Martin Boniface

That's great to know John, thank you! I'm curious - if the sword is not a Type 95, does it fall under any of the other typical era appropriate word categories? And Bruce I greatly appreciate the translations and context. I had a chance to take pictures of the fittings removed from the blade, figured I may as well post them and see if any further light can be shed: one more small mark previously covered by the fittings: closup of the tsuba and seppa, no marks I could locate. The leather layer was at one point attached to the upper seppa with some kind of adhesive that left behind a greenish crust on one side of the upper seppa Again, thanks all being patient and helpful with a beginner's questions! This has been very educational and I'm always excited to discover communities with knowhow and passion. Hopefully I'll be back again someday soon. One last question: is there a particular type or brand of machine oil that you would recommend I wipe the blade with to prevent further rust?

Again, many thanks for the translations and responses! I found several similar weapons around the web, some with identical signatures. If I may sum up briefly to make sure I've correctly understood - this is a fairly standard issue weapon made around 1941, the craftmanship is competent but not particularly special. Am I right in assuming it was traditionally forged? or was it a mass produced models?. I will try to take a closer look at the nakago for any other marks. Now regarding the saya - although I am not particularly well versed with shin-gunto or nihonto in general but I handle antiques with some frequency so I have a good instinct for age. I'm not surprised to hear that the sword was made in the 20th century; it does not have the kind of wear I would associate with a century+ of use. The saya on the other hand reads as possibly older to me. I had considered that it was a standard issue version that lost its leather cover, but the wood has a patina that I often see in the oldest and most well loved furniture. Is it possible this is older saya that was paired up with a contemporary blade?

thanks for the input so far everyone! I'm very excited to hear that the blade appears to be authenticI appreciate you using the proper terminology, seeing it in context is very helpful. I'm relieved to hear that the peg can be disposed of. Gave it a shot this evening and the peg fragmented immediately and took some coaxing with needle nose plyers but sure enough, signed/marked on both sides of the tang: What do you think?

Hello all! I’m sure this is a routine topic on this forum but I was hoping to get some opinions on a sword i acquired recently. Im a novice when it comes to antique weapons (I hope you’ll forgive any failures of terminology or forum etiquette) but from what I’ve read it seems to match up well with the type 94 and 98 NCO Shin Gunto i have seen online. Any opinions or information would be greatly appreciated! The blade is in decent shape, some rust and nicks, has no stamps or markings of any kind save for a small area near the yokote that looks almost like a worn stamp but given the placement seems more likely to be an irregularity from use or manufacture. I know that removing the handle to examine the Tang is key to proper identification, but I am reluctant to do so as the bamboo peg looks fragile and might not survive the process. The saya is extremely simple, lacquered rosewood with zero ornamentation. I know some of the recent history of this weapon, if that is helpful - it was brought back to America from Japan by a USN Lt. Commander whose vessel was assigned to occupation duty in Tokyo from 1945 into 1946. I’m guessing it was leaned up in the corner behind the enormous Panasonic television where i found it for most of the intervening ~80 years. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and feedback! I feel like i overdid it with the photos but i can provide more if necessary. Martin