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Posted

First, a little background about myself and why I'm posting here:

 

I'm a 19 year-old Marine stationed in K-Bay Hawaii. My Great-Uncle Pap was a Marine who fought in WWII. Whilst fighting in the Philippines, he came into the possession of a Japanese sword. He mailed it home to his little sister (My Grandmother) and was killed two months later.

 

The sword has great sentimental value in my family, and has passed for the last 60 years. I was just given it for my 19th birthday. The sword has fallen into disrepair over the decades (my Uncle using it as a Watermelon slicer didn't help... :cry:) and I would like to restore it to it's former glory- per se.

 

Pictures are forthcoming, I will load them within a day or so.

 

The sword needs to have the blade cleaned and possible polished... sharpened?, and- while all the pieces of the hilt and handle are present, the leather binding needs to have some work done. the metal sheath also needs to have a few dents hammered out, if possible.

 

I would also like to have the blade examined, valued and authenticated.

 

Is there something else I should be doing? Where in Hawaii can I have this done?

 

Please forgive my lack of no-how and my ignorance of the Japanese words and terminologies...

Posted

Mr Ascher,

 

You are very lucky to have one of the US's top polishers and restorers in Hawaii...Robert Benson.

Here is his webpage: http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com/

Post the pics when you have a chance, and we will be glad to try and assist with some info. Could be a wartime mass produced sword, or an older family blade. Pics will help determine the direction to go with this.

 

Regards,

Brian

Posted

Thank you for the info and link. Thank goodness I have someone with street cred nearby!

 

Again, the pictures are forthcoming, I just need to get them on my PC and through photoshop...

 

Were family blades common in Japan in WWII? What are my chances, do you think?

 

This is exciting stuff...

Posted

The vast majority of swords used in WW2 were arsenal made and not family antiques. With the metal scabbard, I would also think it more likely it is a WW2-manufactured one, but there are always exceptions. There were also some traditionally made swords made during the war years.

Let's see those pics, and we can take it from there. Make sure you get some good ones of the tang without the handle on to see if it is signed (look at the links pages above, there are pages with info on how to carefully remove the handle/tsuka)

Look forward to seeing the pics.

 

Regards,

Brian

Posted

Sorry, still no pics. But I have removed the blade (Using your most helpful links) and I can tell you that it is rusted in spots and has Japanese writing going down both sides. I also see a stamp (small Japanese character surrounded by a zig zag circle) I can't tell, but it appears that it might be the symbol for "Shinto." Again, not sure.

 

The edge of the blade shows an uneven wavy pattern, but only if held at an angle in light. I cannot judge the steel to save my life, but those pictures are on the way...

Posted

Not a bad thing if you collect militaria. These wartime manufactured blades are still collectible to anyone who collects war militaria.

They just do not appeal to collectors of traditionally made blades, and hence fall out of the realm of Nihonto, and into militaria.

It will still have been made by a smith, and probably oil quenched. Shin gunto like this can fetch between $750 and $1500 on the market depending on condition and maker. (just a rough guide)

We will have to translate the signature and date on the nakago to tell you more than this.

There are some who say that that showa stamp does not 100% indicate non-traditionally made..but if there are exceptions, they are very rare.

Still sounds like a great gift, and one which represents far more than just an edged weapon.

 

Brian

Posted

I hope you enjoy your sword for what it is. I have the same thing. The first sword i owned was my grandfathers, he brought it back from WWII. I had it restored, polished etc. It is a Show sword (with Showa stamp). Economicaly it cost more to restore it than its monitary value, but it did not matter to me as it has sentimental value. An intersting note is - that sword lead me to start learning about swords, 20 years later i own several swords, some 700 years old, I am a director of the Japanese Sword Society of the U.S. So that one sword was the spark that got me going. I encourage you to learn about the sword and carefully care for it, i would not be discouraged that it is not a family sword, or that it is just a "Showa sword".

 

Mark Jones

p.s. I still own, and enjoy my grandfathers sword

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