Bruce Pennington

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.

I only file them if they had a kakihan (kao), so cannot speak to the others, but out of over 50 on file, 11 had no inlay.

Thanks for checking, Paris. Most on file don't either, but one does, so worth checking!

Yeah, you guys a right. I do have a strong tendency to see things that I like looking for. There are a couple of "points" at top and to the right of the corrosion that looks like star points, but after comparing to several actuals, the points are out of proportion to be a star.

I am on my phone and will explain more when I can get to a computer, but I think that is an intentionally obliterated star. We have seen this before. Some people believe the star stamp is just another arsenal stamp and values the sword. Standard officer swords Are valued around $1200, but a star stamped JT blade is worth 1,800-2,000.

Maybe not 'high end' but definitely unique/rare! Navy Diving School dirk!!! On this St. Croix ebay sale. I have never followed the dirks, but I'm quite surprised to see the standards dirks currently for sale in the $800 + USD range! That's double what I paid for mine pre-COVID.

I have a few of his blades on file, and few of them have been re-mounted like this one. Wonder why. Paris, Any dots at the end of the nakago?

Yes, I can see the top horizontal stroke, very faint, now that you point this out!

Wow, John, you called it exactly right on the Suya shop! Rob, Suya Shoten was a quaility shop with a long history. You can read about them on the Nick Komiya thread: The Untold Story of Suya Shoten

Thanks Ben! It's possible it is a gendaito. I don't see any of the telltale dark spots in the hamon, although the sanding job might be obscuring that.

Sword Care Guide: http://japaneseswordindex.com/care.htm

October 1941 Smith - Kanetoshi?

I think the date reads August 1836, but there's a kana after that "7" that doesn't make sense to me.

Dave, Robert did an excellent job summarizing our views on these. Thanks Robert! I have a few of these on file with this stamp/mark. Oddly, they all have the 'Manchurian' style fittings, whereas this one has 'Collaborator' (my term) with 'Japanese' style tsuba and, if legit (and it might be) a Gunzoku tassel. Interesting item. Edit: I should add the flower on both the tsuba and kabutogane is plum, not sakura, so still inline with Chinese/Manchurian made. Also, the machi (notches where the nakago meets the blade) are offset, not aligned, which is a Chinese thing. The blade is quite nice for one of these. Quite nice.

I have seen a small number of officer gunto with a screw/bolt. Seems like it would be a post-war addition to a sword missing the mekugi. But no way to know.

It certainly has potential. Sure wish we had one with a PX purchase certificate! It's the only thing that locked in the souvenir sword. At least the sword had the mish-mashed fittings. This dirk looks completely wartime legit.

This does have the appearance that suggests war kaigunto. At first, I was thinking something custom, but I can't say I've ever seen any without the daiseppa that weren't late war. The large seki stamp has been seen as late as 1944, so it's feasible. Masahiro must have been a prolific smith. I have 26 of his blades on file.

Another crescent moon in the ocean. Posted by @Baka Gaijin, HERE.

Wow, didn't see that, John! Doesn't even have the metal part that goes across the center. Rob, Take a couple minutes to read the article I wrote, that Rob posted a link to. It explains all your questions. The black color, and gold gilding, along with the blade are Navy. The metal fittings are Army style fittings. This is what puzzled collectors for decades. I believe it was intentional by the Tenshozan forge in making a sword that could not be called a war trophy, as it wasn't anything close to a regulation navy or regulation army gunto. The missing hole is seen on a few late-war swords, but this is the first one I've seen on a souvenir The stamped numbers on the fittings are quite normal for military and souvenir swords.

Nice find on the 49 gunto. Your guess is as good as any. This 49 has a legit looking company grade tassel. I have one other with tassel, too. Supports the idea they were being used by Japanese troops as opposed to collaborators. Although, I don't know for a fact what sort of tassels the collaborating units used. If anyone knows, please chime in.

Is it this one? "MASAKIYO (正清), Kyōhō (享保, 1716-1736), Satsuma – “Kiyomitsu” (清盈), “Kiyomitsu [single-leaf aoi crest] aratameru Mondo no Shō Fujiwara Masakiyo saimei” (清盈・改主水正藤原正清再銘, “Kiyomitsu – once again signed by Mondo no Shō Fujiwara Masakiyo after the change of name”), “Sasshū-jū Kageyoshi saku” (薩州住景吉作) “Sasshū-jū Fujiwara Masakiyo” (薩州住藤原正清), “Sasshū-jū Masakiyo” (薩州住正清), “[single-leaf aoi crest] Mondo no Shō Fujiwara Masakiyo” (主水正藤原正清), “[single-leaf aoi crest] Sasshū-jū Mondo no Shō Fujiwara Masakiyo” (薩州住主水正藤原正清), real name Miyahara Kiyo´emon (宮原清右衛門, the first name can also read Sei´emon), he also bore the first name Kakudayū (覚太夫), he studied under Maruta Sōzaemon Masafusa (丸太惣左衛門正房), in early years he signed with Kageyoshi (景吉) and Kiyomitsu (清盈), some sources list his early name also as Yoshikage (吉景), in the first month of Kyōhō six (1721), the eighth Tokugawa-shōgun Yoshimune (徳川吉宗, 1684-1751) invited the best smiths of the country to a sword forging contest to his Edo residence, the winners were besides of this Masakiyo Ippei Yasuyo (安代), Nobukuni Shigekane (信国重包) from Chikuzen, and the 4th generation Nanki Shigekuni (南紀重国), all of them were granted with the permission to engrave a single leaf of the Tokugawa aoi crest to their tangs, especially outstanding in this contest were Masakiyo an Yasuyo who enjoyed subsequently a veritable – 532 – program consisting of recommendations and orders, the honorary title Mondo no Shō (主水正) was granted to him on the 13th day of the seventh month of the same year (1721), he died on the sixth day of the sixth month Kyōhō 15 (1730) at the age of 61, he already focused on the Sōshū masters in his early years but the interpretations do not show the later typical ara-nie and mura-nie, the jigane is an excellently forged itame or ō-itame with ji-nie and chikei, masama appears in the shinogi-ji, the hamon is a gunome-midare, notare mixed with gunome or a notare-midare in nie-deki, in addition many sunagashi, kinsuji and ara-nie and/or mura-nie appear, also the Satsuma-typical imozuru can be seen, the yasurime are katte-sagari and later kiri, that means the angle of the file strokes gets more shallow over the years, in early years he signed with a rather irregular mei, regarding works of his later years, we are facing many daimei of Masachika (正近) or Masamori (正盛), however, there exists the accepted theory that the daimei of Masachika are executed larger than that of Masamori, jōjō-saku MASAKIYO"

There are several of us that search through forums, going back several years. Links often go dead after some time goes by and the pictures are lost to research. So, I prefer posting relevant photos to the discussion with an added link to the site for guys that want to know more.

As it should! Can't tell you if the kanji is Chinese or Japanese, but the blade is not Japanese.

Trystan, They were 2 separate swords. First I have more, if you like. I didn't have that "131" gunto, thanks Thomas!. The second one I posted is marked "31". Found on "Live Auction", no longer have actual link.

That would be expected as these were not made by Japanese smiths. They were made by Java locals. Thanks for the photos, Nicholas. Unless @BANGBANGSAN can give you more info, I don't think we really know anything about their operation. I only have 3 others on file with fittings, and they vary considerably. I suspect they used whatever they had available, manufacturing some themselves by the looks of them. One other has the ito material you describe: This other one has "31" stamped on the habaki