George KN

Alternative learning process- buy the cheapest rust free blade you can find with a hamon that you like, at the dodgiest auction you can find with no seller information, and then try and find out everything you can from it (Measurements/Flaws/Mei/School). So long as it isn't fake (feel free to ask here before purchase!), I've found it a great way to learn whilst remaining motivated. Even a completely worn nihonto has resale value, and it's good to learn sword care and handling well before risking it all on a single high value one.

Hi Bruno, I like the design! It's definitely been mounted, and looks to have some real age to it (the way the rust is peeling on the inside of the nakago ana heavily suggests this). If it is a real hand-forged piece though (I can't see any seams which is good), I still think someone may have messed around with it. There's clear evidence of rust and pitting all over, but it all looks the same colour as the surface: Similarly, the copper in the nakago ana is glossy? I've never seen this before. It feels like someone may have applied a layer or two of something. One to darken any rust spots (but not actually remove the flaking rust like they should have), and a second to make it look so shiny? (Black shoe polish perhaps?) I think combined, extra layers like this would reduce the level of detail we can see (especially in the mei), giving a similar impression to it being cast. At 30 euro's though I'd say you did really well! (FYI I am a tsuba novice - but I have worked on some removing heavy rust before)

Wow, I really like that design! So simple yet so sombre. The rivets do strongly suggest it represents metalwork rather than anything else, but I find it particularly interesting that each corner overlaps the next one - reminiscent of it being endless? It definitely could be a direct representation of a strong box/cage/prison. But part of me thinks it could be more nuanced - a representation of endless mental restraint, or constraint against something.

I've been mulling over the dots... It doesn't seem like something you'd do for fittings, especially since the paint and numbers are used for that on gunto instead. It feels like something only someone actively working with the steel would add, like the polisher or the smith themselves. Perhaps it's a reference to how many times the nakago has been adjusted? (Interesting your example has two ana) Or just a way the smith or polisher was tracking blades made at the same time? (This would help explain the fairly low number of dots on blades I've seen) Not sure about the Koto one though! If that was off a suriage blade where the mune was moved it would indeed heavily suggest something a polisher added rather than the original smith... Maybe even a mei of sorts with that pattern of five.

Hi all, I recently bought a 1943 kai gunto from an auction that is missing it's ashi/hangers on the saya. I know it used to have two, and that they were the kind that had screws, as the holes are still there in the saya: Rather foolishly, I bought a pair of ashi from ebay before the sword arrived, but they are the type without the screws: They are great, but just the wrong type (and a little too gold for my rather beaten-up saya) - so if anyone wants to trade one set of ashi for another, please let me know! Otherwise, happy to buy them separately if you happen to have a pair with screw holes in the right place. Thanks, George

So... I was cleaning the tsuka of this kai gunto today, trying to get rid of some of the mould. To do so I needed to remove the knot loop and the kabuto-gane (I've done this before with the shin gunto and the removal process was just the same). However underneath it was a bit of paper. I initially assumed it was just to help with the fit - but out of curiosity I took it out and unfolded it, and it does have some writing on... There wasn't any other writing on the other sides. Is it just a scrap piece of paper do you think, or something else? For now I've just stuck it back where I found it. Thanks again, George

In all seriousness, this is getting a bit out of hand. Although there are the age and tradition defences, I don't know how I could actually prove to a police officer my mumei shinto and koto blades were made when I say they are if they ever decided to seize them, nor how to prove in writing they are "traditionally" made. I do wonder whether long term setting up our collections as online museums might be possible to help skirt around these rules... Might even have tax benefits? Not sure what sort of paperwork would be involved though.

Thanks Bruce Unlike that time I bought a gunto without seeing a tang and it turning out to be an Emura, this one is much less of a home run, but I'm learning a lot all the same. If anyone has a pair of kai gunto ashi that have holes for screws they're willing to sell or trade for ones without a hole, please pm me! (I will make an ad in the wanted section for this too)

