Bruce Pennington

Here's another, Neil, and it comes with the Iiada latch, too. Found on this Russian Origami-token.ru site.

Here's a nice one on this Origami-token.ru site (russian)

John, what shop? How do you identify it? I don't see any logo.

Wow, they didn't even acid etch a hamon: Well, at least we're documenting the celluloid dirks!

Hoanh, I don't think I have your star stamped blade in my files. Any chance of getting photos?

Chris, Is your Hisakuni star stamped? I don't have any of his on file. If it is, could you post photos for me?

Sweet! You guys pinned it down - and Thomas, that province explains a lot! So, this one is Arai Akiyuki, from Musahi province. Done!

It would still be good to close shots of the fittings.

@mecox Mal, any insights?

This January 1944 star-stamped Akiyuki was found on this Japanesesword.com page. He's listed it as saying "Musashi Kuni Akiyuki". The JSI site lists 2 RJT Akiyuki - Kurihara and Arai. Is "Musashi" a good translation? If so, does anyone know if he is Kurihara or Arai? Markus only lists Kurihara. No obvious link to "Musashi Kuni". Thanks Guys!

Daniel, Is this blade star stamped? If so, could you post photos of both side of the nakago, please? Edit: found it on this post, and it's not star-stamped, unless I just don't see it. Akitomo is listed as RJT, so just looking for more stamped blades.

You had it right at the beginning - it's a seal of approval, so to speak, that the smith is approved by the Shogunate.

Photo turned right-side up: Hi James! Welcome to NMB. It would help to see a photo of the whole nakago (tang), both sides, and some close shots of the handle (tsuka) and handguard (tsuba) to say whether this is a legit WWII Type 98 officer sword. Others will check the translation and address the stains. The one time I had a blade polished, I did learn that there are levels of polish that are cheaper than a full polish that probably would clean your blade up. Don't try to sand or buff the blade as it will really mess it up.

And finally, for today, a July 1943 Akimichi, thanks to our good friend @Beater. Another Saitama smith, サ 123

An Akikuni posted by @csymmes back in 2010 (not likely to get him back for better photos) on this NMB Thread. He doesn't post full photos of the nakago, so I cannot verify the date or name, which he states in text form, is February 1941. Actually he was told the translation by an unnamed source. If so, it moves the RJT program up in time considerably. Previously, the earliest star-stamped blades was a June 1941 Kanetoshi.

Been searching the web for RJT smiths not in the chart yet, and found this Akitomi on this Aoijapan.net page. Interesting that Sesko's list didn't have his prefecture. But due to what we've discovered about prefecture-specific katakana + numbering, we can see he was from Saitama. We already have Akinori and Akitsugu with the サ stamp, both from Saitama. Interesting that they are all 3 "Aki" names. It is the latest date observed using the katakan + numbering system, also. The JSI RJT List shows a "Kotani Akitomi", but Sesko and Aoi Japan lists him as "Koyano Akitomi".

@george trotter Just came across this Dec 1943 Kazunori in standard, steel saya. On this St. Croix Blades page. I does seem like the first version of it was a darker tan, and maybe the light tan came after.

Glad to see NMB is back! It was not reachable for the whole of last evening (Colorado Mountain Time), from 6pm to 10pm.

May I ask what is being said on the side of the kiku?

Thanks for checking, Tom. After another look, I see it's "81" not just 8. I have 21 Kanenao on file with Showa, Seki, and Navy anchor stamps, but this is the only one I've seen with a number.

That's a good looking blade. He sells a LOT of swords. I've had some good experiences. He even took one back for full refund, once. Been known to change fittings around, now and then. So, you never know if they are original to the gunto. However, that's true of any sword you buy that wasn't a known "Brought back by my grandfather" sword. This one looks like one of the seppa is a substitute. Tsuka might be re-done, but hard to really say with the photos. Overall, looks nice.

Hi Peter, The blade is a legit Mantetsu. Like Stephen has posted, Mantetsu prices are on the rise. Pre-COVID they were all over $3,000 USD, and it seems they are headed that way again. The seller is a member here, and I've not heard anything negative about him. There are 3 (including this one) listed on ebay right now, but I see you are in Germany, so it may be the only one on your version of it. Ebay Mantetsu listings I don't know the EU market for re-wraps, but in the USA it only costs $300 to re-wrap a tsuka. The rest looks Ok to me.

Well, I don't see a "Saito" in the names of the RJT smiths. It would mean finding out which of them are from Yamagata, then searching Sesko for one that uses that name. If anyone has a clue, let me know. @mecox? @vajo? @Kiipu? @BANGBANGSAN?

Yes, good point. The fuchi doesn't completely fit and the tsuba/seppa set look loose. However, the mekugi is missing. So, the whole rig could just be loose due to that. Could have been one of those gunto that showed up missing those parts, like my Mantetsu, and a collector pieced some stuff together.

Got another - Oct '42 Akiyoshi, stamped with "153". Didn't save the link but it was a Worthpoint post of an old ebay sale: