Bruce Pennington

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.

Curtis, You can read all about the stamps on blades on this article: Briefly, it is the approval stamp of the civilian Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association. It was used between 1935 and 1942, with most of them seen on blades made in 1940-41. Mind posting a shot of the blade and fittings?

Your fittings are the contingency model, or rinji seishiki in Japanese, often called the Type 3, Type 44, Type 100, Type 0, Marine Landing sword, etc. It is an Army officer sword. Would you mind posting some photos of the blade and full fittings for the files? You can read about it's development and release here: Unveiling the Rinji-seishiki Sword 1940; Nick Komiya, Warrelics and here The Development of the Sword commonly called The Type 3 version; Nick Komiya, Warrelics

Curtis, I'm not knowledgable of the smith ratings, but there were 2 Yoshimitsu, that signed with 吉光, that were RJT qualified, so they both likely made good blades. I do not have one, yet, in my files with a star stamp. Could you remove the brass collar, habaki, and check near the top of the nakago (tang) for a stamped star? Here are the two listed in Sesko's book, that were RJT rated: YOSHIMITSU (吉光), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Nagano – “Shinshū Inadani-jū Yoshimitsu saku” (信州伊那谷住吉光作), “Shinshū-jū Yoshimitsu” (信州住吉光), “Yoshimitsu” (吉光), “Tanaka Yoshimitsu” (田中吉光), real name Tanaka Shōkichi (田中庄吉), born 1901, he studied in Niigata under Amata Sadayoshi (天田貞吉) and Miyairi Akihira (宮入昭平) and worked as rikugun-jumei-tōshō, jōkō no retsu (Akihide), Fourth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941) (see picture right) YOSHIMITSU (吉光), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Iwate – “Ōshū Gose-jū Yasumoto Yoshimitsu” (奥州御所住 安本吉光), “Minamoto Yoshimitsu” (源吉光), “Gose Yasumoto Yoshimitsu” (御所安本吉光), real name Yasumoto Noriharu (安本徳治), born 1904, he studied under Yoshihara Kuniie (吉原国家), Katō Sanekuni (加藤真国), and Miyairi Akihira (宮入昭平), and also worked as rikugun-jumei-tōshō The stamped serial number at the end, with a katakana - ク - in your case, is only seen (with few exceptions) on blades made by RJT smiths. This kana was used in the Gunma prefecture, which neighbors the Nagano prefecture of Tanaka Yoshimitsu, so I suspect your smith was the first one.

The mark on the blade is the top horizontal line and the first 'box', left side under that line of the "TO" stamp. I doubt that the Kobe stamp will add to the pricing value for most collectors. It would have to be someone that is specifically trying to collect examples from each arsenal and contractor. to make a difference. As for the paint, we have had many discussions about wartime second paint-jobs. No one really knows, but there are plenty of examples making it clear that it was done. Nice 95, John! Beautiful blade and paint in decent condition.

Sorry Thomas! I'm only online during breakfast, these days. Lisbon, The guys have it. It's a souvenir produced by the Tenshozan Factory for the 8th Army PX (like a military Walmart) from 1946-7, sold by both the PX and the Japanese Sword Shop, but also seen in the PX in Korea during the Korean conflict. Over 8,700 were made. It is not known why they mixed Army and Navy parts, but my personal opinion is that they wanted a sword that could not be considered a war trophy, or military sword, in any way. Shipping of war trophies had been outlawed after the war, so they likely mixed the parts which is something an active Army or Navy producer would have never done. We now have 2 Army PX certificates of sale stating they were "souvenirs."

Noshu Seki ju Hattori Masahiro Saku Beautiful blade, good luck with the sale!

That's quite a unique habaki! Too bad it's not in better shape. Still would enjoy a clear shot, or two, of it.

Richard, I really enjoy my Takayama-to. Short, but surprisingly heavy. I can see how the design would fit Masayoshi Takayama's idea of "One strike, one kill."

Vincent, The bolt through the tsuka is unusual. Looks like the ito (cloth wrap) around it is worn? Does the wear look old? My first thought was that it was something added later by a collector (and still could be), until I noticed the worn ito around it.

Perfect, thanks George!

Chris, Any small stamps up above the mei (signature)? No date on the other side, I presume? The file marks are called yasurime. You can see the different styles on this site: Sword Blade Terminology - Japaneseswordindex.com

Thanks for the update, Joey! Hey, it looks like the saya has the patented, Wakase-made, extended drag. Can you give us a shot of that? You can see a couple variations on this thread:

Anything is possible, but we just don't know. The notches often, but not always, match numbers on fittings. But the dots don't do that.