Lindus

Sorry george cannot remember the mans name,although it was a fewe decades ago it stuck with me as a damn good idea if you had the cash to spare. Also around the same time there was something about swords being examined or polished at the Australian war museum??, will dwell on it and see what the long term memory chucks up. Roy

Way back in the dark ages I remember seeing an article where an Australian collector had his prized gunto blade polished in Japan,in shira saya and also a set of Tachi mounts to match the period of the blade made. He then mounted all three in a display case,what a great idea for presentation as well as preserving it recent history. Wonder if any of the Aussie members recall this or are they all too young to have been around pre internet?. Roy

As I did not receive a reply to my request for photographs I would guess this was not a genuine inquiry. Having said that I was reminded that if as Geraint said ,it may have been copper,a few years ago copper hilted NCO swords were making big money. Seems if genuine they are Kempei tei swords,limited in number and very collectable by the Militaria chaps. Roy

Still on my hi horse re the support of our local Hospice,will not apologise for this apart from my anger that our damned government should not leave such an important service to charity "All" monies will goto ths hospice,postage is free{paid by me} and a copy receipt will be sent to the buyer when received from St.Julias. Come on UK,two splendid contributions so far, one from France & One from Canada..... it may be you one day. Roy {Thanks NMB} http://collectorsloot.homestead.com/art.html

Have just had a email via ebay {some years ago I wrote several guides to buying a Japanese sword & avoiding Chinese fakes} offering a Japanese NCO sword with "Polished Brass Hilt", years since I had one of these,the potential seller has asked for an offer. Any Idea?,supposed to be in good condition and has a leather tassel, have asked for pic's. Has serial number of 187,seems low,probably a Chinese job. Roy

No, but the chap far left in the back ground is obviously an American spy judged by his waistline. Roy

Had a Gunto at one time that was not only signed by the maker but also the polisher,never again saw this on any blade. Roy

One of Fords early work. Roy

Fun stuff and some glaring example of "Bling" Roy

With the "Ancient" world trade routes going pretty much every where despite us thinking we are the first world traders, seems likely that over the spice/Silk route or via the Chinese maritime trade, these things could easily have found there way to Japan. Half expecting to read of a Viking sword found in New Zealand. Roy

As both are on an up market US dealer site you may well be correct on both,just thought at the price offered it was fun{Or may not be so!!} Roy

Even this Cannon at $4000 would sit well in front of the fire but Roy

Friend just emailed a link to this,sadly $120k is just around 118k to much for my pocket. Named Gun, Ki-Irohi "TheYellow-Fire Gun" Gold Tokugawa Mons on each of Three-Barrels Intricate inlay in gold and silver Signed: Sato Bun-kichi Yoshisada Saku Signed on each Barrel: Barrel 1): Kishu Ju Barrel 2): Ryu Moku-kon Barrel 3): Hachiro Saku

Good point Grey but there are exceptions to this, had a good gendi in wrecked gunto mounts, wanted as a sort of swan song to get it mounted not in a collection of bits but a full kosherei of my own. Did this and had ten or so years of pleasure from it,now it is with another collector who see both the mounts as fun as well as enjoying the blade,both being an investment that will pay off in the future. I think most folk would not have a problem with remounting after all it was done many times in Japan. Roy

Yes Ray that was a real find,and a true Scots fancy,BIG with GROOVES . Remember the Yorkie/Gregory day with the 100 plus gunto from China??? Roy PS, that stand looks familiar?

Another....Hangers If your sword comes with a hanger, check out if it has a colour section, Blue and brow equal a junior officer,Red and brown captain and above while Red/Brown with gold zig zag pattern is General officer Rank. Roy

Forgot to mention the surrender tags. If you are very luck your Gunto will have a silk or other attachment, do not ignore this as when the sword was surrenderd the IJP/IJN officer thought that it would be returned to him. This tag always has the officers Name/Rank or unit on it. Rare and historically valuable item. Roy

We all concentrate on blades and of course so we should. For people coming into this splendid field of collecting they will usually first see a shin gunto{Army}, if they are lucky it will be a Kai gunto {Navy}. One or two hints as to the potential quality of the blade within. Look at the saya. If it has a combat cover you may see a cut out section for a kurikata, this may well be good news as the blade is likely to be a family heirloom. Even if not check out the koi guchi {mouth of the saya},this if lacquered could well lead you into an interesting find. Look at the Tsuka{Hilt}, has it good quality mounts,eg,copper with indents similar to Nanako,a Mon { Japanese Family/clan crest} this is usually on the Kabuto gane {Relicate of a Japanese helmit} but will also be seen on the Menuki or as rarely seen the Fuchi. Same'e, Ray skin that wraps the Tsuka {Hilt}, those with large nodules are most prised although these are sometimes faked {See the Book of Sam'e}. Good Ray skin is also a lead towards something special. On occasions you will find replicated Ray skin in a form of plastic, do not be put off by this,the cost of this was estimated to be double the cost of genuine Sam'e and would of course weather much better. Tsuba, not 100% rule but military Tsuba that have been cut through {Sukashi} along with silver Mon were an added expense,most IJP/INP would not wast money on this unless the blade was precious to them. Sometimes you will find a Civil Tsuba,usually of Iron, again an indicator that the blade is more than average. Saya, with Kai gunto the lacquered Sam'e saya is generally a good pointer to the quality of the blade inside, having said that I have had plain black lacquer saya with decent blades in. In shin gunto the thing to look out for is lacquered ray or shark skin saya, this is again a pointer to the quality of the Blade. Add toi this that a metal saya with fine quality, even furniture quality, will point you in a good direction. Sarute are not usually an indicator of anything, I have fine old blades from senior officers with plain wire Sarute, . Rank tassels, these indicate the officer but not the quality of the blade, some generals swords have Mantetsu blades while othes Koto/shinto/shin shinto/Showa. Roy

Totally agree Brian but as you can see from my experience with Truro museum and Ians comments in a previous thread, we are fobbed off with comments such as shortage of staff etc. I reiterate my favorite comment from one curator "When you have seen one Netsuke you've seen them all". Some years ago when I had access to the collection via Dr Turk, Geraint & I met with a new curator who saw the potential of useing volunteers and taking advice for new displays. Sadly that lady died, the new establishment decided to pay retired London museum men to come down and talk to invited audience, even this did not lead to new or rotateing displays. Seems in our case it is more fun to arrange ethnic dance groups than show the vast stock{not just Japanese}in the vaults which was donated purely for the education of those interested locally. Have now given up even after Ian's suggestions. Roy

No ones yet mentioned the sukashi gunto tsuba, not 100% rule but have often found that when the mounts are of good quality and the officer has spent a little more on things like Mon & Tsuba, the blade within is better than average for sure. At the price you paid it is a bargain, at current exchange rate thats about £5.50 Roy

Good morning Malcolm Cannot work out the meaning of that,tried Bablefish coverting back into Japanese but that did not work.?? Roy

Hi Tony It is a classic "Ichi" character. What does the combination mean? Roy

Post a scan,use a flat bed scanner for this,easy and far better image. Could mean that in the manufacture it had a folding flaw that came thru on uru & omote, could be a mekugi ana.....show us in detail. Roy

Forgot to mention that this Gunto was taken from a senior officer, I put on a blue/brown tassel as the red/brown had been used as a "Dog collar" and long lost Roy

Very nice Nara style,your lace job looks pretty good,spent some time with JA who showed me the way to "Tie" the knots,far more simple than I had thought. Shame that leather armour is so less sought, who were the mainstream makers?. Did you also do the lacquer work on the throat guard?. Roy