Bruce Pennington

Another type 95, a copper,owned by Sam, @Scogg, and posted here:

That’s great, Sam!

Thanks guys! That is the earliest "stamp" I have recorded, then. Doubt it was a single stamp, but you know what I mean.

Thank you, Rohan, and please bear another question - photographed in 1948, but the blade is much older, right? Age approximation?

A small matter, but I've started noticing variations on the snap arrangments of these leather covers. Some have one, some two, some three. Of the covers with 3, even those have variations: Posted by @Dick Grande HERE

Doc, It would be cool to see shots of the box and letter, too! Waiting to see the nakago (tang), with everyone else. Here's some good care tips in the meantime: Japanese Sword Care - Japaneseswordindex.com

I would call it very dark brown. But again, I don’t have it in hand either. There are black ones, and while they are not as common, there does not seem to be any significance to them, unless everything else has been painted black. We have many example of those. But even those, we do not know the significance.

Excellent presentation, Brett, love it! On a side note, can you tell if that is a kamon near the nakagojiri?

Charles, I hope you can get a refund unless you just want to use this as a decorative wall hanger piece. Everything is wrong about this. But I will list some things: The handle is brass, but the Japanese used copper and aluminum, never brass. The stamps on the handle are horribly wrong. The Japanese did not put flags and other marks on the copper collar call a habaki. The Fuller groove starts too far down the blade. And the screw and nut through the handle are the wrong style.

We've all read how the order outlawing the wearing of swords, and the following efforts to Westernize Japan's military, decimated the sword making industry. Working from memory, so forgive me if I'm off, but do I recall there were only 7 sword smiths operating when Japan decided to go back to samurai styled blades? My point being, since collectors often increase the value of items that are rare, wouldn't blades made by those smiths, before the big push to train new smiths to increase production, be worth a pretty penny and highly collectable? Just wondering.

Yeah, that hand drawing of the Hiro stamp is pretty bad. Hard to say what they were actually seeing when they did it.

It's a beauty, Justin! What a great sword to own.

March 2026 Update now available for the Stamps of the Japanese Sword. Download here: Stamps of the Japanese Sword - NMB Download Section What's new: -- Navy Tsuba with "Gunto Houkoku" "Serve the Country with Military Swords". It was the slogan of the government program to procure civilian swords for the war effort. -- Stamped mei - Kanemune -- Kikumon - new variant added in this section lacking better way to classify it - Botan/Peony Flower on a 26th Generation Kanenori. Significance unknown -- Kokuin - Kiyonobu and Kanenori added -- Kakihan - 4 added: Enshin, 1905; Masatsugu; Sukenao, 1696; Yukihide, 1853 -- Blades with both Kakihan & Kokuin - Naotane, used personal kakihan + kokuin of city the blade was made in -- Appraisors - Ho' nami Kotoku added -- Koshirae stamps - Itabashi Supervisory Unit, Army Ordinance Admin HQ -- Unknowns - Circled Yama; Circled kana -- Type 19 shop logo - 2 added. Enjoy

That might explain it. As to the "8" coming from that branch of the Osaka arsenal .... a slight possibility, I guess, but both blades were made by Gifu, Seki smiths, and found in army fittings, so I'm thinking it might need another explanation, like a shop marking. Verdict is still out, though.

Trystan, What document is this page from?

Is it this guy (only one listed by Sesko) "TADATSUNA (忠綱), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Tottori – “Hōki Ōhara Tadatsuna” (伯耆大原忠綱), “Tadatsuna” (忠綱), real name Ōhara Chūjirō (大原忠次郎), born March 20th 1902, he studied from about 1935 under Moriwaki Masataka (森脇正孝) (see picture right)"

Another late war, unlisted RJT smith - Izumo jū Tadatsuna saku - 出雲住忠綱作, May 1945, found on ebay. Sesko has one, from Tottori, which is a very small prefecture right next to Shimane (Izumo), so might be the guy.

Wonderful, thanks Ray!

Here's a long one, at this ebay sale. The guy knows what he has, asking quite a pretty penny for it. Is "tensho710" one of us?

Hi guys! I want to say Sadatsuna, but can't find anyone by that name. Help please?! A May 1945 blade.

I don't think I've ever seen the mil specs on these for production. The reference books show a LOT of variation in them, and observed kyu pretty much back that up. There were a number of factories producing them over a few decades and each one seemed to have their own small differences. @Kiipu @lonely panet might know more, as well as others. Let's see what they say.

I'm transferring this to the Translation forum. They have guys who know the styles of writing. You may be right, but whether Shodo or Sosho (grass script), they should be able to help. If this is Masayuki, it is the first I've seen in this style writing. Normally, his me is like this one: Interested to see what they say.

John, It's a messy, and made worse by the photo, small circled anchor. Excuse my horrid editing: Another one of those mystery rigs. Is the paint "3"? or is there a faded "1" on top, so "13"? For now, I'll call it a "3" which puts it (along with the black ito and 1-piece fuchi/seppa) into the first run souvenir swords using mostly surplus parts. Toyosuke, for the record.

Just came across one on this Wehrmacht-awards thread with similar fittings to Tom's @drb 1643. Don't think the blade is custom, but hard to tell from the photos. I'll ask the owner and update. Fuller calls this variation "scarce."

I can't remember, but there was something I found in the earlier book that wasn't in the newer version, but like John, I only reference the newer one now..