Bruce Pennington

Still searching (where's @Kiipu when you need him?!). This Komiya thread talks about Navy kaigunto requirements, and points out they went into much more detail due to fear of sloppy workmanship in the market: Launch Documentation of the 1937 Navy Gunto

I am searching Nick Komiya's articles to see if there are mil specs posted. So far, only this very general requirement:

Adding to the revelation that the 1-piece fuchi/seppa found on the souvenirs wasn't a new invention for the souvenir. A few have been found on wartime kaigunto, but here is one on a Type 98 zoheito. At this CV Auction.

Ever seen a seppa with artwork? This is on a Kawasaki Nagamitsu, large Seki stamp, in custom leather found on this CV Auction LLC page.

Ahh So! Ha! Got me, there. But it did work out for both sides!

Bullet, You might already know this, but a "fake" signature, or gimei, doesn't mean the sword is a fake. It was a fairly common practice done for hundreds of years. Thanks for the added photos. You have an interesting piece there. Old, civil blade re-fitted for the war. The black leather cover is usually found on Navy swords, but the menugi is Army. The fuchi (the collar on the handle with the flowers) is a pattern used for the civil branch of the military called Gunzoku. I suspect this explains the rest of the combo.

A great place to become familiar with your sword is Ohmura's excellent website. Tons of high quality photos and plenty of history about the WWII sword development. http://ohmura-study.net/900.html

@SteveM or @Ray Singer, or one of the other guys will help with the smith's name. In the meantime, could you post a straight-on, clear shot of the menugi - the metal piece under the ito (handle wrap), please? Also, if you actually go by "Bullet" as a nickname among friends and family, great! But if not, please post a real first name in you profile that will show up. It's NMB rules, and we just like to chat with real people!

Thanks Stephen! Spring 1941, Koa Isshin Mantetsu; RE 347 @Kiipu @BANGBANGSAN Your link went to a Yoshikatsu. Here's the Mantetsu page: https://www.samurais....jp/sword/24178.html Posting photos for the future if that link goes dead:

From Sesko's book: "YOSHISHIGE (義重), Ansei (安政, 1854-1860), Kōzuke – “Edo-jū Yoshishige” (江戸住義重), “Kōzuke no Kuni Hasebe Yoshishige” (上野国長谷部義重), “Jōshū Takasaki-shin Hasebe Yoshishige” (上州高崎臣長谷部義重), real name Hasebe Matsunosuke (長谷部松之助), he was born in the eighth year of Bunsei (文政, 1825) in Musashi´s Kawagoe (川越) but moved later to Edo and studied there under Hosokawa Masayoshi (細川正義) and Jōkeishi Masaaki (城慶子正明), thereupon he was employed by the Kawagoe fief (川越藩) and accompanied later his lord Matsudaira Terumichi (松平輝充, 1822-1862) to Kōzuke province when the latter was transferred to Kōzuke’s Takasaki fief (高崎藩), there he lived in Nitta-machi (新田町) and later in the scabbard-maker district Sayashi-machi (鞘師町), in the fifth year of Kaei (嘉永, 1852) he also worked in Ōzu (大洲) in Iyo province, he died on the 23rd day of the eighth – 1340 – month Ansei six (1859) at the young age of 35, he worked mostly in the style of his master Masayoshi but focused on the Bizen tradition, but we also know blades with a flamboyant notare-midare in nie-deki in the Sōshū style, chūjō-saku"

Sword Care guide: Japanese Sword Care; Japaneseswordindex.com Removing the tsuka (which is quite easy): How to Remove Tsuka of Japanese Sword

Good one, Conway, thanks! Out of 22 showato in the chart, only 4 have a steel screw, so far.

Thanks for checking, Perry!

Ah, the old unknown shop logo of "N in Diamond". Nice habaki.

I've seen 2 holes, but the upper one is usually much higher near the top. Haven't seen one like this one, either. A previous owner may have gotten the gunto missing several parts. My dad's Mantetsu was missing tsuba & seppa, plus a coupld of the saya fittings. They might have found these parts to re-fit the gunto. Your smith looks like Yoshida Kaneyoshi, 兼吉 (Kaneyoshi). Can you slide the habaki down and check for a small Showa stamp near the top. I think I see the bottom edge of it.

Hi Craig! Start by reading this page on care and cleaning: Sword Care and Cleaning - Japaneseswordindex.com Here is a video demonstrating the technique mentioned by Leen: How to remove Sword Tsuka It is hard to see if the original paint is still there on your saya (scabbard). If it is, I would just use a rag and oil to clean it and stop the rust. For the brass & copper fittings, it is hard to remove the copper oxidation without removing the original paint/coloration. You might just try the rag/oil method and see how much comes off. I've made the mistake of using products like Brasso before. It will remove everything else, too! Some other guys might have some better tips.

That's a great one, thanks for posting it!

You can try posting in the "Wanted to Buy" forum. Also, Don Schlickman makes perfect replica parts, including screws. Pm me, if you want his number.

Peter, Nice Type 98, maybe 94? John would know. If you already have removed the bamboo peg, mekugi, and still cannot move the tsuka (handle), it is just being held on by age, grime, rust, or a tight fit. I get mine off, when like that, by wrapping a work cloth tightly around the blade, so I can grip it, and tap the tsuba (handguard) lightly on alternating sides with a rubber mallet. Some use a wooden block. You won't damage anything. It's always nice to see who made the blade. It adds a lot to your appreciation of the sword, and sometimes, you may get a surprise by finding out it is something special. Give it a try, you won't hurt anything.

After our recent discovery that the circled-anchor stamp is most likely a Navy acceptance stamp, not specific to Toyokawa Naval Arsenal, it is still a mystery as to why all these souvenirs were stamped. I have 100 charted now, and only 4 are not stamped. Options: 1. The massive majority of blades used by Tenshozan for the souvenir were surplus from the war. If so, did the Navy inspector actually inspect/approve of blades that had not been finished? The nakago jiri on most of them were unfinished. I suppose this is possible, considering the loosening of quality requirements in the last year of the war. 2. There was a living Navy inspector working with Tenshozan after the war, stamping blades. 3. Tenshozan had the stamp and used it for the Wow effect on the souvenir blades as they made them. We may never know.

It might match numbers on the metal fittings. Are there numbers on the tsuba, seppa, or other parts?

Not as a general rule. I cannot recall seeing something like that, but I don't study the Type 8/19s, nor the kyu in-depth. Maybe one of the other guys that studies them can say with more experienced background.

Good one, John! In my search to verify Nick Komiya's claim that the tassel was invented and designated for the Gunzoku, in 1942, the chart seems to support it. This 1935 date would counter the claim, but I have 3 other gunto with older blades (one 1940; a 1918; and a 1920) that had the brown tassel. This one might have been originally bought by a Gunzoku with a brown/blue tassel and then switched over to the all brown after they were designated in the Uniform Regulation change.

Only 2 of the other 8 showed the hamon. Each was quite exotic, and different from the next one.

The re-worked tsuba would go along with this idea, too. I haven't seen a hamon that changes for fancy to suguha before, but I don't study that stuff. Quite unusual! I have 8 other Masafusa with one or both stamps, but an interesting one has the exact same mei, but just the registrations stamp, posted by @David McDonald back in 2013: