真圀 Masakuni Gunto with reisho script

[CurtisR]

Greetings,

 

As promised, here are pics of the Gunto blade we've been discussing in the "Translation Assistance" section . Comments or input are always welcome, of course...the blade is in almost full polish. Not sure if it was an NCO sword, or Officer's sword but the fittings are silver and family mon menuki, which indicate to me that perhaps the owner had some "horsepower" & was able to keep them? Just my theory...

 

Curtis R.

[CurtisR]

And a few more....

 

C.

[SwordGuyJoe]

Very nice! I've never seen that style of menuki before. Traditionally made blade (gendaito) in late 44 shingunto mounts.

 

Edit: Neglected to say that this is an officer's sword and not an NCO. A good example of an NCO is currently being discussed in a different thread.

[Daniel]

Finally, There it is the first type 3 with a family mon. Very interesting koshirae this is the first type 3 with customized fittings I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing.

Best Regards

Daniel

[CurtisR]

Thanks Joe ~ I suspected an Officer's sword but wasn't sure. And Daniel, I'm glad I could brighten your day...it's a beauty to hold!

 

Curtis R.

[Daniel]

Curtis you sure did. The type 3 is my favourite, a very simple and sturdy koshirae. At first glance all these mounts may look the same but there are many small variations. So yes you made my day :-)

[kaigunair]

I never understood the appeal of these type 3 mounts until I owned one. The "feel" of them doesn't come across well in photos which for some reason make them easily mistaken for NCO and the late war mounts. If I had to make a comparison, I think they are akin to higo mounts, being more bushi and stoic in nature and feel than the other contemporary mounts at the time, but still very good quality.

 

Very neat to see that mon menuki, but doesn't suprise me one bit. Thanks for sharing!

[Drago]

Thanks for posting the photos!

 

The quality of the fittings is very good. I know a bit about Type 3 fittings so let me tell you this: This is not THE highest quality, but one small step below it. The kojiri (or how is that called on Gunto?) is something I haven't seen before - the level of detail is much higher than what you usually find. Personalized Menuki are almost non-existant on Type 3 Gunto - your's is actually the first I have senen so far.

 

The tsuba isn't that recognizable on the photos. But they are usually made of steel and painted black, even on the highest quality. So if yours is slver washed I have to say I have never seen that before.

 

What you have there is indeed very nice and extremely rare!

It's a shame the laccuqer on the saya is damaged...

 

Keep that one and take good care of it!

[CurtisR]

Thanks all! I wish this one was mine but does belong to a good friend. I completely agree that the mounting on this type 3 feels very solid and the texture of the saya much nicer than the metal variety.

 

The Tauba is actually silver we believe, as are the seppa and f/k --- the owner deals with metals frequently but perhaps may be plated (but original). Photos of the nakagoana & Mei can be found in the "Translation assistance" section here, if anyone is interested.

 

 

Cheers!

 

Curtis R.

Colorado, USA

[george trotter]

Finally, There it is the first type 3 with a family mon. Very interesting koshirae this is the first type 3 with customized fittings I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing.

Almost right Daniel,

I posted a Type 3 with mon in the "Arsenal Stamps" thread about 6 months ago (see anchor mon pic)...although this is the first Type 3 I've seen with menuki-mon. Also, this is not the first customised Type 3 here... I have posted a completely customised Type 3 a number of times on this board before...where even the tsukamaki is special as are all the fittings (see pics)...I am quite pleased to see another example though...very nice.

Lastly, Curtis san, I think the tsuba on the Masakuni you show is steel with a nickelled "flash" (electroplate) on it. Look at my tsuba here...it is the same...probably blacked over for field service but slowly worn bright again...BTW Curtis, this personalised sword I show here is the reisho mei sword I posted in your OP...so we now have 2 reisho mei, both in personalised Type 3 mounts.

I think this sword of your friend's is interesting all round...blade and fittings.

Regards,.

