Hastur

I believe that they did field sharpen issued ones and it was done by the regiment instead of at the armoury so that may explain the crudeness. The marks look old and worn so I don't think the sharpening jobs are new (my ko excluded).

Photos Cont'd.

Hello, here are photos of the second part of my collection which are both type 32's. I have one Otsu and one Ko model (Field sharpened) with matching scabbards for both. Comments are welcome.

Thanks for the clarification, Was worried there for a second, I do want to get it polished up to fit in with my bright type 32's and type 30 bayonets. Are gunto displayed in the Tachi fashion?

Thanks interesting that they put serials in what appears to be pencil, still looking at what the kanji on the fittings mean. do you think the 5th picture in the first post constitutes a tempering issue or a bad polish making the hamon dissappear near the edge? It looks as if the temper line doesn't reach to the edge there, Could it be tired and that is core steel showing through?

It seems the rice glue is giving out on the tsuka seams, also there is very faint kanji on the tsuka under the fuchi. I used a dry protectant (Tuff Glide regular) so should I store it in the Saya or simply on the rack with cloth at the points of contact?

Thanks, all of the seppa pieces and tsuka have the same serial number 703 as well as that character stamp.

Cont'd

Finally got the thing off and back on with a better fit to the tsuba to my enjoyment.

The tsuka is on there really tight, I do have a wooden mallet however. any tips on safe removal or do I need to get a special tool?

Hello, posted here will be pictures of my current collection modest as it may be. starting with my 1943 Takehisa Gunto with the "W" stamp as mentioned elsewhere. the polish is rough and worn but there is nothing fatal and it is missing the Tsuka wrapping but it does have the odd full artificial rayskin wrap instead of panels. The blade measures 67 cm roughly with the Tsuba being a tad loose (could use another Seppa perhaps?). there seems to be a spot where the temper does not go all the the way to the edge but it seems to be a polish issue? shown in picture 5. Next up will be my type 32's for perusal.

Yes the ito and tsuba seem quite pristine compared to the seppa for example. thank you for the clarification on the leather seppa IJA! I'll make sure to post better pictures once I receive the item. I can only hope it was cobbled together during the war instead of a post war job.

The leather in question is on the 9th picture, I too have the leather washers intact on my type 32's and a leather finger grip on the cavalry model. I once saw a brass seppa on a type 32 once though and thought that must be a rarity but much easier to preserve.

Thanks for the replies, I'm glad it looks authentic I'll be glad to take a group shot once it arrives with the type 32's. Really nice swords those cavalry sabers and pretty cheap for sabers in general. I'm trying to work my way up to an early war officers sword but for now this will do until my student days are over. its interesting that there seems to be a leather piece replacing one of the seppas. is this a normal period replacement or a post war addition?

Interesting, I always assumed that blades produced with no Hamon would be relegated to NCO's and lower ranks. so were swords like this made for higher ranks as well especially near the end?

I did think it was a bit odd that an nco looking blade had the regular fittings for an officer's gunto. do you think the fittings are fake or just late war poor quality?

I asked for further pictures, the price was good for NCO variety (at least for us poor Canadians without access to gunshows) ended at 455 USD and I thought it would make a great addition to my type 32's.

Hello, I recently purchased this gunto and I wanted to ask everyone before it ships if it is authentic, the dealer seems pretty honest but it doesn't hurt to make sure. Thanks for your help!

I apologize if it comes off as wanting a flawless piece for a low pice, I am looking for a begginers study piece and really any flaw is fine with me as long as it's not a Crack, I guess I have seen too many horror stories from a previous sword forum of snapped blades and injuries while handling and cracks have a tendency to grow rapidly. My budget is not that low that was merely what the bid ended at and I should have taken that as a sign that something was off. I have discussed with the seller and payed for the shipping costs and miscellaneous fees to be fair to him. In future I will be sure to seek advice from this forum (was recommended by a fellow actually) when I make my next attempt to purchase one (really aiming for the longer wakizashi). Thank you for your help and advice.

I see your guys point but I asked the seller beforehand if there were any cracks in the blade or Tang beforehand and he assured there was none, hence why I jumped on it. In hindsight I should have shown it to more experienced eyes first.

The length of the cutting edge was about 20 inches for the blade

Alright I have requested a return of the item, there was some rust spots on it anyways since they didn't bother to oil it Thank you for all of your help! and if you can direct me to wakizashi that are of around 300 usd to use my return on(era doesnt matter) that would be wonderful!

Is there any easy way to tell the difference between a crack and a forging flaw, also is the flaw just as severe structurally or is it more cosmetic?

hmm I asked the seller if there were any cracks in the sword and they said there were not, is there a possibility that it may be something else if not I may have to return it. I'll post better pictures tomorrow to see if we can confirm it.

Hello I recently purchased this wakizashi and was wondering if anyone could translate the identification paper and provide any observation on condition or if there are any serious flaws as this will be the first to start of my collection. Thank you