Scogg

Be careful not to blindly trust the analysis on what appears to be a forged authenticity paper; and be aware of the possibility that an old piece of scrap metal could be repurposed. Nothing about this item is genuine, and I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. -Sam

It's very clearly a fake Japanese sword, and there's absolutely no doubt in my mind. The fact that it's been disputed for ~10 years would imply that someone is not trying very hard. Here is a helpful link to spot fakes in the future: https://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html I am in no way trying to be rude, although I can see how it might seem that way. The fact is, it does not require an expert to tell a pigeon from a falcon. -Sam

I do enjoy that first one! -Sam From the museum's website description: "Sword fitting. Tsuba. Sentokudo. Squarish. A wolf seated on the ground among reeds, gold and silver zogan, turning round and baying at the moon, silver, among clouds. The wolf's teeth beautifully cut in gold. On the other side a kasa lying on the grass all gold zogan. Signature: Ichiiriuku Hisamitsu. Gold, silver, height, whole, 8.4 cm, width, whole, 7.5 cm. Japanese." https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-661628556

He was at the San Francisco sword show the last year or two. Very friendly and knowledgable! He had a Hosho katana in shirasaya+sayagaki that I still think about -Sam

Good eye @Rawa https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?item=336037970198&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211&_ssn=wangjuan58 Interestingly, the 95 fakes seem to have the same miss-stamped serial number. It seems only the Saya color that differentiates them. His fake swords are so alike, it's hard to tell that they are even different listings... Are they? Or is it the lighting? I cannot say for certain. -Sam

Careful, before you know it you'll want an example of all the different patterns (that's what has happened to me) For a deep dive into some of the nuance of these swords, Nick Komiya's contributions to the warrelics threads below taught me a lot; along with some very generous forum members here on NMB: https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/short-development-history-type-95-gunto-676112/ This is a good one too: https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/ija-type-95-nco-sword-info-228172/

Welcome to the forum Kyle @PhillyKid53! Nice to see new members interested in Yari. Best of luck in your journey! -Sam

Bruce is correct, it's definitely an old myth. Iijima in particular seems to have produced "pattern 2" swords until near the end of the war, while other arsenals transitioned to "pattern 3" earlier. It's easy to assume "pattern 2 is earlier than pattern 3", but it really depends on the specific arsenal and company. All the best, -Sam

It's a good question. @Kiipu would be the one who might have a good detailed answer; as my focus has been mostly on cataloging and dating. (But I am getting there! ) It's my understanding that Kokura administered the 95 program, but did not directly make or even supervise the making of the swords. Therefore your sword was presumably made and stamped at the Tokyo First Arsenal rather than traveling to Kokura to be stamped. Cool sword, and thank you for sharing! -Sam

Likewise, I'm being sincere and not trying to be smart. It's my understanding that the intention of Torokusho is to adhere to the sword laws, but that does not mean it's a perfect system. The licensing is done by the education board, and not an entity like the NBTHK. https://www.jssus.org/nkp/japanese_sword_laws.html Personally speaking, it's not something I would put all my faith on, and I trust my eyes first. Again, I’m no expert! -Sam

Great looking 95, and nice flag too! Nice condition of the blade, a lot of times you see these with big scuffs and scratches, whereas yours looks relatively pretty clean. Bruce is correct about the fuchi stamps. I would estimate the date of your Type 95 to be between March 1942 and September 1942 Can't beat that price these days! Well done. All the best, -Sam

I’d say some form of nokogiri-ba or saka choji I have big doubts about the authenticity of this particular blade. Looks like either a fake or something that’s been severely messed with Just my non-expert opinion from the photos provided. -Sam

Wanted to share this, but wasn’t sure where to post. Decided to revive this older thread. I’ve got this wartime magazine showing “Horseback slashing attack by students of the Army Preparatory School”. I picked up this magazine at a show because I liked the cover so much - I think I will have it framed. Look closely at his sword. It appears to be a civilian fitted sword and with a leather saya cover. Also, I believe that’s a NCO leather tassel. Just some show and tell, -Sam

Thanks Brian, that makes sense. Great idea for a new section. Looking forward to seeing how it develops. -Sam

Brian T is the individual I previously contacted with this question. He's a really great guy. This one might be a good question for someone like Mr. Sesko

@Brian @Bruce Pennington What do ya'll think about relocating the Fake 95 Thread, to this section as a pinned thread? Is it possible to have in both locations, or would it branch into two threads if we were to do that?

Very cool swords Ashley, and welcome to the forum. I’ve taken a recent liking to these type 32 sabers, as I picked one up myself just the other week. Photos of the serial numbers and blades could help too, as we always like to see swords! We’ll have to wait for Brian to relocate this thread because I cannot affect this section, but you’ve got the right eyes on your swords for now All the best, -Sam

@Rawa relocating this to “forum technical details and maintenance” section and tagging @Brian. He should be able to assist when he’s online

@Rawa why would you make another account? Please explain what this is about, because it is not clear. -Sam

Unfortunately, the craftsmen I contacted did not have the answer for us. He did mention that during his time training in Japan, he did not remember ever hearing about the start of shirasaya. Mystery continues, -Sam

Could be a hō-ō, perhaps? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenghuang

That’s amazing Dee! You should be very proud, and excited to enjoy the sword in person. Thank you so much for the update, it’s not every day we get good news like that All the best, -Sam

Hello, P... To oversimplify it: The age of Nihonto is determined by its general shape and form. When a sword has been shortened and the profile has been altered by buffing or sanding; the original shape and form has been lost. Therefore, we cannot imagine it's original shape and form from your photos. So the best you'll get on an age estimation is an educated guess. If that is not satisfying to you, that's really nobody else's fault. You will need to take it to an expert in-person who can identify more information from the steel itself. This is true for many nihonto, because photographs cannot capture all the subtleties. Hard to say if it's real or fake. The ruined kissaki makes it anyone's guess from the pictures provided; and is reminiscent of kissaki found on some fakes. Personally, I would take Ray's input to heart. -Sam

Very cool, Mark. While I cannot help you with the translation, I think you might be interested to know that this particular Type 95 is well documented. A researcher named Donald Barnes From Australia, who has since passed away, published a serial number list of Type 95s that appeared in the Newsletter of the Japanese Sword Society of Australia in the 1990s. Donald Barnes also was one of the contributors to the Type 95 chapters in both the Fuller and Gregory and Dawson books. Your sword appears on his list. @Kiipu might be interested to see this one. Very cool to see a sword resurface from Donald Barnes list, IMO. @Markdd, what is the serial number on the scabbard? Thank you for sharing, -Sam

I sent an inquiry to someone I think will have this answer to this. A good question! I’ll update if he gets back to me. -Sam