I believe it is the large Seki stamp - it is 5mm tall by 4mm wide. Apart from the painted sub assembly number, the only other marking is that single dot at the bottom of the nakago. Thanks for confirming the sub assembly number, it definitely matches all the other roman numerals on the fittings then! I've uploaded more pics of the blade and fittings on the original military thread here if you're interested and haven't seen it already: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/51690-how-to-valuerank-showato This is really interesting thanks! There are two other gunto Masayuki I didn't mention in Sesko, but he lists them using different characters to mine: MASAYUKI (正之), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Saitama – “Masayuki” (正之), family name Ōzawa (小澤), he worked as guntō smith, ryōkō no retsu (Akihide) MASAYUKI (正幸), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Aichi – “Masayuki” (正幸), family name Ōzawa (小沢), he worked as guntō smith, ryōkō no retsu (Akihide) And there are also two other recent threads I've found with Masayuki guntos: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/50546-translation-mei-tang-help-wanted/ https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/41159-new-sword-please-look/ Unsure if that's at all helpful, but there does seem to be quite a few of them floating around!

Apart from the missing ashi (which will be a pain to replace since they are the kind that need screws), the other two big issues with it is the saya skin is splitting along its entire length (hopefully this may be fixable?): And that the blade is very out of polish: Thankfully it's all surface rust as far as I can tell, but it is a pain the auction wasn't able to show this all in more detail *before* I bought the darned thing. Now I know why it was so cheap for a kai gunto! I think I may have instead ended up with a battered showato in battered fittings instead of listening to this sound advice Oh well - hopefully I'll be able to at least stabilise the rust with oil and uchiko. On the bright side, it is nice to finally be able to hold and study a kai gunto, as well as a showato for the first time

Ok, I'm home now, and finally been able to take a proper look at the kai gunto. No hagire I think, but it's definitely out of polish... Jan was kind enough to provide me with the translations for the mei here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/51770-kai-gunto-mei 濃州関住正行作 = Nōshū Seki-jū Masayuki saku 昭和十八年 = Shōwa 18 (1943 CE) Although missing it's ashi and mekugi peg, all the other fittings have the same 1,1,5,3 numbers, which leads me to believe these are also the numbers painted in brown on the nakago (please correct me if I'm wrong though): The saya liner is numbered 1153 inside, and the tsuka has it written on it too: Both the tsuba and the large kai gunto seppa are also numbered with the roman numerals (yes, they are upside down, but the numbers are this way up for some reason): The habaki is also numbered, but using scratches instead: It all feels genuine, but the casting bubbles are fairly obvious on the tsuba, and even the inside of the habaki again looks cast. And considering the 1943 date, I'm guessing this is an example of the decline in the quality of production due to resource shortages. Out of interest, does anyone know what the highest numbered kai gunto is?

Apologies for the delay, I'm back home now with the blade in hand properly. Which Masayuki could it be though? Sesko only lists two Showa smiths of that name: MASAYUKI (正行), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Ōsaka – “Ikeda Masayuki kore o saku” (池田正行作之), “[Swastika] Masayuki” (卍正行), real name Ikeda Tatsuo (池田辰男), born November 20th 1938, he studied from 1954 under his father Masahisa (正久) (see picture right) MASAYUKI (正行), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Masayuki” (正行), real name Miwa Tomoo (三輪友雄), born August 8th 1895, he worked in Seki as guntō smith And the first one there would have been a toddler at the time that was signed... (Not to mention there is no swastika)

I like it! I can't comment on the price since I only buy <£1k, but it looks like a very healthy blade. 72cm nagasa, so I imagine it's also rather impressive in person too, even if it was once even larger. With regards to it being mumei - I'd personally always prefer mumei to gimei - the papers can always be sorted out later without additional risk (unless you really believe it should be attributed to a specific smith). This might be my inexperience talking, but could this one be even older than Shinto? The patina on the very end of the nakago seems pretty strong to me.

Thank you Jan!! Wow that was quick, amazing! I guess I'll spend the rest of the train and flight later researching I feel a bit better about not recognising some of those kanji too - they really are quite different! (Like the top grid of 濃 seems to be completely missing etc - much for me to learn about I suspect)

Hi guys, Hoping someone would be kind enough to help me again! I've tried translating this, but I just can't seem to find the matching characters for a bunch of these kanji... (Any book recommendations for a decent reference list beyond Sesko's Swordsmiths would be very welcome ) (The sword literally only arrived at my home today fifteen minutes before I had to leave for a ten day trip to Germany just, so apologies for the slight blurring - I've added the original auction photos to help too) Thanks, George