ribendao

My haul from the Chicago show. One wakizashi signed Hizen Tadayoshi and one mumei Katana with O'kissaki. Couldn't quite capture the hamon on the Tadayoshi but its a nice suguha with alot of activity. Also bought some other small knickknacks not pictured.

I am seeing similar habaki for sale on ebay being shipped out from China. This one definitely looks nicer though. https://www.ebay.com/itm/254969846915?hash=item3b5d631c83:g:ovIAAOSwu0BfRy6x

Came across this early type 95 for sale. Not sure if this is a "bubba job" or something done earlier.

Sorry for the quality and order of the pictures. This sword has been discussed on this site before. Linked below is the discussion we had before on this LWG.

I have finally decided to part with my light weight/ dress shingunto as seen in Dawson's book Pg. 158. These are very rare and don't come up too often. This one is missing one suspension ring, a small screw on the throat of the scabbard, and the ito wrap is fraying. Other than that it is in good condition and has a kamon on the back of the tsuka. Included is a leather fowl weather tsuka cover I bought separately for this sword. The cover has a rip in the leather. Dimensions: 39.5 inches in scabbard 38.5 inches out of scabbard 31.5 inches blade length 7.0 inches Tsuba+Tsuka length 0.9 inches blade width I am asking SOLD plus shipping and paypal fees or best reasonable offer. I plan on putting it on ebay soon if I get no traction here. If sold here, I will make a small donation to the NMB account. Item is located in LA county California. Any questions welcomed. Thanks -Jonathan

I'm seeing 京屋明信作. Not sure what that means though honestly.

I almost bid on some 20th century Chinese swords from them a few months ago. Thankfully one of the members here advised me against it before I opened my wallet.

Haven't had a chance to take any yet. But they will be coming soon!

Very nice! I got a beautiful wakizashi signed Hizen Tadayoshi and a stout mumei shinto katana with O'kissaki. I wanted one of those yari too but I think I would have had trouble fitting it into my suitcase haha. You got some very cool items for a great price. Should look excellent on display.

Just saw these two. Seems to fit the "Short Gunto" category.

It has most of the characteristics of a police sword. It was probably a traditionally made blade who's nagako was reformed and threaded to fit these mountings. It has a reverse folding guard which is unusual but not unheard of on these police swords. It also has a ray skin handle while most police swords have black leather wrapped handles. Someone else might be able to tell you more about the engravings but they appear to be more simple than what I usually see. I think the engravings on the habaki say 九号寸二 which would probably be assembly/part numbers. These are just some guesses coming from a novice so take this all with a grain of salt. Hopefully someone else will jump in.

My own little contribution to this topic that you guys probably are already aware of. The Japanese pilot Nobuo Fujita was tasked with bombing Oregon during the war. The picture below is the sword he carried on his mission and is currently residing in a library in Oregon. When thinking of the "pilot's sword" myth, I always think back to this kai gunto that Fujita brought with him and how it helps bust this myth wide open.

This is a thread on the blade I made a while back if anyone is curious.

The hamon seems to disappear about 2/3 the way up the blade and continues all the way until the kissaki, but only on one side. The fukure is also in this section of the blade. I think the main problem is from over polishing and poor hardening. I come to this conclusion because the hamachi is almost non existent. Also the Shinogi-Ji on the interrupted side seems more worn down than the other side. Plus all the ware and the fukure would point to poor forging I guess. Either way I feel responsible for the sword now and just want the blade looking nice again.

Thanks for the replies. This Wakizashi is tired, has many ware, a fukure, rust, and this nioi gire/shizumu. Just trying to decide if I want to get it it polished or not. I think it might have one more left in it. Probably doesn't make much financial sense though.

Where the hamon just disappears with just a faint outline remaining. Can it be remedied through a competent polisher?

It ended up going for $4100 before auction fees. So I guess someone thought it was worth the investment.

I don’t have any pictures of the whole sugata but the hamon and kissaki seem to be on point.

Thanks for the translation Steve. This seems like a pretty detailed and unique mei. Are these kind of mei common among other gimei swords?

Not sure. These pictures are provided by the seller. Its on a model 1883 naval sword.

Would this be the same Masahide that is said to be the "founder of shinshinto?"

Thanks Grey

Any guesses on this one?

Booked my plane ticket yesterday. Looking forward to attending.

Thanks Bruce, just what I was looking for.