PNSSHOGUN

Hello and welcome to the forum, the material used on the scabbard is lacquered shark skin over wood. Perhaps another member has experience with safe chemicals to use on this, 100% pure isopropyl alcohol should be OK if used carefully. Regardless keep the blade out of the scabbard when removing the mold. As for the sword itself, it looks to be a nice early Shin Gunto with good quality fittings. The blade may be something worth looking closer at by a professional, for now do nothing with it but wipe it down with soft tissue and a light mineral oil.

That would be much appreciated, thank you.

Barry, we must see the rest of the sword!

Hi Volker, yes it's the same blade; requested by Mr Iwase Takeshi. He was a Lt Colonel by wars end.

The market reality (i.e. auction result) vs dealer fantasy, a very large difference. Unfortunately this goes on with so many sellers on ebay, and yahoo auctions, that you quickly gauge who not to bother with and pray they don't have something you really want.

Two Kai Gunto by Sakai Ikkansai Shigemasa, who was listed as KJT. There don't appear to be any extra marks or stamps on these swords, but one imagines they may have been made as efforts for the KJT? 1944: https://www.legacy-collectibles.com/022423-1.html Corrosion is obscuring the date, 1943?: https://page.auction.../auction/m1145423305 In my humble collection is a Shigemasa dated 1943 with special order for an army Lt Colonel, so it appears he was making swords for multiple branches/programs without any exclusivity.

Hi Rob, the Kanji on the Tsuka may relate to the naval officers surname.

Great read Mal, look forward to Part II. One subject of Naval swords that remains a bit of a mystery is the Kaigun Jumei Tosho program. Some Gendai smiths they are noted as being both Rikugun and Kaigun Jumei Tosho, yet the Navy program appears to have far less information available. Has anyone uncovered a list, or details like stamps or specifications?

If you can find this book on sale for a nominal price it's worth buying for any collector interested in Gendai, having a decent (if not brief) overview of many top Gendai smiths. However it's also a rather frustrating book in many ways, as there are dozens of really top quality Gendai and Gunto mounts, yet the photos are pretty hopeless in the sense of showing any real detail. The excellent articles produced on selected smiths and Gendai schools by @mecox are far more well researched and informative. Until the long awaited Gendai book by Markus Sesko eventuates, we are still left with a distinct lack of quality english reference books to draw upon.

Firmly in relic condition now. If the details and battle it came from are known, it would make a smart display.

興亜一心満鐵作 - Koa Isshin Mantetsu Saku Kore, dated 1942. How bad is the damage? https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/koa.htm http://ohmura-study.net/998.html

Extraordinary, the inlay work is very crude. Also note the difference in photography style between the original and altered paper. This seller often has swords bought from Japanese dealers, then re-listed with huge markups.

Sandai.

The seller has an endless supply of big name fakes, you won't be finding any lost treasures here. He is prolific on yahoo auctions and now co-listing on ebay for us clueless Gaijin.

There's no shop logo, this maker used a unique style of hangers from other Kai Gunto: