Michaelr

Are the spots only on one side? The reason that I ask is that I have never heard of sword in Shirasaya being stored flat. I was always told to store my blades on their back. Just wondering if the spots have something to do with the side of the blade that is on the bottom being in constant contact with the side of the Shirasaya? I have heard stories of blades rusting in their Shirasaya after long term storage. Just a thought. MikeR

Kathleen, everyone has their own taste but I love it. They say that ‘ You don’t pick a blade- a blade picks you ‘ If you love it and can afford it Go for it. Good luck and thank you for sharing MikeR

I have seen both Wakizashi and Tantos in their original Shirasaya that have been covered with leather or some other material and mounts added. I have a Tanto in a leather covered Shirasaya and a Wakizashi in a Shirasaya covered with a green material similar to the material on a Tanker helmet. So if this sword was in its Shirasaya then it would have been no problem to shorten it. MikeR

Thank you David. I believe the blade to be Gendaito. But I am still a beginner MikeR

John, I checked every possible place for fading and the color is all consistent. The cream color looks original and the brown is also in good shape and not faded either. Thank you all MikeR

Last set of pictures. I hope that I didn’t post too many pictures but I thought more is better. Thank you all

Second set of pictures. The tip may appear damaged in some pictures but it is not, it just got under the threads of the gray background

I wasn’t sure if this was the place to post this or the military section so moderator please move if necessary. I am looking for help of a recent purchase, the blade is Mumei and seems very heavy. The tassel is a brown/ tan-cream color ( Manchuria railroad ? ). It is mounted in military mounts, the scabbard being the early gloss paint but the interesting part is that all the fittings including the pierced Tsuba and menuki are a brown color. I have included a lot of pictures ( maybe too many ). I would like to thank everyone in advance for their help and time. Mike R Sword: Nagasaki- 26 3/8” Nakago- 8 7/8” Sori- 1/2” Width- 1 1/8” Thick- 5/16”

Brian I am also in the “nope group” As you I don’t believe the Japanese military made short swords for any service only just that they did exist.

Thank you Dave. I have stayed out of this conversation but follow it intently. I believe that in any type of conflict or war NOTHING is cut in stone and if you believe it is you are missing out on a large part of the collecting field. Please take the time to look at this 6 minute clip of a Japanese film on YouTube-Imperial Japanese War Movie “ Kato Hayabusa Sento-Tai “. Sorry I couldn’t figure out a way to put a link to it. In the very beginning if you look closely you will see a paratrooper with what looks like a short sword tucked into his belt. When they land the Japanese soldier in charge definitely has a short sword as do others in the clip. I have a couple signed short, Wakizashi length swords in military mounts that I feel are totally original. A couple Armies and one that I call my Tanker. Everyone has their own opinion and what they feel is “ right”, all I am saying is when it comes to collecting keep a open mine and never say never. And always remember just because you read it in a book dosent mean that there are no exceptions.

WOW Dave, thank you so much. I just checked out that thread and when I scrolled down there was a picture of a brown/cream one just like I saw. Thank you all very much. MikeR

John, thank you very much. I will do some searching and try and find that thread MikeR

I was at a show yesterday and a fellow that only deals in Japanese swords showed me a tassel and asked me my thoughts. ( sorry I didn’t take any pictures) It looked like and felt like a original WW2 Field Grade type tassel only instead of brown/blue or brown/ red it was brown/ cream. It looked right, felt right but is a color that I have never seen. The owner thought maybe some type of civilian tassel? Has anyone ebay seen on with this color combination? It was not new looking but looked like it had been around for a long time. Thank you in advance MikeR

Sent my payment yesterday. Looks great. Looking forward to its arrival. Thank you

I just want to say Thank You to RaySinger. I knew of Ray only through this forum but met him in person 3 years ago at the Orlando Japanese Sword Show. As a beginner in the Japanese Sword world I was totally lost. This being my first show I asked a lot of questions and tried to look at as much as I could in three days. Ray helped me out very much and treated me like a old friend even though we had just met. This was my third year at the Orlando show and I brought some of my own swords to show a few friends. I asked Ray if he could look at ONE sword for me and as always he said of course. Not only did Ray look at that One sword and text me all the information he also took the time to look at the other 5 that I had and also text me the information on those. Needless to say I was and still am blown away. THANK YOU RAY. Many people on this forum have helped me in the past. Ray and Mark are the only ones that I have met in person and both have been there for me. This is a GREAT FORUM full of GREAT PEOPLE. Thank You To ALL.

Very nice Chris. Thank you for sharing. I am very happy with mine and feel lucky to have had it find me.

Thank you Tom. Yes Bruce the number on the Nakago is 94, glad I could help.

Ok just got home and took a few more pictures of my sword. I hope they are ok and please enjoy. MikeR

Bruce the sword is mine and I will look at the other parts when I get home. I believe they all match. I will post pictures of everything as soon as I can. Thanks. MikeR

Here are a couple more pictures that I had with me

Thank you Ray,Tom and Brian. I am away from home right now but will post some pictures of the whole swords and mounts as soon as I get home.

Sorry for the orientation. I thought they were vertical when I posted them. Is there a way to make them vertical? Thank you

Hello and thank you in advance. I need help in reading the star stamped blade that I picked up in a package deal with some other Japanese stuff.

Glad you found the sword. I will keep the photo on my phone though because I like it. Happy all ended well

Great job Chris.I have watched the YouTube videos multiple times but have never tried it myself. Thank you for posting