Erwin

Thank you Patrick, much appreciated. Trying to establish an indication as to when this sword was made. best regards Erwin

Dear all, Can anybody help me to translate this signature in the Nakago of an old Wakizashi which has been offered to me. Unfortunately this is the only picture I have right now and hope it is clear enough for your assessment Your help is much appreciated so thank you in advance and with best regards Erwin

Hi Ed, Living in the Netherlands as well and was wondering which local Militaria show you are refering too. Try to follow this as much as possible as well. Great find by the way. Best regards Erwin

Interesting Paul, very interesting. Guess you cannot stop a war industry just because the war ended..... thanks again. Erwin

Thank you Paul, I already stayd away from this one and truly appreciate the offer to conduct a PM in case needed. As stated, already found the fittings very dodgy and it is great to have the advice. Again thanks and have a lovely day Erwin

Dear All, I am sort of sorry that I posted this, definitely not the intention to start any frictions here. The guy who has this sword received it from his father who had served in the KNIL in former Dutch East Indies which was occupied by Japan during WOII Dutch KNIL soldiers were present after the capitulation of Japan till the 1950’s re-establishing control over Indonesia (and other kolonies) and a lot of military equipment was left behind on the islands and even locally produced during the occupation of Japan. Although the age may be correct, the execution is poor, extremely poor and wonder if it is a locally produced item. From what I read, "Japanese military swords" were also produced abroad. Anyhow, will leave it be. Already ordered the suggested books and do more reading...... thank you all Erwin

Thank you , ordered and will study on this for sure, still a newbie on this so take all the advice I can get with thanks Best regards Erwin

Thank you John, I was sort disappointed with the design and execution of the Ashi, just not symetric or well ballanced. Not sure, thanks at least for your reply and advise Best regards Erwin

Dear All, Today I was able to review a Shin Gunto in person to verify its authenticity. There are markings on the Nagako which I posted in the translation help section but also added attached. The blade seems machine made, has some small nicks and damages but nothing major There is also a small marking on the Habaki and the same on the Fuchi. What is your impression on this looking at the attached pictures. I truly appreciate your help in this and thank you upfront for any info you may have With best regards Erwin

Thank you for the advice John. I am fully aware that more self-study is needed and it is also an ongoing effort for which i am dedicated to do so. kind regards Erwin

Dear All, I truly appreciate all your insights and sharing of valuable expertise. I understand it is up to me to gather mor, read better pictures for a further review. This might take a bit because the person who owns this is hard to reach. a month back I bought a Navy Kai Gunto made by a Japanese gendai smith Nagata Sukenori in the Showa era. A beautiful version and was (and stil am) fascinated by the details in the Tsuba. This guy had also the "doubtful though interesting" Katana on sale. As he had a buyer for it I did not bother taking pictures but the sale did not go through, hence the option to review it again. Thank you again for your thoughts and advises, hopefully more info will follow later. Best regards Erwin

Dear Geraint, Sorry for not putting my first name in, I am new to this forum but no excuse. Indeed, the second picture is from the nakago and unfortunately I do not have better images at this stage. It seems that will be the first priority to arrange. Thank you for your reply, much appreciated. Best regards Erwin

Dear All, My first post on this forum and hugely impressed with all the knowledge and insights reading through the posts. I am a proud owner of several katana's mainly from the WO2 time area. I have now come across a katana which I find difficult to place. Unfortunately the tang has most likely been modifieid to fit a Tsuba, Fuchi en Kashira from another area but not sure on this nor from which time these come. The mei in the tang is hard to identify, I believe it states "1911" but am really not sure. I do not have more pictures at this stage but the katana is up for sale and keeps fascinating me. Is there anybody out there who can say somthing meaningful on this? your help is much appreciated. EB