matei

Thanks for confirming.

Hi all… was curious if someone could look at this tanto nakago, can’t tell if it once had a mei and it became corroded or never had one.

For those who have seen and handled many Type 94, 98 etc swords, how likely is it that they tsukamaki is original to the sword? In the grand scheme of things the 1930s and 1940s were still within living memory, so I suppose that more than a few of these swords escaped the conflict and possible ill-treatment to survive until today in decent shape, however I've seen quite a few that have wrapping that looks almost too clean. Granted the blade are also usually in good shape as well, so either someone put in a lot of effort on an old military sword or the original owner was stationed back on the mainland away from the action.

Thanks Bruce - your knowledge, and hard work researching this, is commendable!

That is good to know - a small world! Do you know what that equates to? I've been trying to figure it out but I don' know if that is a chi, or a tri... my eyes are now square from looking at all the different variations :-D

Apologies for the delay in responding, it took ages to get here due to the silliness re. sending anything with blades. I did look for an arsenal or inspection inspection stamp but none was present. There was incipient red rust on the nakago as well but I applied some light oil to get rid of it.

Thanks for that. Even the wonky Google translation is better (and faster) than trying to do it manually w/ a Japanese-English dictionary.

Not 100% sure, UPS is stating "Charges can include freight and freight-related charges and accessorials, government charges and brokerage duties and taxes". I've paid charges to UPS in the past, usually in a most unhelpful way the UPS man would show up and ask me to pay on the spot in cash... and then give me a number where I would have to get in touch with UPS to pay online or on the phone, and he would swing by a few hours later. This time I got an SMS and an email as well. Better I guess than FedEx, who would drop off the item and then I'd get a letter in the post some time later telling me I hadn't paid duty etc.

OK, UPS notified me that there is a COD charge due, so paid that. I don’t often get things from UPS, certainly not this drawn out - so I imagine the next steps are it has to go through customs or something else?

Antique firearms are a rabbit hole that I have thus far resisted the temptation to explore... for the time being! One impractical hobby at a time for me No sooner did I scan the docs and send them back (along with pictures, descriptions etc) did I get the same email and forms from someone else entirely. Agent A quickly came back asking for the forms... again. Pointed out that they were attached but nonetheless in the name of expediency re-sent only those forms. He did confirm (!?) that they'd been noted as received and if anything else required, they would be in touch.

Said forms never materialised, so rang in again to this call centre... Fella with whom I spoke this time said he is going to send me the necessary "Work of Art Form" and "Sword Declaration Form". *** update *** Lo and behold, received said forms. Ticked box on one to state it is of historical interest and on the other form stated it was made pre 1954 and of traditional make by hand. Send them back to Mr. UPS and hoping he actually 1) receives them and 2) does the needful...

Ok, wee update. Shipment arrived in UK, at Donington where it is in "import scan" state. Was supposed to arrive today by 12:00, but doubtful. I called UPS and to my surprise got through to someone, who put me in touch with someone in the broker team. They made some cryptic comments and said they'd send me some forms via email for customs, which would help "speed things up". So far I haven't received anything. I did offer to stay on the phone so I could ensure the email arrived correctly however the agent declined.

Thanks for the detailed replies and pics as well, very interesting indeed!

I've got a sword coming in from the US via UPS, so I'll update the group how I get on. Fingers crossed it goes w/o a hitch.

Hi all... just curious how Japanese officers and NCOs actually looked after their swords in the field? Were the cleaning/maintenance kits issued, or was it more or less on them to sort those? I've seen minor field repairs - but if something like the blade were twisted, I wonder if they had to figure out repairs by themselves. The environments must've been a challenge as well - hot and humid in the Pacific islands and cold and wet in the Aleutians. As a former service person myself, I can recall that for any privately purchased kit that needed fixing/looking after, we were basically on our own. Wonder if the Japanese troops were in the same situation?

Wow - thanks for that, very interesting. Initially I was concerned that perhaps the sword was fake, good to know about these variations.

Thanks for that. I know only a tiny bit of Japanese, still learning. The variations on these military swords is mind boggling!

Certainly - once I get a chance I'll get some pics posted. Thanks for the info!

Can any of the learned and experienced members comment on the mei here? I posted this to a FB group but just realised that I should’ve come here first. It looks like they left out the “kore” symbol from Mantetsu Tsukuru Kore! On the other side of the nakago I could figure based on Ohmura’s page that the first figure is Showa and the last is also Haru… but can’t figure out the middle two characters, they didn’t seem to correspond to any kanji symbols I could find.

I did ask Pack & Ship if they would handle the shipment of a sword from the US to the UK, and they flat-out refused, even when I pointed out it is except from the offensive weapon ban (it is pre 1954, traditionally made). Really frustrating. *** update *** When I pointed out the blade’s size exemption they did come back and provide an estimate. I think I could fly economy to to the US and back for that amount, but it is a possible way forward 🤣

That is intriguing, UPS or FedEx. Forgive my lack of experience in this regard, is it possible to get a courier such as UPS to handle end-to-end? I’ve had things shipped from abroad via UPS but suddenly had Parcelfarce handle the UK delivery.

It seems to me - and I’m not trained in the art of legal interpretation- that the last bit “and antiques” leaves a loophole where perhaps they don’t need to be blunted?

Hi all... as a newcomer to this interest, it is quite disheartening to see RM's blanket approach to shipping anything bladed. That being said... has anyone had any success with other shippers? I no longer have a ltd company nor a business, so I would daresay a DHL business account is out of the question for the average hobbyist. I encountered a similar issue with another interest - collecting high-end guitars, many of which contain parts made from Brazilian Rosewood. There were problems with the import and handling of any instruments containing that wood, due to its inclusion on CITES list etc. Eventually found ways around it, but guitars and swords are two very different things.