Bruce Pennington

Excellent, Thomas! I had forgotten that one. You must have a photographic memory.

Yours is similar to the one posted by Sam, and shows how the haikan fits just aft of the second snap. Thanks for posting!

Marcin, that's the only two locations I'm aware of on a Type 98 where Wakase marked their items. Matt, nice gunto my friend! I agree, I like those special thinner tsuba.

Sounds like a good guess, thanks Trystan! @Rawa almost all haikan are under the leather. Don't know about the location in the snap area. Never say never nor always!

Thanks for posting the SA shot! I have one other, and it's on a naval Type 19. So that shop made them for both services, clearly.

I don't study these specifically, but seems legit to me. I thought, at first, the backstrap should have dimples, but Plimpton shows examples with a smooth surface like this.

Dave, The kiri in this case is a kamon, or family crest. There have been a few posted at NMB over the years. Here is one for example: Concerning the knot, Dawson, page 432, calls it a "standard naval sword knot used from 1883 (possibly earlier) until 1945". Like the brown naval tassel, I believe he is saying that they were both for all ranks. Page 422 has a photo of an admiral with this standard knot on his sword. So, navy for sure, but rank not knowable.

This is often true of blades with the Showa stamp and large Seki stamp. There is a known case of a Showa-stamped blades getting papers at Shinsa. I should have said that those blades must have had something different, like the use of another steel other than tamahagane or an oil quench that set them outside the gendaito classification.

Hi Scott, The stamp is the large Seki stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association. Blades with this stamp were made between 1940 - 1944, and most dated blades were dated 1942. These are usually well made, with attractive hamon, like yours, but were oil quenched for speed of production. So, they fall into the "showato," or non-traditionally made, category. It is not uncommon to see them in civil fittings, with military leather covered saya.

Wow, Trystan! What do you think we are seeing here, with the label/stamp? This seems to imply they were stamping the donated/bought swords as they collected them, and numbered them? Google says "Takeuchi" means "bamboo inside", but I doubt the saya was made of bamboo. What do you think it is saying?

Should we call you C or Luna? We use first names here at NMB (website rule), plus we just enjoy talking with real people! I see a second sword, in shirasaya (the light brown all wooden case). Would you like to remove the handle on that one, so we can take a look as well? Basic market value for swords starts around $900-1,200 USD and goes up, depending upon condition, popularity of a smith, style and look of the blade, etc. The Moritake blade looks like it had a fair layer of rust, but probably not bad. If you can get a close-up showing a section of the hamon (temper pattern), it might help in getting more specific on value.

The black would point to Navy. Only one haikan, though, so late-war.

Wow, thanks Sam! Extraordinary. @SteveM @BANGBANGSAN Interesting to see the leather band on the haikan, too.

I agree. The nakago appears to be something older than WWII.

Yes, it is active. Thanks for the input. Definitely a custom kaigunto. That would be extremely unusual if both sets of seppa are one piece! Hard to know from the photos. i agree with you, the ito might be a re-wrap, as the diamond gaps are smaller than normal. Seeing how customized the whole rig is, though, leaves the possibility that it was made this way.

One-piece seppa fuchi is a late-war sign. This appears to be a late-war zoheito. Harvey, zoheito were arsenal made blades of single sheet steel. They were real swords, just not hammered and folded like samurai swords. Zoheito were made throughout the war.

Ok, still catching up. So "kinzogan" is the gold inlay. Is Yoshihiro Hon'a the guy that did the gold inlay? If so, this is his kao? My earlier comment about cut test was a mix-up from another thread I was reading. This one is not a cut test, correct?

Thanks, HB. I just realized this is a cut tester and his kao. If you don't mind another question. I document all the kao I come across and have one of Matsuyo Yoshihiro, but the kakihan is quite different. I realize there can be multiple generations, but the kao don't usually change this drastically.

Brett, I don't see him in Sesko. Is he listed under a different name?

And I love photos like this that show very unusual fittings. If I had seen this one on sale on eBay or even presented here, I would say it could be a post war Bubba job.

Hi Harvey, Don't know if it's just me, but these photos didn't come out. Seem strangely digitized. So far, looks fine, but would love to see some normal photos.

Yamanaka V4 NL08 On another note, can someone please give me the smith name above the kao on this, from the post above?

Made by Yoshichika, in 1944. A Gifu smith. "YOSHICHIKA (吉近), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Yoshichika” (吉近), real name Yoshioka Tetsujirō (吉岡鉄次郎)" Might have a small Seki stamp near the top. It's a nice looking sword and lucky to have the leather cover in such good shape. Company grade officer's tassel is a plus. Worth the price.

Here's your guy: "KANEMUNE (兼宗), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanemune” (兼宗), real name Fukumoto Koichi (福本小市), born October 14th 1902, adopted son-in-law of Fukumoto Amahide (天秀), he died on March 8th 1977, ryōkō no jōi (Akihide)" I appreciate how you feel about your grandfather and this sword that represents so much. If you haven't read up on caring for the blade, this is a good site: Japanese Sword Care