Bruce Pennington

Wonder what the thinking or purpose would be for a country-wide attack? What are they trying to achieve?

Brian, Just wondering what happened yesterday afternoon (USA Mountain Time). Tried a couple times, "Server Not Found" message kept popping up.

I don't know the Chinese sword world, but the Chinese fakers love Damascus pattern steel. I have seen a few Japanese swords that had vibrant hada which might be what the Chinese are trying to emulate with the Damascus. Here is one I filed for just such discussions:

I hate to say, but I've not been following their prices lately. I'm thinking they run at the higher end of Type 98 market value, say around $1,900, but that's just a guess.

Haven't seen a kaigunto with canvas cover, so here we are: Found on this Ebay sale page.

Saw this one today. Saya signed by David Carradine, supposedly. How many swords have we seen for sale from the Kill Bill movie? Somebody needs to track these! Ha! Kill Bill's Bride's Rampage Sword - ebay

Interesting, thanks!

Thanks John, enjoyed reading about your investigation!

Thanks John, yes, back in July 2022. It's 1941 Spring Koa Isshin. Didn't record the source, at the time. Paul, is this yours? What you are showing is the serial number SO 231. Assuming they were made in sequence, it would put your blade around November'ish of 1941. Here's the photos I have:

That would make sense. The ricasso is properly shaped for a Type 19 blade. So, someone reshaped the cut or broken end and added the artillery saya.

I thought this might be a good place to ask this. I have noticed watching two different shows with Japanese named actors that they don’t say all the syllables. One was named Mitsubishi, but they pronounced it “Mits’ke”. The other is Yusuf, but they pronounce it as “Yus’ke.” Are these contractions?

This was posted by "Darto" on FB. Thought it interesting enough to post here. The saya is likely from an artillery sword, with the leather covering torn or cut off (you can see the remnants in the boars eye fittings). The blade? Type 19 tsuka legit. He only shows an angled views of the pommel, but it seems to have an original looking peened end. If this was a Bubba-job, he would have had to shape the nakago to fit, and peen the end. Well within the skills of guys who work with metal, but it's pretty well done, if so.

Thanks Nazar! This one is interesting because of the crack in the saya showing it was made with lacquer over cloth. I checked mine, and it was made of solid wood, then lacquer.

If you don’t get any help here, there are a couple of guys over at Warrelics that might be able to read this.

Marcin, I've gone over a 95 that has a good deal of black stains, including a permanent 4-finger print, and it's not doing as good a job as your results. I'll say the darkest black spots have become lighter black. But the vast majority is just slightly lighter. I wonder if I'm not doing it the same way as you are, or maybe the difference in steels might be behind the difference in our results. I'll try posting photos tomorrow.

Awaiting the Big Guns translators - but don't expect much as the handwriting is pretty rough, and in 'cursive.' I see "72", probably a street house number.

Great post, Charles, and I appreciate that you bought this blade because of it's unique variance. There are several of us collectors who are almost more interested in the oddities than in the Normal. I checked the Nagamitsu Oshigata at Japaneseswordindex.com and see that he listed at least 3 Nagamitsu, and there are another 2 I can see under just "Nagamitsu" that are likely numbers 4 and 5. Sesko only shows 2 in the Showa era, but we know there were more than that. Yours being dated 1943 - we see several undocumented smiths operating in the last 2 years of the war that aren't found in the references. Thanks for bringing this up!

Still, it's part of the history of Japan moving to Western styled military and weapons. The police, forestry, prison, etc systems all used the same manufacturers that made all the military swords. Only difference was the emblems they used.

Yes, Your reference looks to have been from Fuller's earlier book. In his latest one, page 43, he says it is likely a superintendent sword: Another way to check is the sakura (flower) on the side 'ear' of the backstrap. If it is 5 petals (which is seems to be) then it's police.

Jakub, You have a Type 19 dress sword. They were not combat blades. Just worn for other occasions. I haven't read about this, and will have to research it, unless one of the other guys that study these can help out first. (hope so!) Interesting to see it had been painted black. We have many swords, of all types, that had been painted black and have no idea why they did it.

This version is usually made by the Seki Shoten Co. for the Nagoya Army Arsenal. If you look closely, you might see some partial stamps on the fuchi (steel collar on the handle where the locking latch begins). Not always visible, though. You can read more about the on Ohmura's site: NCO Gunto - 1935

Agreed. 1942 Autumn, Koa Isshin by Mantetsu. Serial "Ya 497". Recorded this one on sale by Jewelry & Coin on ebay last November 2025. Enjoy!

Could you show a couple of photos of the blade, showing blade tip, and hamon (temper pattern)? How about fittings?

John, Won't add to your survey, but I thought it interesting to maybe see a guy with a 25. Posted by @Nazar HERE.