John C

Dev: That's optimistic for this sword. You'll have to decide, however there are two schools of thought. On one hand, it is late war and therefore made cheaply; on the other hand, there are fewer of them so a little more rare. But as Sam pointed out, the parts don't match so you would have to factor that in. Unless you really need the money, I would probably just keep it for now. John C.

I agree. I do have a vice and can fashion a straightening jig (two pieces of wood on either side of the bend and one right at the bend on the opposite side). Good point about it being a machine blade and not a nihonto, Hamish. Maybe I'll give it a shot and let you all know what happens. John C.

Hello: I just received a patrolman and sergeant sword (style 4) from Matt at StCroix swords. It showed up with a pretty wicked bend and slight twist to the blade right at the tsuba (which is also bent). It must have happened during shipping. He offered to take it back, however it was a decent price given it has an original tassel and I prefer to keep it. My question is whether or not the consensus would be to try to straighten it or leave it as is for fear of snapping the blade. Thank you for your opinions, John C.

Supposedly a gift from John Yumoto. https://www.ebay.com/itm/196519151172? John C.

Interesting, Marzio. Sgt. Jesse W. Scott. Born 1924, in Kentucky - enlisted in Ohio in 1943. Died 20 Dec 1996. The 873rd was an Airborne Engineer Aviation Battalion that fought most of the big campaigns in the pacific and were stationed in Japan until 1946. They were primarily responsible for repairing bomb-damaged airfields. Looks like Sgt. Scott picked up the sword 13 Dec 1945. pic 1 = their unit patch pic 2= part of the battalion, probably the Philippines (Could he be in there?) John C.

Alex: Type your post auf Deutsch into MS word. Click on TOOLS then TRANSLATE. Pick English. You can then copy and paste the translation into your post. John C.

Dee: If you are into that era, this is a nice photographic book (not this copy, necessarily!). I have this book as well as the corresponding stereoscopic view cards that show quite a few pictures of everyday life in the Japanese army camps. The book is large format with pics that would display nicely. https://www.ebay.com/itm/225920849431? John C.

Thank you, Conway. I've actually combed through dozens of seal script charts and web sites and read through Markus Sesko's book on seal scripts. So far, I have only found a few direct matches to the radicals in the scripts. I think they used their own version of the radical rather than a standard, in some cases (I even checked the Chinese versions). Another issue is that when I do decipher a seal script and find the corresponding kanji, I still can't read the meaning (see the Translation section for an example). John C.

Steve: In this one pic, the red circles are scratches and the green circle is hamon. The scratches go all the way to the kissaki. But keep in mind, these could be period. This may have been cleaned shortly after some GI received it. John C.

Interestingly, it appears that someone has been using it. Note the wear on the kumihimo ana, although this too can be faked. Take heart, JY. We have all paid for "an education" when we did not get the real thing. Sometimes that's just as valuable. John C.

Hello: Is there a style or school name where they used seemingly random geometric inlay in gold and silver? Thank you, John C.

Alex: Ich habe keine Antwort fur Sie, aber willkommen zum NMB! For those who do not speak German: Hello! I discovered a signature on a newly acquired Kogatana. Can someone decipher it and say something about it? Thank you in advance! John C.

@Bruce Pennington Do we have this serial number yet? John C.

Steve: Here are a couple of sites to get you started. They explain quite a bit about Mantetsu swords. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/koa.htm http://ohmura-study.net/998.html John C.

I had assumed the price was too high...unless it were all legit. If it sold for 2K, there are probably replacements. John C.

Hello: I was looking at this yoroi and see some legit elements (chain mail, for example), however some pieces look a little too new to me. Any thoughts on this set? https://www.Japanese...ue-yoroi-kabuto-1700 John C.

Luke: Is it real as in Japanese? Probably, however you should consider all signatures fake until verified by a shinsa assessment. Just a side note: that seller works with a well known seller in the US. They generally sell real stuff, however there will usually be some issue; i.e., gimei signature, ware, etc. Think used car salesman - it's real, but look at the pictures carefully. just my opinion, John C.

Matt: Here are a couple of sites that will answer many of your questions. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/koa.htm http://ohmura-study.net/998.html John C.

Let me know when your selling days begin John C.

Here are a couple of netsuke. John C.

Sweet! That's excellent. Number 36 on the list. I am currently in the process of translating the inspector marks. Thank you very much, John C.

@GeorgeLuucas Sam - were you looking for one of these? John C

Not sure if I have posted this before. John C.

Interesting idea. The inside bottom is actually purposefully scratched in such a way that it could probably light a "strike anywhere" match. Not sure how it would have been secured to the person. The only attachment point is the other side of the chain hook on the latch screw. John C.

Thanks, Piers. It gives me another avenue to try to figure it out. John C.