stamp, just above the smith's name (mei) is the Showa stamp. It is the inspection stamp used by the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association from 1935 to 1942. Most blades with dates, and the stamp, were made in 1940-41. So, gives you an idea of the potential manufacture date of your blade. It was once believed that blades with the stamp were all showato, or non-traditionally made. But a small number of them have passed Shinsa evaluation, which is only done on traditionally made blades. So, the verdict is still out on that stamp. From the write-up posted above, there is an example given of a blade, like yours, that had the stamp but was considered nihonto (traditionally made). The kikusui, or chrysanthemum floating on a river, was a meaningful symbol. According Dan King, “A Tomb Called Iwo Jima,” the crest we know today as the Kikusui was the clan crest of a 14th Century Samurai, Kusunoki-Masa-sige , who fought to the death proclaiming “But that I had seven lives to give to the Emperor!” (at least the saying is attributed to him). “The Japanese military used … the crest … as a symbol of devotion and self-sacrifice. The Navy adopted Minatogawa Jinja as their sacred shrine.” This blade is not a Minatogawa sword, but the symbol was likely put there for a special order. I have one other blade on file made by him in April 1941, posted by @Hs132 with the same symbol. Might indicate yours was made in the same year? You can read more about them on this thread: Kikusui The hotstamp, or kokuin, was the personal seal of Kanezane. No one knows why smiths would use one on some blades and not on others. Finally, the tsuba, or handguard, is one of the styles we see on swords carried by the civil branch of the military - Gunzoku. They wore uniforms quite similar to the military, and various levels of rank. Yours is the Budo, or grape leaf, pattern: Oh, and the emblem on the other side of the kikusui, is a bonji, or Buddhist writing that likely referred to one of their gods. Looks like the blade has received a few polishes over the years, partially wiping out the bonji and kikusui. Great sword!

As stated, a Type 98 Japanese officer sword. You can see examples anArmy Commissioned Officers Gunto 1938

Sword Care Guide: Japanese Sword Care - japaneseswordindex.com

There is a chance of that. Since we cannot know for sure, your guess on it is just as good as the guys that will say it's a fake/reproduction.

They were both RJT. Considering the average - 10-15 per month - that's a sword every 2 to 3 days! They must have had large teams working for them.

Thomas cited something about a single smith, with 2 apprentices that could make 5 per month:

George Trotter sited a book from 1994 that said RJT smiths were making 10 per month:

Here, Trystan quotes a book on Yasukuni sword production: "In the chapter titled "CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF SWORDS PRODUCED" in The Yasukuni Swords, it is mentioned: "Nevertheless, Yasukuni smiths engaged in sword forging with maximum effort, always seeking to improve their techniques and produce the highest number of swords possible. They employed a sword forging method called 'makuri-gitae,' which is one of the relatively less time-consuming traditional methods, and it favored a hamon in suguha. This method seemed the most appropriate to the circumstances, and suited the forging of practical swords such as gunto." It also mentions that "each smith produced about ten swords per month around 1935, and succeeded in increasing the monthly output to fifteen swords around 1940."

I recall reading that smiths were able to put out 8-10 swords per month. Don't know details on how many apprentices or whether traditional or not.

This one just has registration paper, so not "papered" and easy to understand. Thanks to @Ontario_Archaeology for bringing up. Found on this Yahoo Auction. Corrosion take taken the date, and no serial number posted. @BANGBANGSAN @Kiipu

Can we see the rest of the blade and fittings? Partial Showa stamp at top. Puts the blade in the 1935-1942 range, with most of them made in 1940-41. I only have 5 of his blades on file, and one is dated Feb 1941.

@Markus might be able to help. I went through his list of Honami kao for sayagaki HERE, but it's hard to go from the hand-drawn kao to this nakago style. Here are some that are close:

Dee, thanks for the post! I had Volker's on file but these 2 make a great set of 3 now. @Volker62 - thanks for the clarification of the Wish Jewel. I erroneously had it in the Stamps doc as a flaming jewel. Is anyone able to translate that odd date on the second tanto?