robinalexander

Very interesting theads thanks Thomas.

Hi Stegel, Glad to see your detailed post and valued opinion. Would have liked to respond earlier but in fact, I have been madly packing the car to head to Melbs at 0430 tmoz for a week. In regard to the above quote, I'm glad you did include the scabbard colours/varations...good post...its the only way we can learn So the common thread here is both sayas (of the same colour variation) came from Iijima. That is something to look out for in future. In regard to serial numbers identifying (saya) arsenals, could you direct me to a thread on that info? What a good resource! Well the blue 95 is a little 'special'...do you belive it is a period repaint? It looks to be, but I suppose a lot can happen in 80 years. So we can probably safely discount the the issueing of 95's to navy NCO's. That only leaves the mysterious grey and I will have a keener eye out now for saya colour variations particulary Iijima (numbers would be needed 😊). Rob

Good eyes John...of course there is no fuller either.

Chris the figure in the first picture is not real.....its the Samurai Monkey But seriously, it could be an officer in SNLF or IJN The second picture/figure has rank badge of either 2nd Lieutenant or Corporal (very similar in black and white picture). But if you take the sword & tassel into account, he would be a corporal in the IJA. Not IJN. I scoured the web for hours today looking for any signs of grey 95's and also any naval NCO's with swords.....no luck with either.

Wikipedia 'says' SNLF uniforms ended up being greenish for most of the war years but there seems to be a fair amount of info suggesting they were more grey in colour. At least some SNLF or associated units seemed to have grey uniforms, ships were grey, so I suppose it's not beyond the realms of possibility that some SNLF NCO sayas were period repainted grey to differentiate. Pure speculation.

Interesting thread. John I reckon that would close to the mark in that it was only Officers/cadets that carried swords in the IJN. That is based purely on the fact that there are thousands (many) IJA NCO's in the world today and an equal number of references pictures of the same. BUT what evidence is there of junior ranks swords in the IJN???????? none. No swords, no pictures and no written references. Therefore they probably didn't exist (until proven otherwise )

Steve, when you say you have a few swords with the undercoat, I suppose that means the two coppers as shown but do you have any 95's that are all grey (undercoat) ? Thanks Rob

Thanks Steve....seems a mystery still but as an aside, does anyone know if swords were issued/held hy IJN non-coms as was the case with the IJA? Hopefully Stegel will have some more info or thoughts on the grey 95 saya.

Thanks Thomas...pic of mismatched serial number 56750 (saya) attached. @Bruce Pennington The number font is ok but the varying size of individual numbers is a bit 'unusual'. The saya is genuine...from the pic you can see the remnants of one side if the saya insert still in the saya. (Looks like I'll have to revisit the 'carpentry shop' for one or two inserts 😕) Thanks for the link...I will get into that later today when more time. Trystan, I just dont know if there was a 'navy' version either....or whether at some time/place in the war, some ordered that certain Type 95's should be repainted this colour. As I said, in original post, the actual colour of mine is identical to the one in Stegel's picture (despite the difference in my pics).

Couple more pics. (Sorry about the toes )

I recently came across Stegel's @Stegel pictures of the colour variations on Type 95 sayas (see first picture). As I recall, the one on the extreme right, was believed to be a IJN 'repaint' or origjnal grey paint? I have a similar Type 95 that I thought had been given a 'bubba' job (that word still cracks me up Bruce 😊) but after seeing Stegel's great post & pics I am hoping mine is a 'naval respray'. You can still see some remnants of original olive drab. The colour of mine is exactly the same grey/with just smidgen of green, as that shown in Stegel's, picture. Unfortunately, my pictures may not reproduce it's actual colour. So my questions are, how common are these 'naval' Type 95 grey coloured sayas? I just havent seen any. Is there a back story on them and did every IJN rating have one? Thanks Rob

I have one (Showa-To) Jonathon and definitely no core.

The blade, saya and mounts look authentic to me as well but that NCO leather knot looks to be in VERY good condition if its original?

Bruce, @Bruce Pennington in regard to the pattern on the habaki, maybe this is the thread you were recalling.

The existence of this saya kanji is so interesting, and provides a 'new' opportunity to establish some provenance that many collectors probably didn't know they had. I can see everyone pulling their saya's apart before a tsunami of translation requests

ahh Kunihiro...thats tricky. Went right through Slough's and Nihonto Compendium Stoke Count Kanji (Sesko) without success. Nice one Steve.

John when I was serving my apprenticeship making Type 95 saya liners I used a tool as per the picture. Works a treat. Good news is they are cheap to make. Bad news is they only work on saya liners that have a lttle wriggle room.

Thanks Piers...I knew that's what it meant in a normal sense but thought it may have had a different sword jargon meaning. So it basically a written instruction to someone involved in the piecing together the various components of a gunto to get a move on because its Major Oda's sword. Therefore a special order. That's priceless.

Great find Matthew. Excuse my ignorance (anybody)but what does ASAP mean in this context?

Michael in the last lot of pics, the tsuka (handle) looks exceptionally long but maybe its matched to the blade which then must be quite long in itself... If you have a chance could you measure the tsuka (guard to top) and also the length of the blade ? Quickest/easiest way to measure blade (but not correct way) is from the bottom of the handguard to the tip. Rob

No worries Chris, anytime. In regard to your question as to whether it would be a " curiosity/antique rather than a weapon", to my mind, it could be classed as either so it comes down to what legislation you gleaned that phrase from and any other related legislation. That would all need to be fully explored. A more simple way forward may be to have a chat with persons from the Collectors Guild...I imagine they would be able to answer your questions and hopefully happy to help. We don't have any of these issues in NSW and I have bought swords from dealers and auction in Victoria with no problems but I have noted an auction house requires proof of a licence if you are a Vic resident. NSW is nice and warm....just move up here! Rob

Chris would that make it a swordfish? But seriously, this is my view. 1. by definition, it is not a sword (it used to be, but no longer is) 2. the [public safety] intention of the legislation appears to be pretty clear in that it seeks to restrict the import of "‘A thrusting, striking or cutting weapon with a long blade (blunt or otherwise), having one or two edges and a hilt or handle.’ ....the first qualifying wording being "with a long blade".....and this does not. 3. 'with a long blade'....."having two edges' ....'and a hilt or handle'. These conditions are not mutually exclusive. That is, a sword would need to have all of these things in order for it to be considered 'a sword'. Again, yours clearly does not qualify as a sword. As to whether it would be restricted from import and/or ownership as a 'dangerous weapon' is anyone's guess and that would require a more detailed look at Victorian legislation. I imagine ownership/transport would be a matter for the Victorian Police (State) and import is a matter for Australian Customs (Federal) and you may never come out the other side of enquiries there. Based on the above, I know many people (me included) would simply buy it. However, if you are that worried about it, I would be happy to receive it for you in NSW and post it on to you needless to say that that may be technically illegal but I'm quite comfortable with it. If you wish to do that, just PM me. Rob

Thanks Chris....that will be useful.

yep this one ....".Are you asking how to post a @robinalexander notice?"