Conway S

Here is the signed side of the tang. From the pictures, there is no anchor visible. Conway

Greetings, Has anyone identified this stamp? It's on an Inaba marked Kai Guntō. Thanks. Conway

@Spetsnazdan Dan, The backstrap (top of the hilt) will tell you if it is an Army vs. a police sword. Police swords have a badge and Army a cherry blossom. Additionally, police have 5 petal blossoms on the side of the hilt whereas Army have 10 petals. If you have Dawson's book you will be able to easily tell the difference. Conway

@Bruce Pennington I took the advice of @Kiipu and referenced Jan Culbertson's books on Chinese swords and did not find any matches. Many of the Nationalist-era swords have plum blossoms, but they are of a different quality. There are no late-Qing swords with plum blossoms in his books either. Maybe the picture doesn't show enough detail, but the "dimpling" on the top of the handle is different than Japanese parade swords. It's dimpled "out" instead of "in" - if that makes sense. If I knew Mr. Culbertson was still active in the sword community I would try to reach out to him. Conway

CJ, I think the first post in this thread summed up collecting Japanese parade swords pretty well. There are people who collect these but the common variations do not command a premium. Take a look on eBay sold items and you will get a pretty good idea of the market. As far as getting it refurbished, most collectors would say it ruins the value. Even the dark patination of the brass is more desirable than brass that has been shined up. Your sword is in good condition. The wire wrap on the grip is intact and the blade doesn't seem to be missing much of the plating. It is typical for the scabbard to have rust showing through. Conway

Greetings, Can anyone translate this inscription? Are the first two characters from top-bottom a name, 千青, followed by 校三 "School 3." Academy sword or something else? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks. Conway

CJ, To my eye that looks like a "W" as in Wakase Military Sword Workshop. A better photo of that stamp would probably help. Conway

Dan, Does the Kyu guntō have any stamps above the blade on the guard? Sometimes they will have a maker/retailers stamp there. Conway

It looks like a British style Sam Browne belt. They had a long service life so not necessarily a repro. Other countries adopted this style of belt too. Conway

Thanks for the replies. As you can see from the pictures, the sword is decorated with the fifteen-stamen plum blossom. I have not found another example of this particular backstrap yet. The sword is of Japanese-made parade sword quality as opposed to the more crude Manchukuo or Chinese swords usually encountered. There are no crossed flags either. I am interested if you @Kiipu @BANGBANGSAN think this is Manchukuo or a different colonial sword. Thanks. Conway

Greetings, I picked up a Type 19 kyu-guntō with an inscription on the ricasso. It does not resemble inscriptions on academy swords I have seen. I made an attempt at it but could not make out the second and third characters (top - bottom). 禾XX士連局. I am, however, only confident I guessed the first and fourth characters correctly. Any help with the translation would be appreciated. Thank you. Conway

@Stegel To me that area does not look entirely straight. I thought @vajo made a good point about the inverse dimpling on the handle. Have you seen this before on other Type 95s? I know you are one of the resident experts on these. Not doubting your opinion just trying to learn from those who know. Thanks. Conway

I just wanted to repost this in a more applicable thread. I am wondering if anyone can contribute an opinion as to whether the handle has been repainted and if it looks like a period job or later. I noticed little spots of brown overpaint into the white Same areas and close to the menuki. I do not collect these and am I just trying to learn what features to scrutinize. Thanks. Conway

I appreciate the information, Thomas. I also found your previous thread " Type 95 Gunto Worksheet" very useful. It could be the angle of the picture, but to my eyes the shinogi/ridge looks a little crooked. The other side of the blade looks straight. Conway

Thomas, @Kiipu Suya never went to the black fuchi? Conway

I found this one on eBay today and did not want to create a new post just for this one. It looks like it was fitted with a late war blade, but I am wondering if the serial number is too low to be very late war. Given that the scabbard is matching, is it more likely the blade has been tampered with and bohi removed? The area forward of the habaki also looks a little weird. Interested to hear other's thoughts. Thanks. https://www.ebay.com...er=artemis&media=SMS Conway

That's the key, Bruce. When they are labeled as late war Kai Gunto on eBay and other militaria sites they go anywhere from $1000 - $1500 when buyers don't exactly know what they are bidding on. https://griffinmilit...okawa-naval-arsenal/ Conway

Greetings, I am looking for a colonial Hannin level scabbard. I picked up a nice Chōsen sword for very cheap. It came with a scabbard, but it's for an American Civil War sword. Although it fits, I am going for originality. I just wanted to post on NMB in hopes someone has a lead on one. I am not sure what the going rate is for obscure scabbards, so I will not specify a price range. Thank you. Conway

Michael, I have both books. Think of Plimpton's book more as a "guide to sword identification." There are very few pictures of blades in the book. Dawson's provides more in-depth details and analysis about the study of Japanese military swords and it is my go-to book at the moment. That being said, I find the NMB infinitely more useful to my study and understanding than any reference book I have come across. I am still happy with the purchase of Plimpton's book because it is very nicely arranged and has many unique pieces. One day it will be out of print too and more than $130 to procure. Just some of my thoughts. Conway

That's correct, Bruce. Although I was thinking more about the ones with the machine-made chromed blades (secured through the handle with the threaded nut). Just a question I had as someone who "tries" to collect mainly WW2-era items. I don't see these come up for sale very often and wouldn't be opposed to adding one to the collection. Conway