Bruce Pennington

Thanks Matt! That number lines up nicely with the others we have: 1944, Aug Kunihide (RJT) – Kyoto 90 on mune Trotter Survey 1944, Aug Kunihide (RJT) – Kyoto 98 on mune Trotter Survey 1944, Aug Kunihide (RJT) – Kyoto 99 on mune Trotter Survey, no pics 1944, Dec Kunihide (RJT) – Kyoto 135 on mune Mdiddy, NMB, RS

Several choices here: Google Search showing Mekugi for Sale

Oops! Good points about color and the box. Pretend I was never here! Ha!

I bought an original tassel, still with rubber bands, in its original box. So I don’t think you can go by whether something looks new or not. My field grade tassel was original, unused, and essentially brand new from World War II. I bought it from John! Ha! So my source was more reliable. But as you say, the seller is marking reproductions and originals, seemingly with openness.

Found another on this Gunboards thread.

Posting photos, in case the imgur link goes dead in the future:

Everyone has covered it well, already. Price is normal range for a good Type 95 these days. Photo blurriness has distorted the Iijima stamp and made the kissaki-end of the bohi look sharply angled. Tokyo blades SHOULD have bohi that mirrors the shape of the kissaki, so the one in question is correct. My eyes first went to the slightly enlarged Kokura circles, but Steve @Shamsy has pointed out many times that there are variations in their stamps. So with everything else falling in line, the variant of the Kokura stamp is not something to worry about.

Wow! I have heard of, I forgot the term, but people that copy sales and imitate them. You buy the sword, and maybe they can get it from the original seller, maybe they can’t, but it doesn’t matter because they have your money. I don’t search craigslist from other countries, so it had to have been from the USA. I suppose there is a chance that someone in the UK bought this from a USA seller, and is reselling it with the same photos. But that seems like a stretch.

This is the only Yoshisada in Sesko's list: "YOSHISADA (義定), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Yoshisada” (義定), real name Ishihara Jō´ichi (石原錠一)" Don't know if it's the same one. The Showa stamp was used by a civil group called The Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association. They were asked by the sword industry to inspect blades and weed out the poor ones that had started popping into the market as the military demand increased. The used the stamp between 1935 and 1942. Most dated blades with the stamp were made in 1940-41. You don't show the fittings, but many sword after the war lost spacers, called seppa. You can often find them for sale on ebay and other site, for not much money, to tighten up the fit.

Nice source, Sam. Another one with some added blade terms is: Japanese Sword Visual Glossary -- Japaneseswordindex.com

I have 2 1942 Morinobu blades with the "Ho Ho" stamps. If I recall Mal's theory, the first stamp could have been from the arsenal that took in/accepted the blade, and the second one a final inspector. I have "Na Ho" blades as early a 1940, though '42, as well as these 3 "Ho Ho" blades. Using Mal's theory, these 3 were all turned into the Kokura Arsenal (first stamp) and final inspection performed by Kokura. Prior to 1942 (late '41), Kokura had overall supervision of sword production of both the Nagoya and Tokyo 1st arsenals. This is why we see their stamps on both officer and NCO blades prior to this date.

Hale, I couldn't say what area of Craigslist, as I didn't record that. My file was created Dec 8, 2024, and the photos are exactly the same. Here's one from my file: Did you buy this from a Craigslist sale? If not, maybe I've mislabeled it. I've done things like that before.

Thanks for the added photos, Jackson! That's a nice quality pierced tsuba. If you ever want to spend the time, you can find spare seppa for sale now and then, and even fuchi. Seppa are easy to fit/re-size the ana, but fuchi might be a little harder to find a perfect fit. I've heard of it being done, though. It's an interesting tsuka. Seems like it was lacquered, darkening the rayskin. The kabutogane is very crude, like a late-war re-fit. Maybe the tsuka got damaged and the kabutogane was a replacement. Damaged tsuka were the most common repairs listed during the war.

Hale, welcome back! I have that one on file from a Craigslist sale page, and the seller claimed it was star-stamped. I'd really appreciate a shot of the stamp if you don't mind.

Ed, is this yours? If so, could you check the mune for stamps? Some of his are numbered.

Hi Jackson! Can you do me a big favor and post a couple shots of the blade and fittings for the files? Koa Isshin, Mantetsu made; Spring 1940; serial "TO 827" It is the highest number I have on file of the TO series. TO was the 4th out of 11 series in 1940. Brian's link has a great history of the SMR Mantetsu operation. Several of us worked up an article that brought all the Mantetsu history we could find and included the discoveries made here at NMB about their operations. Here is the article, if you haven't seen it: SMR Mantetsu Article

Yes, you have it right, inspector stamp of Kokura's 1st Factory. Another example that "arsenal stamps" are not a definitive sign of showato. They are commonly seen on other gendaito like star-stamped RJT blades. I see you have plenty of info on Moritaka, but here is his page from Slough:

Thanks Dee! Hadn't logged one in from Moritaka yet. Like you said on the other thread, Kokura's 1st Factory inspector stamp. I haven't tracked the double stamping thoroughly, but I do have 12 on file from 1940 - 1944. Yours is the second earliest in my chart. Their presence doesn't say anything about the blade being traditional or not as I've seen them on RJT star stamped blades. @mecox and @Kiipu probably know more about the practice, and might have more to add.

I'm with Colin. Mine are at the base of my stairs in a gun cabinet with a class door. I get to see them every time I go down the stairs.

I put in a request, thanks Mal. Sohei-swords is @mdiddy, Matt Jarrel.

Agreed. Can you post a photo of the full nakago so we can see the shape?

To get to your original questions, I have not heard of anyone who successfully removed dark stains from a blade. Yes, a professional polisher can do it, if you are willing to pay the bucks. I suspect someone between WWII and you heavily buffed the nakago with a power buffer, taking off the yasurime and messing with the appearance. The fittings are nice and are normally seen of upgraded swords. Personal swords, refitted for the war, can often retain some of the civil metal fittings, like your menugi and tsuba.

There is a story that Abraham Lincoln was chatting with a guy (topic lost to time). Lincoln reportedly aske the guy "If we call a dog's tail a leg, how many legs will a dog have?" The guy said "5". Lincoln replied "No, a dog has 4 legs no matter what we call his tail."

Ha! We have a similar translation of FIAT - Fix It Again, Tony! Yes, Type 3 is likely the most universal term in the community. It will wash out in time, as all the terms get stirred in the pot and something will come out the other side.

No, that would be @Kiipu and @BANGBANGSAN. I feel like there is another guy, but I don't remember who.