Bruce Pennington

You're probably right, Mal. His is dated - February 1943 - but it might have been just before he got qualified, but still working with the same Army system.

They are thinking the first one was WWII era.

Thanks! Yeah, I've seen that green before. It's likely a faded version of blue. I remember a discussion of this on an old thread.

We see the same thing in the Japanese military swords. Some of the fakes are very course, and hastily done. Others took considerable time and effort to match the real details. I've wondered the same thing. Yet, apparently, they can do this quite cheaply, so getting collector prices for them is a tremendous profit.

Thanks for checking! This one is a bit of a mystery, then. He is listed as an RJT qualified smith, and the stamped number is in line with that operation. We know the RJT smiths sometimes sold their blades privately (outside the military), and those would not have had the star stamp. But if this was the case, I don't understand how it got the stamped number. This could be telling us the blade was made from other steel, not tamahagane, but still for the Army.

Alexander, Your blade could be stuck for a few reasons. First, it may be rust. If so, it's important that your get it out to oil and preserve the blade. Secondly, there are several dents in the bottom half of the saya, which may be wedging against the blade. Third, like Thomas said, this may have been a Type 95, copper-handled, NCO saya repurposed for this sword (maybe due to damage to the original?). I doubt it was a post-war add-on as I can see the shading of the officer styled haikan (belt hanger ring attachment) where it used to be. I realize there were some variations of saya manufacturing styles, but this one sure looks like it started life on a copper handled Type 95. That's a long story to say that it may be tightly wedge in because the curvature of the blade and saya don't match (which would be an odd thing, if my proposal that it was re-purposed was right). In any case, I would recommend placing a hard plastic or wood block against the top edge of the saya, laying on the nakago, and try to knock it loose with a hammer.

Don't see any Showa era Kunisada with this mei, but Sesko's list isn't always totally inclusive of the war smiths. I recommended that Brandon check with you guys as the blade seemed longer and more elegant looking that the normal war blades.

With the large Seki stamp, your most likely date of manufacture would be 1943. They are seen between 1941-'45 but the massive majority were made in '43.

Hi Alexander, Can you give us a couple shots of the blade and fittings? The small stamp near the top is the Showa stamp. It looks to be partially struck, or double struck, making the detail of the stamp obscured. But it was the approval stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association. They used the stamp between 1935 - 1942, with most of them appearing in 1940 - '41, in case there is no date on the other side.

Yes, they've got it back up today. Lots of other mods have been discussing it with Serge, the Master Admin/tech.

Ah, found Dave's: Japanese Japan WW2 Police Officer's Sword w/ Scabbard Latch was broken or cut off:

Couldn't find Dave's item, but found this one - with double bohi! - in the process! WWII Era Japanese Police Superintendent’s Sword - Nice!

John - @PNSSHOGUN - might be able to help with the belt hanger question. Good idea Sam! Anthony, I've never noticed a hamon or temper line on the blades made in occupied areas. This blade has a properly shaped blade tip, where fakes are mostly more angled. The nakago (tang) is finished much more that the standard fake, and the details of the metal work of that kabutogane (end cap on the handle) are quite good. There were stories of the Australian troops making fakes during the war and stories of cheap fakes being sold in occupied Japan, so they did exist that far back. But the faking industry that cranks out the junk we normally see came much later. That problem with age is that the fakers have gotten quite good at creating fake aging. Sometimes there are telltale signs one can spot, but it's not something I've worked at getting good at. I can't see anything that would cause me to doubt the age on this one, though. Having it in hand is often the best source of examination.

Anthony, These are interesting, to me. They have age, like really from WWII. But they are Chinese-made, as evidenced by a few things, like the guys said above. One of the more easy to see tells is when the folds of the handle wrap are all folded in one direction. Japanese make the folds alternate one way, then the other. Chinese craftsmen fold them all in one direction. A lot of obvious fakes have really poor craftsmanship on metal parts, and the tang. The swords with better work, like this one, make me wonder if they were made by occupied Chinese craftsmen for their own collaborative forces. But there is no way to know. At any rate, it's Chinese work, attempting to look like a Japanese military weapon.

On a similar note, I haven't been able to get into Warrelics for 2 days. They have suffered ongoing DDS attacks for some reason. They had a cloud flare protection that worked for a few days, but now I'm not able to get in at all.

No. There was quite a variety of signing methods, across the board, as well as with some individual smiths. I have seen many 2 kana mei over the years.

Yeah, that whole internet alternate universe is quite a mystery. I'm back on without incident, now.

Hmmm. Finally got in via the laptop. I restarted my computer, and viola!

As the title says, I am unable to get into NMB today via my laptop, using DuckDuckGo, Firefox, or Chrome. I am typing this via my phone using Firefox. It is the only thing that is working for me to get into the site.

Curtis, Would you do me a favor and post a clear shot of the face of the tsuba (handguard)? Hard to see in these photos, but is it plain, with no design pattern? Also, check the fringe at the end of the tassel to see if there is a discernable color in the mix. Your strap is two shades of light brown, and often the lighter shade is just badly faded red. Could be a Field grade tassel, and sometimes the red can be seen in tight spots where the 2 straps come together at the knot on top, or in the center of the fringe at the bottom. Thanks!

Curtis, @SouTex Thanks for the added photos! Yours has the double release buttons and I've never seen a showato (non-traditionally made) blade in them. So, please check above the smith's name, removing the fittings fully off the nakago (tang) to see if there is a star stamp. This is likely a gendaito (traditionally made blade).

Glad we can help you, Brian, you've been doing so much for us all for many years. Now, we can return the favor a little. On a minor note, you listed Bugs as a military monitor. You might have meant me. I'd fix it, but I don't have Monitor duty on this forum, Ha!

Brian @BDoyle, Spare parts can sometimes be found on the various auction sites, like Invaluable.com Proxibid.com and other online auction sites in other countries. I sometimes see them on ebay, too. You can sometimes see parts on Crimson Mist Military Antiques Hope others can point you so some useful locations.

Marzio, We don't know for sure, so all answers are speculation. However, some blades with 3-6 digit painted numbers were certainly war surplus. We have some, also, that are signed and have well-finished nakago that could be surplus. The blades, like yours, that are unsigned and show heat blackened ends with unfinished, squared nakago jiri, plus 4 digit numbers, to me are most likely manufactured by Tenshozan after the war. But that's just my view.