Bruce Pennington

Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean by “bail”.

He has pics here: http://ohmura-study.net/136.html He also says rust on a Koa Isshin is white, so that may be all your seeing, though, the spiderweb blood stain, like John’s is white too, on the Mantetsu.

Chris, I agree on cleaning. It was my dad's though, and I'll never sell. I wanted to return it to as original condition as possible. Steve, Ohmura states that blood leaves a white stain on swords. Maybe that's what you're looking at on yours!

There are a few guys who part-out stuff. I'm thinking Ozzy_Samurai (or is it Ozzy_the_Samurai?) and DaveR. You also might try Crimson Mist at: http://www.cmmilitaryantiques.com/search.php?pcat=3.

Steve, You didn't say whether you needed translating on the nakago, but the serial number on the nakago mune is "Ta 181" (they used katakana on the mune). The date is amazingly identical to mine! "Spring 1941"; and the other side is "Koa Isshin Mantetsu". Not to worry on the nakago rust as that cleans up easily (though you don't intend to do so). You've probably seen the before and after on mine, but here's the nakago and the kissaki:

It is interesting, Ed. I've noticed a marked fall-off of Officer gunto prices over the last year or so.

I'm with John, stamping is the only thing I'm aware of that was mandated by law/edict. Nick Komiya might be a good one to ask, if it's something he's already found in his research.

Nice collection!

Agree with both Stegel and Steve, all my 95's are offset like this - quite normal. Also agree that disassembling them can lead to some wiggle after reassembly. I'd say about half of mine got that way. But my curiosity makes me do it! I've found 3 or 4 nakago (tangs) with "W" stamps, and my late-war had a Seki stamp.

I saw a couple of them sell for around $3,500 last year. I’ve seen one. Go as high as $6,000, buts that’s just crazy! What’s the date on this one?

Agreed. I'd say the Field grade one looks minty, like maybe never used. I'm always leary of the new looking ones because of the fakes out there, but this one looks right.

Well if YOU have one Neil, I’m sure of it’s authenticity, but I have no idea what it is!

other than color, no distinguishing differences? Hrmph!

Neil's post reminded me of a problem I have: How can you tell the difference between a late-war IJA officer tassel and a IJN tassel? I've been told the IJN's are darker, but when you have 70 years of fading, they look the same to me.

Thanks Brian! Paul - My apologies my good man! I was at the end of a LOOOONNNNG work day and had some adult beverages under my belt, so I got a bit emotional in my last post! Ironic, because I hate it when I read a thread where guys are going off on each other. Hugs and Kisses!

Nice find Paul! The blade looks almost short enough to be waki-length. What's the cutting edge legnth?

Paul, you state you are "...here to learn..." yet disregard the expertise of one of the most knowledgable Type 95 experts that exist in the community. He states that it is "undeniably" legit, and you complain that it's a "ver opinionated" statement - well of course it's opinionated - it's his opinion! If you are interested in learning you might spend some time asking what it is about the gunto that seems so legit. Well you didn't ask, but here's a few points: 1. The fuller groove is accurate, even down to the proper shape at the kisaki, which fakes (to my knowledge) haven't gotten right yet. 2. The Tokyo inspector stamp on the blade is completely accurate, which is so far beyond the fakers to get right. 3. The nakago is completely accurate, well made, with proper patina. The fakers have yet to successfully reproduce a beautiful nakago like this. 4. The barrel screws are perfect. 5. The base of the ito design is perfect. 6. The precision of the ito wrapping is perfect, not the "sand-blasted" look the fakers produce. 7. The serial numbers are legit. 8. The seppa and tsuba are completely accurate. And I'm nowhere near the expert on 95's that Steve is. There is NOTHING about the gunto that looks fake. NOW, as to the saya, I agree about the bright aluminum screws. I don't like them. As I stated above, I don't like the paint job on the saya. I find it odd that the saya has legit semegane and ashi, but horrific ishigane and koiguchi. Weird. So is the saya a piece-together contraption? If so, the possibilities are by 1. A foriegn post-war dealer, or 2. a post-war collector. Or is the saya something done by a early war Japanese shop, grabbing what he could get and throwing poorly made make-shift other stuff in to complete the job? We know that hacks existed out there during the war because Nick Komiya has provided articles and Tech orders complaining of their poor products. So, the origin of the saya is any mans' guess. Yours is just as good as mine, and both have been stated. Guy is the owner and gets to roll with his own take on the matter.

Same here, and I'm not at home to prowl through my reference books.

A bigger flag maybe? I'm not at home and don't have my books - doesn't the one in Dawson have a different shape to the "blade" as well, like a taper where the flag goes?

Ok, wow! After an honest discussion with the guy, he's stated he will remove the add! I passed along my best wishes and empathy for having a repro on his hands. Rare event, and testiment to his character!

I sent the seller a message. Hope he listens. Sometimes they get irate.

I agree with Shamsy & Hamfish! Blade and its fittings legit (lucky you with such a low serial number!!!) The saya and its fittings are a puzzle. The paint quality on the saya is crappy, unusual for a 94/98. The ashi and semegane look great while the koiguchi and ishizuke look worse than a Chinese fake! The Chinese fakes are better than this work! HA! All I can imagine is that with the shortage, and suppliers scrambling to meet production demands, mabye this custom koshirae guy couldn't get all the fittings for this, and had a local guy craft the odd ones for him on the "hurry-up". Guy, I think your theory is right-on.

Same here, only once or twice on a 98. I have a Rinji ('44 pattern) with it. I can't say I've seen anything about it in the reference books, other than the fact that it was used, in general. Sort of makes your gunto have some personalized uniqueness!

Wow, it's a shame it didn't have the original flag with it!

Hi Bruce - Bruce here! You're talking about an Officer Type 98 in combat saya (scabbard). That all you need? Have you taken the tsuka (handle) off to see if there is a swordsmith name and/or date? Ha! John was posting as I was, beat me by 1 minute!