GeorgeLuucas

Looking forward to more pictures. To Brians point - The crude erasure of the signature is suspicious. The only reasons I can imagine is that: 1. This was done to erase a false signature (gimei). 2. Or done to hide an arsenal stamp so it could be sold as a nihonto rather than an arsenal showato. 3. Or that it was done to mislead someone into thinking it's an o-suriage older blade refitted for the war. 4. Maybe I'm missing a possible scenario. I think the arsenal stamp scenario is most likely, but hopefully better pictures will tell the whole story. Per usual, I'm inclined to agree with Kirill, as he's much more knowledgeable than I. All the best, and welcome to the forum! Cheers, -Sam

Thanks for the input y’all. The auction ends today and it will be interesting to see what it sells for. Bruce, you got my nose into my books this morning. Maybe it’s a variation of one of these in Jim Dawsons book, perhaps? Page 280*

Wanna switch lives with me, Piers? Envious of all that cool stuff! I've got to visit Japan one of these years Thanks for sharing all this. Very cool! -Sam

They did not unfortunately. I’d also love to see it assembled Link sent in a message

Saw this listed and was curious about what it is exactly. (Not my photos) Said to be signed “Fujiwara Yoshiomi” on the listing. Looks to be a non-traditionally made WW2 showato with showa stamp. Never seen a seppa lock like that, and the saya looks unfamiliar to any WW2 sword I’ve seen. Is this a mismatched piece-together? Or perhaps a super late war sword? @Bruce Pennington? I’ll pm the link to the auction if requested. All opinions welcome, Cheers, -Sam

https://nihonto.com/shinkai/ Nie spills over from the habuchi to the ji? Increased activities toward the monouchi? Please enlighten us! -Sam

Wow, what a beautiful sword Gary! Congratulations on your purchase, and thank you for sharing. Color me envious, -Sam

3ish years later @Jon, any updates on this particular blade?

Like has been mentioned, 100 euro is a great price. Even if the blade has a fatal flaw, at 100 euro the fittings easily make up for it. ALTHOUGH.... What is the item you're trading, if you don't mind me asking? If you got it for 100, but it's worth 500 - Then it's a much riskier gamble, IMO Good luck! -Sam

I spoke to Stephen a couple weeks ago, and he asked me to extend his best wishes to all of you. (thanks for the opportunity!) He's taking a step away from NMB after his 20,000th post. He seems happy and garden focused for the springtime. I certainly miss his presence here, Cheers, -Sam

I am a bit late to the party here. It looks like there might be a few of that type in the surrender photo. With the wide-ish metal hanger strap (ashi?), and the thick kashira. Hard to know for sure if what i'm seeing is accurate Cheers, -Sam

There was never any doubt that it’s made with folded steel, or that it’s a quality piece. Sorry I wasn’t very clear about that. Lonely planet gave great advice about the new photos on his gemstone comment. And more good info on his comment above. Sincerely, -Sam

It's a good looking sword, Steve. Whether or not it was folded was never the question or issue. Folding is only one of the many qualifiers for a traditionally made sword. To my knowledge, only the type 95 and some sabres weren't folded. You may have better luck with this item amongst WW2 militaria collectors instead of Nihonto collectors. Being a higher end arsenal blade (not traditionally made), it might not sell quickly here - so you'll have to find the right buyer which will take time and patience. Highlight the history, condition, and the fact that the blade was restored professionally by one of the best - for optimum admiration and preservation. It's always best to use your own words. They say restoring swords is more about preserving history than it is an entrepreneurial venture. You've helped preserve some WW2 history, and there's some merit in that. Any prospective buyer will definitely want more pictures too. I know I would. Best of luck, -Sam

Hi Adam, I'll speak from my personal experience... Earlier in my collecting, I was mostly focused on military swords and other general militaria. I wanted a Japanese parade sabre, because they're typically so cheap, and he also had another lower-end item I wanted. I bid on both - I wanted them, so I bid slightly higher than I expected them to go... Both items went to exactly $0.50 under my max bid. I found that extremely suspicious. Long story short, I acquired the items and they remain in my collection. They also appear worse in person than they did in the photos, and they had some flaws that were not highlighted in the listing. A few hundred dollars later - lesson learned. If I had searched this forum, I would have probably avoided the blunder. I am sure David and Brian have even better warning tales. All the best, -Sam

Not all heroes wear capes Good catch, and nice to see them doing the right thing. Cheers, -Sam

Fakes have been made for well over 100 years, so even a 30 year old fake is relatively modern. 30 years ago was only 1994 Unfortunately in this case, this sword has nearly every red flag in the book. Sincerely, -Sam

Sounds like some pretty good advice! Thank you for that - you may have saved some years of my life So the Kake arrived! And I actually like the way it is. Even if the flower motif is decidedly western, I like the way it looks. Also, the red color is darker and more rich in-person, and less orange than the previous photos suggest. The wood underneath appears to be veneer, but I am not 100% certain. It's pretty light in weight. I'm thinking i'll use this Kake to display some blades for photos - that I intend to eventually sell to upgrade my collection. Appreciate all the help and advice! Cheers, -Sam ps. Added some photos. Hastily taken, sorry for the cluttered background lol

Looks like a little sunagashi to my very novice eyes Photo from Marcus Sesko https://markussesko.com/2015/05/ Hope this helps, cheers, -Sam

Hi Ed, Welcome to the forum! You might not be getting replies, because the Type 95 Gunto is a "Military Sword of Japan" rather than a Nihonto. If you try to post again in that subject, you will likely get better responses and information. Best of luck! Sincerely, -Sam

Just a wild, and likely wrong guess: Perhaps a preliminary mark for the placement of the mekugi-ana; or for a new mekugi-ana that never came to be. But if that were the case, I imagine we’d have seen it before -Sam

It would be a little interesting to take an old blade covered in finger marks, and see how many prints the world database recognizes. Although, unrecognized prints could simply be modern and undocumented, or pre 1970s. Id also think that finger print rust, if not removed by polish, would slowly spread/bleed over time obscuring the individual lines. Maybe someone with a better understanding of rust can prove this right or wrong. Fun to think about though! I’m pretty sure my inherited katana is covered in my grandfathers fingerprints. Thanks for sharing your Tanto, All the best, -Sam

I would love to see some photos! I once met a guy at a show who had a recently broken off Nakago on his table. I asked if he had a story behind it; and he told me that he used the sword for iaido practice, and at one point during a swing it snapped clean at the Nakago. He said there was no visible flaw until it had snapped, where he could see an internal crack within the break. Luckily nobody was hurt. (This story relying on my memory, so if that person is on this forum, and this sounds familiar, i'd love to hear it again! ) I can't tell you if your specific flaw is fatal - but it's in an area where a lot of stress is focused. All the best, -Sam

I interacted with him a bit on Reddit messenger I’m under the impression that it’s an heirloom, and other people are more reluctant than he is about accepting it as gimei. I think he’s got us in one ear, and someone else in the other. I hope he comes back too, and takes y’alls advice about sending it to Andrew. Gimei or not, It looks like a decent? sword from what little can be seen all the best, -Sam

Fittings from my type 98. Pretty sure it’s a “piece together”, as the saya might not match, and the unique home-made looking seppa shown in the photos. The other 6 seppa appear original, and two of them are pretty thick. Open to opinions. Has anyone seen a tsuba like mine? With the notches hammered in around the nakago ana? Was this done to fit the tsuba to the blade? Sharing to contribute to the thread, but also for the tsuba question. All the best! Happy St Patrick’s day, -Sam

I’d like to see the ana for the nakago too. interesting!