Wangzi

About the place of production, I think they have always been produced in Nanman until the end of war, or to be more exact, produced in the city of Dalian（大連）. I have found a document, it is a section from the memoirs of ex-SMR staff. I made an interpretation below. It says, in July 1944, 三笠宮殿下（a royal member, the little brother of Japanese emperor）visited the Mantetsu gunto manufactory, 松岡洋右（the boss of SMR）planned to present a Koa isshin gunto as a gift. Therefore, the factory began to produce Koa Isshin gunto from 18th July 1944, they finally made 6 swords, and one of them was piked out as a gift. So at least they were still making Mantetsu gunto in Dalian in July 1944. the stamp 'Nan' (南，means south)，the stamp 'Ren'(連，possibly stands for the city name Dalian or DaiRen，大連，where they were forged). The photo below is the Mantetsu gunto manufactory（滿鐵大連鍛刀所）in shahekou district of Dalian. I hope these would help. Zi

Bruce, About the stamp of 'Nan' and 'Ren'. I have found a table about the marks of Mantetsu Gunto. Here I try to translate the content from the year of 1943. 昭和18（1943） 興亞一心（Koa isshin） , 滿鐵作（made by Mantetsu） , Spring; 昭和18（1943） No motto，滿鐵鍛造之（forged by Mantetsu） ，Spring, 南（Nan）； 昭和19（1944） No motto，滿鐵鍛造之（forged by Mantetsu） ，Spring, 連（Lian，Ren）； 昭和19（1944） No motto，滿鐵鍛造之（forged by Mantetsu） ，Spring, 連（Lian，Ren）W； 昭和20（1945），no record. It looks like the motto 興亞一心（Koa isshin）no longer existed after 1943. Instead of it, the “Ren” and “Nan” blades are actually Mantetsu gunto without motto.

Hi， Bruce, Yes, The SMR buildings in Dalian are now being used as museum ,exhibition gallery and liberary. However, it is a pity that exhibitions are mainly about history of SMR, not quite relate to its edged weapon manufacture. I am glad to post the details of my sword. It was forged in Autumn 1942(昭和壬午年秋)， the number is Ku 101 （ク101）. Zi

well, this kind of mantetsu gunto are special to me coz it was forged in my hometown. The building below is the head office of south Manchuria Raiway(or called Mantetsu,滿鐵). It is still preserved well nowadays.

I just bought a field grade tassel， the seller told me it is a genuine one 😀

yes, you are right. the genuine general tassel is too expensive.

copy that， then I give up and save money for something else. cheers!

Yes，this kind of Chinese made repro costs about 200 bucks(photos below). however, the seller did not inform me about this:-( For the sword fitting，it costs about 1500 bucks, do you think it is worthy to purchase?

copy. thank you very much!😊

TRUE， so that is why i come here to beg for advices before payment. so you mean that, beside the tassel, the sword fittings are all original.

hi Sam，thanks for the remind. actually i am not sure if the tassel we are disscussing is original. that would be a sad story if i buy a replica with the cost for genuine so hope somebody would be kind to make an identify

Thank you. Bruce. that is very kind of you，then i will wait.

hi， Bruce， thank you for reply. it has a general tassel attached. and the seller told me it is a early general 94 military sword set, but without real blade. could you please take a look if the tassel and set are original, if so.perhaps i will buy them.

hello everyone, greetings. sword set only. I like this set quite much and would like to purchase it. Seller claimed it to be early and rare version. So, guys, what do you think about this set？ any idea will be appreciated. cheers.

thanks man. your collections are really amazing and beautiful! and you are a real military sword man :-)

In my opinion， it has a certificate of NDTHK so we called "yellow paper" attached with the smith "和泉守藤原國貞”. so the blade itself should be fine. Perhaps somebody in Japan found another type 94 sword set and tried to fit the blade. I am curious to know if the sword set is original or restored. any help will be appreciated.

I post some detailed photos about the scabbard painting below. could you please give some Ideas ；-）thank you

dear sir i have got this one and post more detailed photos here. please take a look.

sure. i would post more photos after i get it. thank you very much:-)

thank you. I bought this one finally. it has some defects on the blade edge，but generally in good condition. i am planning to buy another 94 gunto.with glossy painting.

thankyou，then i would try to purchase it. It costs about 6500 US dollars. what do you think about the price~

Dear everyone, Greetings! I just found another 94 gunto, with the smith "和泉守藤原国贞”. it has only 2 seba which is not usual. Could anyone be kind to tell if this is right. any help will be appreciated.