Conway S

Well then go with 3800. 8800 would be too high for a scabbard without the drag.

Looks 100% authentic to me too. The scabbard is correct for the copper model. It would be uncommon to find a matching scabbard on these early swords.

The prices online are pretty crazy to see. Definitely see more Type 95s online than I do in-person at local shows nowadays. They bring a premium when “known” sellers are listing them too. I still think back to when I passed on a mint aluminum Seki Nagoya in the 201,000-range at the Show of Shows a few years ago. The seller wouldn’t come down from $1,100. A few months later someone bought it from IMA for $1,800. I guess it shows continued interest in the hobby if prices are going up….

I understand the dilemma of returning the sword, but it seems like the seller wasn’t sure what they had either. Even if this sword is wartime made in China (or somewhere else), it’s pretty low quality and in my opinion, wouldn’t be worth more than what you paid for it. I don’t know what your collecting goals are, but if you want something definitively made by the Japanese, then I would get your money back and put it toward something else.

Didn’t want to post a wall of text, but the kabutogane seen here is also typical of Chinese fakes.

Hi Troy, Your suspicions about the quality of the fittings are correct. If you compare with genuine examples, you will see the seppa and tsuba are very crudely executed, especially the areas cut out for the side release. The detail in the saya hardware (haikan and ishizuki) is also lacking. The tsuka is also poorly wrapped and does not befit Japanese quality. From the pictures you posted of the blade, the nakago’s shape looks non-Japanese and the characters appear to be Chinese gibberish. Conway

Got it. These were made in large quantities so the quality of the fittings and the blades vary greatly. You would likely find some pieces similar to yours if you include the term “ D guard” in your searches.

Hi Rebecca, This is not Japanese. I would say this is a late 1800s/ early 1900s German hunting knife. The acorn motif is quite common to find on German hunting knives of the period. Are there any maker’s marks on the ricasso? Conway

If you don’t have Dawson’s Cyclopedia, here is a picture of a similar lightweight gunto featured on page 161:

Here are the requested pics. I only found one link to an old AOI Japan listing, but was unable to view the listing. Maybe someone else will have better luck trying to recover the original content: https://www.facebook.com/aoijapan.jp/posts/1883721261789054/

十七 = 17 ： 17th year of Showa Period is 1942

I was the original translator…. I checked Sesko’s “Identifying Japanese Cursive Script” this morning and confirmed 壽- toshi. I’ve only found one example of Sadatoshi below. I’ll keep searching for examples.

Here you go @Bruce Pennington. The number on the nakago is 828. No stamps on the mune. Fittings are marked ホ 91. It’s signed 越後住上村貞清 Echigo ju Uemura Sadakiyo* And dated 昭和十八年三月日 *Me thinks it could actually be Uemura Sadatoshi...

Anyone seen this stamp before? Looks like 山 and is encircled like the matsu stamp. Also resembles モ since it appears the top two strokes (as currently oriented) extend toward the nakago mune. It’s on a star stamped sword by the Niigata smith Uemura Sadakiyo. I tried searching “yama” but kept getting results for the “w” stamp.

Marcin, Yes it’s real. These are post-war souvenir swords produced for the U.S. occupation forces. These swords were assembled with a mix of Kai Gunto and Shin Gunto fittings. See the below thread for the bulk of the discussion.

@Ashley Le Boydre The markings in the top photo are the inspector’s name. You have the stamps oriented upside down. The characters, read right to left look like 岩元 or Iwamoto (surname). The earlier production swords usually are not dated. What is the serial number on these? In the second picture 大二 is the date Taisho 2 or 1913. The other stamps are illegible without better pics. Maybe @Scogg or Brian can move this to the proper thread for military swords. Conway

Michael, It's signed Takeda Otoji 武田音次. I believe the first name has various pronunciations. The blade looks genuine, but of low quality. No deal here, just bots wasting their money. Conway

That's a good idea, Steve. Then they will serve as a reference within a consolidated thread.

Steve, The one on the left is Spring 1942 and the one on the right is Spring 1943.

The tsuka looks copper to me with the asymmetric Ito wrap and an extra mekugi hole. The mistamped fuchi is seen on the coppers from time to time. Conway

Glad to see you back on here @John C. Here's another one for your records - Serial number 4604. There is no serial number on the scabbard.

Steve, I think this one was mislabeled. Looks to be the Showa period smith -Naotsugu. Here is the biography from Sesko's "Swordsmiths of Japan:" "NAOTSUGU (直次), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Yamagata – “Naotsugu” (直次), real name Kobayashi Naomatsu (小林直松), he was born in the 13th year of Meiji (明治, 1880) and worked later as rikugun-jumei-tōshō, jōkō no retsu (Akihide), Second Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941), Akihide lists him once more, under his real name Kobayashi Naomatsu and as ryōkō no retsu." Another nice sword! I am not sure how long ago your father-in-law purchased these, but he clearly took good care of them. See below for a reference to him on the NMB:

Or maybe try to contact this guy: https://www.nambuworld.com/donspartslist.htm He was still active in 2020 according to a GunBoards post I found. Occasionally they will come up for sale here on the NMB or eBay.

Rob, Nice sword. Is it missing the screw in the handle or did you remove it?

Rob, I would start a new thread and post pictures. Type 98 refers to the style of the fittings and these are not typically encountered with blades that are serialized. You may have a "Type 95." Conway