Bruce Pennington

Hi James! Like Geraint asked, could you remove the handle (tsuka) of the second sword and show the signature? The first, made by Masatsune was likely made around 1940-41. The small stamp is the Showa inspection stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association and not an Army arsenal stamp. Yours looks like it has a nice hamon (temper pattern)! These swords vary from market to market, but on average are worth around $1,200-1,400. The same can be said about your second sword, unless we see that it was traditionally made, which would drive the price up higher around $2,000ish. Good page for caring for your swords: Japanese Sword Care - Japaneseswordindex.com

Thanks Con! I remember that one. Here's a better shot:

Also spring 1943. Do us a favor and post the serial number on the back, please!

Maybe Klingon?

I know we've tossed the banner ads idea around before, but I don't see why not, Brian. Every other forum I frequent uses them. I've clicked on several simply to see if they carried any Mantetsu or swords with stamps! They aren't a bother at all.

Yes, something different! Can you read it @Bugyotsuji? Maybe @uwe or @SteveM?

And you will find the AI engines have a long way to catch up when it comes to Japanese swords.

Mike, You can read up on the NCO Type 95 on Ohmura's site: NCO Gunto Type 95 - Ohmura The stamps can be identified there as well, but here is a chart from his pages: As you will see, the "Ichi" logo is of a shop not officially identified. Several of us, here at NMB, believe it is the same shop as the Kobe Sword Forge as seen with a "K" in sakura (cherry flower).

You got it, Eric! Now if someone can decipher the writing ....

Thanks Marcin! I have this one from Nicholas back from Oct '24. Good luck with the sale, Nicholas, excellent gendaito!

This one reminds me of the Buddhist imagery of a rendai, the lotus petals put beneath an image of the Buddha. (Mal Cox, NMB). but it has 2 "leaves" underneath instead of 3. Need someone familiar with Buddhist symbology.

I'm fascinated by the steaming pot! Wonder what they were cooking?

I like it, thanks HB!

An interesting one posted by @Lewis B HERE. Crescent moon and star?. I see the same image on a few Islamic flags. I think it's a planet that actually makes it's way around the sky each year and gets close to the moon. Bugs me a little, as it is physically impossible for a star or planet to get close enough to the crescent for such a depiction, as the moon is actually round, whether you can see the shadowed part or not. Sorry, just a little pet peeve of mine. Ha!

Hi Robert! John, @PNSSHOGUN, might have some insight into those fittings. I know there are other guys that collect swords in tachi fittings, as well, that might recognize this. The mon was discussed a few times. Here is one of them: " The problem with getting too deep into Mon is they were nearly all open to use by anybody from the Meiji period onwards, including this 3-5-3 Kiri Mon. Sometimes there needs to be examination of the whole sword to determine if there is any special significance to be gained from the Mon. It is an enjoyable little exercise but all too easy easy to get carried away, I know I have on many occasions. " So, your sword might have been a presentation to a government official, or it was bought this way by one. Kanemune was a prolific smith. I have records of his blades throughout the war and in a variety of fittings. @mecox likely has an article about him! This is 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)" The stamp would be the Showa stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association, a civil group tasked by the sword industry to inspect blades for quality. Your manufacture date is likely 1940-1941.

Yes, made with Yasugi steel. I have several blades made by Kanemichi with the same inscription, and one from Masatsune. I don't recall the disussion of this steel, but there were a few forges during the war that specialized in their own steels, and sort of bragged about it in the mei. Kim, the small stamp at the top is the Showa stamp. You blade was most likely made in 1940-1941. It was a civil stamp used by the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association, tasked to weed out poor quality blades that were hurting the industry's reputation. All the blades I've seen with the stamp were quite nice and good quality. Edit: found the discussion. Posted by @BANGBANGSAN: "Before the war, Kisaku Ibe of Yasugi Steel Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Hitachi Metal Yasugi Factory, and others developed high-speed tool steel with electric steel for the first time in the East with the cooperation of Matsue Electric Light, establishing a further brand in modern steelmaking. Currently, it is developed at the Hitachi Metallurgy Laboratory in Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture and is defined as the names of all special steels represented by tool steels for high-performance machines, such as blades and molds that require the strength of materials manufactured using advanced technology. These are registered trademarks as "YSS Yasugi Speciality Steel" (YSS stands for Yasugi Speciality Steel)." From this thread:

I traded that one to Ernie, Stegel, some time ago. But I know it was fatter than standard. You could email him for the measurement.

Fading can really change tassel colors, too. Just a possibility.

Thanks Conway!

Ichi/Kokura 107555 - ebay page Gifu/Kokura 78883 - ebay page Seki Shoten/Kokura 104769 - ebay page

John, The two colors are not what we see on Japanese rank tassels. Without a photo, it won't be possible to tell you what it was. We have seen a variety of unknown tassels on swords. A good many of them were from sword bags and placed on the swords. I suspect some of them were local productions. As John, PNSSHOGUN, alluded to, many units were effectively abandoned by Japan and forced to fend for themselves. As to the officer carrying this, again, we are off to pure speculation. Officers were allowed to rent and buy Type 95 gunto due to repeated sword shortages during the war. It is possible that this is the reason for this one. There are many other scenarios I could imagine (his favorite NCO was killed and the officer was carrying his sword, etc, etc). But, for us, it will remain a mystery.

What do you think, guys?

Sam, Don't know how closely you watch ebay, so you might already have this: Tokyo 109267; steel tsuba; officer tassel Ebay page Also, Iijima/Tokyo 159516, matching: ebay page Also, Suya/Toky 153712, matching - Unique fabric ito over original handle! Looks old/legit: ebay page

Dom, I've never seen a DYI polish that looked good. Buffers leave an artificial looking mirror sheen, and sanding leaves streaks that, regardless how fine, are always visible. If you ever plan to sell, guys that care about that stuff won't like it. It's an heirloom, and a war trophy, if you have the cash, do it some real service and have it polished. That's my 2 cents worth.

We do see these kind of tanto periodically. Without actual provenance, we are just making educated guesses as to it's origins. There is photo of a Japanese soldier holding broken sword. We know there were repair teams in the field fixing broken swords. So, we know it is possible that this blade came from a broken sword, and someone possibly used the end to craft a tanto.