Conway S

@tbonesullivan I'm glad you posted this sword. I have one with the same mei also dated February 1945. I was also stumped by the character after Katsu. Mine has a Gifu stamp above the mei and a Gifu stamp on the mune. Thanks @mecox for confirming. Conway

Greetings, I thought of this thread when I saw the following field grade Type 19 for sale. To me this sword looks rather low quality - The grip looks new, the scabbard drag is more rounded than normally encountered on Type 19 Kyu Gunto and the ana is offset. The mei looks very crude as well. I'd be interested to hear other's thoughts. Original Japanese Pre-WWII Army Company Grade Officer's 1886 Pattern Kyu-Gunto Sword with Marked Blade & Scabbard Conway

I don't think the one on Goodwill is fake. It looks like a legit Chinese Nationalist Officer's sword. See below from Jan Culbertson's book, Chinese Swords: Vol. III: Conway

Grant, There is an excellent sword show in Chicago at the end of April. I highly recommend making the trip if you can. You’ll be able to see a wide range of swords of various quality and different price points. Many of the well known collectors and dealers on the NMB attend. It is a good place to see swords in person and learn (and find reference books). http://www.chicagoswordshow.com/ Conway

Interesting choice of a private-purchase Colt 1903 Hammerless on the cover as opposed to something Japanese-made. Based on some quick research, it looks like they were quite popular in Japan. Conway

It says best offer… And yes this is one of the more rare early ones (this one is dated 1939). The stamp is for those produced at the Dairen Railroad Factory which predates the Koa-Issin inscriptions. The seller still comes up as smallsword when you click on the individual listings. Conway

Could it be Seki Mitsu… Nobu? Conway

Steve, I would say “Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks” by Fuller and Gregory is less helpful than Dawson’s. It’s an older book and some of the information is outdated. Same with Dawson, but it’s a newer book. I think most would agree Dawson’s Cyclopedia is the best reference for military swords. David is right though. Dawson’s is more of a guide for identifying the mountings and models as opposed to a source of explaining the finer elements of sword construction and quality. I think David provided some good suggestions. If you’re interested in Dawson it’s available on eBay sold by the author. Swords of Imperial Japan 1868-1945 For Sale by the Author Japanese Sword book Conway

The link was active yesterday, but these listings ended last night not Sunday night as mentioned above. Conway

The signature could be Yoshimune, but the bottom character is a little obscured by the rust. I would post this again in the translation section since this thread was originally for a different piece... your questions may be overlooked here. Conway

Hello Max, @MaxMorelli Do you have pictures of the actual signature on the sword? The characters you provided are Takahashi Yoshimune. There is a Seki stamp on the tang and the other characters are the date Showa 19 or 1944. I think you should request additional photos of this sword to confirm the signature is accurate. I think this smith is normally associated with higher quality swords as opposed to non-traditionally made oil-quenched blades. Conway

Hi Matthew, The sword you just posted is fake. There are many things wrong with it. I suggest your next purchase is Swords of Imperial Japan. It’s a great reference. The link below is from the author’s eBay account. Probably the cheapest you will see it unless you reach out to @Grey Doffin. He may have a copy available on his website. Use the real sword you just purchased as a study piece and it will also assist you in your collecting. Your first sword can be a reminder to study before buying. Everyone makes mistakes when starting out though. Swords of Imperial Japan 1868-1945 For Sale by the Author Conway

Chris, The point of what I am saying is that better quality pictures will allow for more specific comments and help the poster understand why it's fake. Providing pictures taken from five feet away with glare and poor focus are not helpful for receiving more specific insight. Conway

Matthew, What is the serial number on the scabbard throat? Looks like 100725, but could also just be mis-stamped. Better pictures will help for a conclusive opinion. Although the initial photos looking concerning, it's hard to tell with pictures taken from so far away. Conway

The seller wasn't lying when they said they have the smallest of profit margins for this sword! Bought from Smallsword and then sold again in Australia after international shipping and taxes. Conway

Look up Model 1902 Army Officer Sword. These are early 20th century US sword knots. There seems to also be a variant with a whistle in the knot. Conway

Found this number 七七 souvenir on eBay. Of note, the tang seems to be painted over covering up what looks like a mei. The first character could be 光. Given the un-cut jiri it could be a Mitsunaga 光永. There have been a few examples posted on this thread. The habaki is also marked with / II / II which is probably shorthand for VII. ORIGINAL WWII WW2 Japanese Navy Officer Gunto Sword - Signed - Nice Conway

Bruce, I agree this sword adds confusion to the discussion. Here are some of my thoughts. 1. If I understand things correctly 伊 would be the first in a sequence denoted by the iroha system. If you look at the picture with the 伊 you will see what looks like 五六 not 六五 (read top to bottom) in faded black paint. Maybe this was an initial run before they decided not to put sequence prefixes on the tang. I haven't seen other examples yet on souvenir swords. 2. This sword also has a faint 四九 or 四七 under the painted 六五 on the signed side of the tang. So at least one, possibly two different subassembly numbers on the tang before they settled on 65. Conway

@Stegel Thank you for sharing that synopsis, it was very informative. It looks like the brass tsuba were a feature of the Ichi production runs. From doing a quick internet search I found examples of Ichi in 48K, 106K, 142K, and 143K ranges with brass tsuba and the later version tsuka. I didn't see any with the black iron tsuba. I have a Kobe 37810 with the brass tsuba, but the correct early tsuka. I found another one 37815 and it has the iron tsuba. I suppose the brass may have been a period parts swap, but the patina matches and everything is tight like it's never been taken apart before. It has undamaged brass screws and not the black painted ones. Conway

@IanS With buyer's premium, taxes, and shipping you usually don't end up getting a good deal anyway. Plus with auctions or anytime you cannot inspect something in-hand you run the risk of getting surprised. My surprise once was a missing wood insert in the saya. The rattling from the metal on metal always drives me crazy! Conway

@IanS I haven't seen fake copper NCOs that correctly replicated the early style saya as seen here. This one looks good from the photos. I would say it's legit. Note it was taken apart at some point and put together incorrectly because both seppa are in the front of the tsuba. Conway

I saw this Kobe with serial number 37,730. The fuchi is stamped with the “一” stamp. I am wondering if others have seen the Ichi stamp mixed in on the initial run of Kobe swords. It was my understanding the "K" is found on the swords in the 37K-39K range. Or is it more likely the fuchi was swapped out at some point and this example is just a coincidence? WWII IMPERIAL Japanese SHIN GUNTO KATANA SWORD Conway

Dan, The first one is fake. You would think an auction house like this one that sells a lot of Japanese swords would know better. The second one is real, but the fuchi markings are very poor. This one actually sold on eBay a few months back. And now that I think about it the first one was also listed by the same seller. Conway

Hi Chris, Does the bayonet have the leather frog (belt hangar)? The frog attached to this sword is for an Arisaka bayonet so you could easily remove it and put it on the bayonet. The frogs for the artillery swords are quite hard to find. Conway