Bruce Pennington

Well, a Type 98 cost an officer 120 Yen, and the Rinji or Type 3 was to cost 80 Yen, so it sounds like desperation pricing if you ask me.

For those who don't already follow the Warrelics forum, Nick Komiya, has posted a short, but historically precious, article of a flyer he found calling for donations of swords during the war and the length and value restrictions involved. http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/japane...-gunto-688110/

Wonder why the forestry service needed armed soldiers running it?

Yes, that always throws me, because the 5-7-5 patern on the flower stamens on other swords means Imperial Palace household staff! But I guess is the all the other floral and leaf patterns that set it apart as Chosen. Japanese Palace staff have the cherry blossom pattern all over.

Emery, I have several 95’s and have disassembled every one. There is very little to gain in removing the tsuka on an NCO. There is never a smith name, and very rarely you’ll see an inspector stamp. I’m an avid follower of stamps, so that’s the only reason that I look. So if you feel like you might damage the screw or nut, it’s not worth it. As to keep it sell - that’s a personal “taste “ question that only you can answer.

Cool Neil! And good example, John! I'd say it was a quality upgrade, Neil. Is the blade special too?

What a beautiful blade, John!

Mathew, if you need the money for something else, then sell. But as an investment - only if you are willing to wait 10, 20 or 30 years! There has been a surge in prices for NCO Type 95s over the last year, but the officer market is flat right now. Of course, if you got this for free (passing of a relative) or a steal at a flee market, then your profit will be 100% or more!

There actually were navy blades mounted in army fittings, it would have been a tsuka like this one, and a leather-covered saya, used by Naval forces stationed on land and serving with the army. But this one seems to be mission the seppa, and no saya. Either way, like John said, half the price would be more appropriate.

That's an interesting thought, Dave. If the saya were old, but it was the leather cover being made for the war, then it would be the cover that would need inspecting, as to it's meeting wartime regulations/standards.

That’s cool! I can actually read this one - “The Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Society “

Gorgeous, Ed! I'm guessing that's eel skin on the saya? Beautiful! I see there's no Navy Arsenal stamp. I've read that prior to 1940, the compliance with the requirement for stamps was a bit spotty. Unless, ths was a gendaito, but the nakago looks too clean for that.

I was thinking the same thing, Dave! If its a repro, it's one of the best I've ever seen in a movie. The tsuba looks a little too thin, but the rest looks real - even what I can see of the fuchi, seems to look right,

I haven't watched many videos about sword making, but I enjoyed this one. It documents the whole process, showing things I haven't seen in other videos like filing the final shape of the blade, and making the mei. It took him over 2 weeks to make this, so you can imagine the pressure during the war to make 80 swords per month (or whatever the quota was)! Enjoy! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f7z9pkQnz_0

Made in 1942. The hot-stamp at the tip of the tang would be the personal stylized mark of the swordsmith.

Jon, Ray and the Nihonto pro's will need good pics of the blade & tip to even speculate. You don't show the rest of the nakago. Are there any small stamps on it? Sorry Ray! We were typing at the same time. Go ahead, I'll just read along!

These seem to be showing up lately, each hotly debated simply because it IS possible, but unprovable.

Good eye on the missing seppa, Chris! I'm puzzled by the ashi. I didn't know the original NCO ashi were removable. Are they?

Thanks guys, glad I was wrong about the blade!

Mpjbay, It usually doesn't take this long to get replies on swords. I've waited a bit myself because I'm not really sure what to think about this item. The blade, at first glance, looks like something really old. But when I zoom in on the old patina on the tang, it has the appearance of something baked on, with bubble-holes. The blade shape seems right, but I'm bothered by the multiple diagonal file-like lines along the blade. There are spots on the blades where there are swirls, like Damascus steel. Damascus steel is popular with the Chinese reproductions, and was never used in Japan for war blades. It almost seems as if the manufacturere intentionally filed and sanded and scraped the surface to hide/mask the Damascus swirls. I will say that I'm not expert on the old swords prior to WWII, so I COULD be wrong, and wouldn't mind finding out that this is a really old sword! However, the scabbard is, shall I say Freaky! The metal fittings seem quite new, and they are on a bare wooden scabbard - no paint, no finish, and even some factory assembly-style markings on the outside. The crest on the metal fittings is a legitimate Japanese crest that can be found on websites dedicated to family crests, and seem to be well done. Sorry I can't do more for you, but I'm flummoxed by this baby.

Stephen, I'm really talking at the edge, or beyond, my experience/knowledge level on this. It would be interesting if anyone has a shrine sword with a Star stamp on it, or are they all without any stamps whatsoever.

Hopefully someone with more understanding of the history in Japan during this era will jump in, but the article I cited above points out that even “collectors“ in the 1930s were struggling to determine the difference between traditional and nontraditionally made swords. However from reading about the development of the military sword in this time, private orders of swords had fallen so badly that swordsmith as a profession had almost gone extinct. The military sword industry had to search to find enough skilled craftsmen that could make the old samurai style swords for them. And from there they rebuilt the industry.

Steve, From what I've read, it was law that all swords received a stamp if they were not gendaito: “Tang stamps were introduced precisely because swordsmiths and collectors could not distinguish the best quality non-traditional swords (i.e. ‘mill steel’ gendaito) from traditionally made swords. It was discovered that, as a result, some smiths were forging replicas of older swords, giving them false signatures (gimei), and passing them off as the real thing. Several smiths were subsequently arrested. Amidst mounting concern, the government passed a law in 1933 requiring all swords that were non-traditional in any way to be marked with a tang stamp, although the actual stamp used was left to the manufacturer. These stamps should not however be confused with the smith’s personal seal or ‘kokuin’. The system was not fully implemented until 1940. That means that there could be a fair number of swords of non-traditional manufacture not bearing tang stamps, of which some will be ‘mill steel’ gendaito. It would be fairly easy to differentiate between an oil-hardened sword and a traditionally made sword, even if the former lacked a tang stamp. However, there would probably be little or no chance of differentiating between a ‘mill steel’ gendaito and a tamahagane gendaito. It is not impossible that some examples have since received origami. Again, a togishi can remove a tang stamp so that it looks as if one was never there. Some smiths stamped their tangs very lightly, thus complying with the law, but making it easier for their customers to remove the stamp. The legislation produced a profusion of stamps, ranging from sword factory stamps, to the stamps of sword sellers. The commonest are illustrated at the beginning of this essay. The best known of these is the well known Showa stamp. This is a general army stamp; contrary to received wisdom, it is not an arsenal mark. The earliest known example dates from 1940." From Ryujin Swords Is it possible this law ONLY applied to swords made for the war effort?

That still could go either way. It is in a period when stamps were supposed to be used, both Showa and Star, and no one knows why blades came through unstamped.

I've got a Star-stamped Kanetoshi with a Seki stamp. Haven't come across one with Na, personally. The Seki stamp is on the nakago mune, though.