Bruce Pennington

It has been proposed that the kobuse method used tamahagane, and blades stamped as such are gendaito. No proof either way, though. Have to examine the blade for evidence.

The handle and nakago (tang) look short. How long is the cutting edge? Tanto are under 12" Wakizashi (shorter sword) - 24" - 12" Daito ( katana, uchi-katana, tachi, no-dachi ) - over 24" Helpful info on this site: http://japaneseswordindex.com/measure.htm

Hi Ken! You'll find more guys that can speak to sword era for you over at the NMB Nihonto Forum.

Sad to see that! Is it actually up for sale, or are they still finishing it?

Check this out: Clause 2 discussion. Short version: "Nick Komiya in his Rinji Seishiki to Daiyou Seishiki Weapons Specs thread has uncovered specific documents detailing the conversion of this Clause 2 stamp to mean "Article 2 of this regulation defined Daiyo-Seishiki-Heiki as “weapons in specifications employing substitute materials in its component(s) or redesigned to conserve materials" or more succinctly "Substitute-Spec Weapons". Late war mil spec changes allowed non-standard materials and non-standard production in many weapons, including swords. The circled 2 originally would indicate the weapon could not be used for combat and should only be used in training. But the late-war reg change also changed the use of the stamp.

Thanks, Seth! No numbers or stamps on the blade, either under the habaki or just outside of it? I ask because I have 2 on file with similar shaped tsuba, and they have a kanji + numbers just outside the habaki. How about a full length shot?

Hi Seth! Those are tough ones, as they are likely not fully/cleanly struck. I suspect the one by the numbers and the top one on the nakago mune is the Clause 2 stamp, but it is much smaller than any I've seen before: On the mune, I'd say the Class 2 and below it, a very partially struck Seki stamp. Pardn my poor photo-shopping:

Mikko, You can clearly see the quality difference in the first photo. The saya parts (don't know about the actual saya) are copies. I have others on in my Fakes file similar, even with the bare saya:

Thanks Steve! I'll just note that on the file.

So, the cut tester was Kanjuro, but we don't have a date? Sorry for the rookie questions, but in this, I really am a rookie!

We've seen the Heijo stamp on a blades.

That's cool, John! It's the I Ro Ha series, same thing used by SMR for the Mantetsu serial numbers. Nice to see other manufacturers using it, too.

@SteveM Aoi Art says the cutter was Yamano Kanjuro, tested early Spring 1934 Do you concur with the name? I ask because his kakihan (kao) is identical to a cutter in the 1600's by the name of Nagahisa: Kanjuro Nagahisa

That's quite beautiful, Stefan. Nice custom fittings as well. Good luck with the sale.

I've had a couple swords come in tubes, with no dents or bends. But almost ever 4 sided, even 3 sided boxes have had dents and bends. Thankfully, no damage to the swords. I like the tubes!

You've done some good research, Brittany! Quite interesting photo background, too. Is that actual, or photo-shop type software? Have you seen the Ohmura pages on the Type 95 with the shop and arsenal stamps? - http://ohmura-study.net/794.html The star is from the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal. It appears on blades after 1942. Prior to this, you'd see the Kokura stamp on both Tokyo & Nagoya 95s.

Sorry about your suffering, Brian. Praying for you.

I agree with all the above. The koiguchi and sayajiri appear to be modern reproductions. I suspect the blade was legit and put into a variety of real and fake fittings. I'm really puzzled by the tsuba/seppa set. I THINK they are legit, but I have a kaigunto tsuba/seppa set with the exact same number - even the impartially struck "6" and small star:

Yes! Forgot that term! Dawson has some from Prison swords. I thought the foul pattern might have significance, but apparently not. Just variations of it.

Ah, yes we've seen that many times over the years! I own 2 NCOs that had been painted gold. Now that you mention it, is that tsuba painted gold, or is that just lighting effect?

It is Mal's theory that both stamps - circled anchor and anchor with chevrons - were used at Tenshozan by the resident naval inspector. As the blades with circled anchor stamps are undated, it is possible they were earlier than the blades with the chevroned anchor. He may correct me on that, but I think that is what he said. It is still possible that Tenshozan had it's own quality inspector using the chevroned anchor simultaneously with the Navy inspector using the circled anchor. The chevroned anchor is specific to Tenshozan, while the circled anchor can be seen elsewhere.

As a result, we now have the anchor in sakura stamps, found on fittings, dirks, and other weapons, that we no longer know their origins. The fact that they are seen with other shop stamps, like Suya and Nakano, tells me they are likely Navy inspector stamps as well. We also see this one, with a coiled rope on the shaft, with the Gunto Sai Saku Jo shop logo: These will be reclassified in the March edition of the Stamps doc as "unknown, possibly Navy Inspector" Ohmura, and the chart Fuller used, lists this as a Toyokawa stamp, but there is just no evidence that support that claim.

Update on the Navy anchor stamp we have all been attributing to the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal. We no longer believe that to be the case, and think it is a generic Navy Inspection stamp, not specific to any arsenal. Thomas - @Kiipu - has been making this point for a few years, but it never caught my attention (chasing too many other rabbits at the time). So, he got Mal - @mecox - to listen and stir the pot. For decades, we have called it the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal stamp because of Ohmura's page and Richard Fuller showed it as such in his books. The chart on page 228 of his '96 edition came from someone or something before his work, and he now agrees with Thomas and Mal. -- The stamp, on swords, only appears on blades made by the Tenshozan factory. They are stainless steel blades made by Tenshozan (some stainless blades were made in Seki, but likely processed by Tenshozan). Two blades made at the Takayama forge have been found with the stamp. -- The circled anchor is also seen on things not associated with Toyokawa, like aircraft and electronics labels. -- No documented evidence could be found showing that Toyokawa was in any way associated with sword manufacturing, or processing, while it has been found for other arsenals like Sasebo, Maizuru, and Yokosuka. Mal is revising his Navy Swords articles, and the Stamps of the Japanese Sword document will carry this revision when it comes out next March. For the record, these are the stamps of the various arsenals. They were hand drawn by the original author and slightly inaccurate, but nothing that significantly impacts our point. The circled anchor is not on the list.

You'll find that the quality of the metal parts can vary, both from vendor to vendor as well as just over the span of the war. Is the saya aluminum?

I hope you didn’t trade anything very valuable. If you did, maybe you can trade it back? The blade is made out of Damascus steel and the serial number on the habaki are classic signs of Chinese fakery.