[CurtisR]

That's a beauty George, and I think you've nailed it...electroplated, blackened and worn away makes perfect sense based on it's look (although the seppa do appear solid, with more patina); Now I'll do the magnet test (which I should have remembered) when I view it again on the Tsuba.

 

Regardless, it seems they are not common with the customization from the comments here. Thanks to everyone for their kind assistance and sharing of knowledge. I will also mention that the samegawa is very pretty stuff - huge "Emperor Node" and I can imagine it was not inexpensive at the time. Even though it isn't mine, I'm happy to see how well it was taken care of vs. some others I've seen.

 

Once I take an overall phto or three, I'll post them here for follow-up showing the nagasa & length, etc. Never hurts to build the data bank :D .

 

Curtis R.

[george trotter]

Correct, not common at all...in fact, your friend's is only the second "customised" mounts with nickelled tsuba I have seen on a Type 3. Your friend's mounts do conform more closely to the pattern mounts than mine as all my metal fittings (except fuchi) are different dimensions than regulation mounts. The seppa on mine are also thick and also beautifully carved in kikuza edges like yours (see pic) and are gilded (not blacked)...so yours may nickelled but may still be original black patination (not rubbed because they are protected).My tsuka also has lacquered itomaki, but smooth lacquer and in gangimaki style. Mine is leather ito I thiink.

There is another series of "special order" mounts, but as these appear with some frequency, I would call them an "optional" variation on Type 3 mounts that an officer could order (see pic), rather than customised. They also have different metal fittings, menuki and lacquer from standard.

Regards,

[Kai-Gunto]

First time seeing type 3 with mon. nice one.

 

This one has sarute mounted and some gilding on the fuchi.

Koshirae and blade is higher quality than standard.

[george trotter]

Hi Thomas....just saw your post.

I think the "gilding" on your fuchi may be a splash of brazing metal from when the fuchi ring and flat base were joined? The black paint/patination has not adhered there and the splash is now visible.

Who is the maker? Is it an RJT smith?

Regards,

[Kai-Gunto]

Your right , george.

 

Its signed Mitsuoki , same as Shibata Ka.

[CurtisR]

For those wondering on the follow-up to the "Is the Tsuba Silver?" question...I was able to re-examine it today. We re-examined it and it IS solid silver. Non-magnetic, and not chrome or zink. The Menuki, however, are ferrous which surprised me due to their patina. As is the end-cap of the saya and the Kashira. The Fuchi was non-magnettic.

 

Thought you'd be interested. I didn't have my gram scale, but estimate the tsuba to be approx 5 ounces (US). Perhaps it was kept to "trade" in case of capture? Paint if black, then when in dire need, it becomes very useful. Just a theory.....

 

Curtis R.

[george trotter]

Hi Thomas,

Ah yes,...I remember you? posted some pics of this Mitsuoki mei a year or more ago. Nice sword.

 

Hi Curtis,

so, silver hey. Must definitely be a first. As they say, never say never with nihonto.

Regards,

[Nihonto Chicken]

Just surfing by and saw this thread, thought I'd toss in my '44 variant for contrast:

 

 

The ashi is painted black the same as the saya, but the interesting aspect is that the kabuto-gane, fuchi, kuchi-gane and ishizuke are all thick, plain, polished copper. The seppa are aluminum and the blade is signed Kokura Arsenal only, no smith name. Doesn't seem to make sense, if resources were getting tight, why would the plain, polished fittings be made out of copper instead of iron?

[Brian]

During war, iron is more in demand than copper or brass?

 

Brian

[george trotter]

It is strange that alloys etc still appear on late war swords...I thought the idea of the Type 3 was to produce a better battlefield adapted sword and fittings (stronger itomaki and tsuka, 2 menuki etc than the Type 98) but I also thought it was to minimize the use of "precious" alloys.

I know we tend to think that conserving alloys was an important part of the intro of the Type 3 but as Type 98s continued also, and alloys are pretty frequently seen on Type 3s, it must have been a lower priority than we think.