Kiipu

Grenade Launcher Book Bundle All three for US$180 including shipping to the United States. Babich, Gregory A., and T. Keep. Imperial Japanese Grenade Rifles and Launchers. Dutch Harlow Publishing Company, 2004. Imperial Japanese Grenade Rifles and Launchers covers the gamut of this topic including army and navy arsenal procedures, inspection marks, ordnance nomenclature, Japanese dating systems, and relevant rifles and bayonets. More than twelve types of grenade rifles and launchers and numerous variants, many of them previously undocumented, are described in this book. In addition, cup wrenches, carrying pouches, cleaning equipment, and launching cartridges are discussed. Throughout this book, grenade rifles and launchers are placed in historical context, and background information is given regarding their development, manufacture, and use. Considerable text, photographs, and drawings are devoted to the numerous shells, hand grenades, and rifle grenades that were used with Imperial Japanese grenade rifles and launchers. Many previously undocumented fuzes and grenades are covered including improvised, rocket propelled, and naval variations. With ten chapters of detailed information, more than 300 photographs and drawings, translated wartime documents, and an extensive reference section, Imperial Japanese Grenade Rifles and Launchers is the definitive work on the topic. Dust jacket, hardcover, 8.5 x 11 inches, 248 pages, color illustrations. Weight 3 lb 6 oz, printed in USA. US$99. Heidler, Michael. Deutsche Gewehrgranaten und ihre Abschussgeräte bis 1945 [German Rifle Grenades and Their Launching Devices up to 1945]. Aufsätze zu Geschichte+Technik, Band 9. Verlag W. Sünkel, 2003. Autographed by author. German Language. Softcover, 8.25 x 11.75 inches, 152 pages, black & white illustrations. The Japanese Type 2 Grenade Launcher was based upon the German Gewehrgranatgerät [rifle grenade equipment]. US$99. Visier: Das internationale Waffen-Magazin (August 2005). Published by Vogt-Schild Deutschland GmbH. German language. Softcover, 8.25 x 11 inches, 148 pages, color illustrations. The magazine has several articles on historic firearms besides modern ones. See the pictured "Table of Contents" below.

The serial number is mentioned in the text of the first post (or OP).

A Gun advertisement from 2008 listing replica swords. Gun Volume 47 No. 6 (May 2008). Page 193.

After the war, some Japanese veterans had wartime swords refitted with postwar made alloy blades. So this might not be a real or replica situation.

That is one of the tests for Japanese postwar reproductions. The seller states in the advertisement that it is a replica. Ww2 Kyu Gunto Authentication Help

Very interesting development! Not much known about this Seki swordsmith. Did not see him listed on the guild list. Translation help & Polishing, Post #27

Cross-Reference Arsenal Stamps.

In Japanese, the characters 調製 could be the division/department within the company that performed the work? @SteveM

I only have one 1941 advertisement on file for this company. Looks like they were located in Akasaka Ward 赤坂區, Tōkyō 東京.

That's it and thread title changed accordingly! Many thanks Ernie.

Those are indeed coming in part from the same source. Even the blade markings are the same as seen on one of your links. However, my father was only in India once, with stops in Fremantle, Australia, on the way and another in Melbourne on the way back. So I think the source would be modern day Pakistan, formerly part of British India. The leather scabbard on his is dark brown. As an aside, the cargo carried enroute was airplanes, beer, and a couple hundred Chinese soldiers that had been trained in the United States. They ran out of food and my father subsisted on cereal, canned cream, and water. He never set foot on a Liberty ship after this voyage. For the duration of the war, he was on tankers. forrest-us-ship-movement-card.pdf

Does anyone happen to know if this style of knife has a specific name?

My father, a radio operator aboard SS Nathan B. Forest, purchased this knife as a souvenir. His ship arrived at Karachi, British India, on September 9, 1944, and departed the same month on the 12th. While there, the British "suggested" they purchase items from the local craftsmen. Measurements Overall length with scabbard: 12 inches. Overall length without scabbard: slightly over 11 inches. Blade length: 7 inches. Hilt: 4 inches. Details Blade markings on left: pure steel. Blade markings on right: Victory. Grips made from bone. Brass parts caste, very obvious. The brass used supposedly came from shell casings. Pommel in shape of a birds head. Leather scabbard with brass fittings.

FYI, the Murata-style hunting guns were still being made into the 1930s.

I sure looks like it is. 義 = gi = righteousness; justice; morality; honor; loyalty.