cplnorton Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 I'm trying to research this sword. You will have to bear with me as I know a little bit about swords but I'm still a amateur at best. I know enough to know when one is real and not fake. But not all the language of the parts or all the terms. But I think I do have one here that might be a real gem. From what I can research online, it appears to be a Kamakura period Tachi blade in WWII Army mounts. The cutting edge of the blade is roughly 27 1/2 inches long. The handle is signed on both sides, but it is so rusted that you cannot hardly make out the signature. Also the WWII mounts are of very high quality. I've had several officer's swords from the period but about all were machine made and not traditional made. I've never seen quality like this on any of them. Also this one has a Mon which I'm not sure what it represents. What is also interesting and I've never seen before is every single spacer, tsuba, every little part is either numbered or named, or something to that extent. This one seems to be a very high quality sword and mount. So I guess my quesiton, am I correct this is a blade from the 1300's and anyone know the maker of either the blade or the WWII mounts? Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I'm still learning on everyone I pick up. If I'm wrong in my research so far, I apologize. I'm know enough to get myself into trouble more than anything, but I've never seen anything remotely like this before. this is way out of my expertise. I have a ton of pics, I was trying to capture the signature, but it is so hard to do. It is signed on both sides though. But I will try to post enough pics for you guys to evaluate an opinion on. I hope it is not too many. Steve More pics in next post. Quote
cabowen Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 The blade is signed Sukesada. You are off by a few hundred years.... 1 Quote
SAS Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 Is it just me or do something seem weird about this sword? 1 Quote
Bazza Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 In the sense that there appears to be firescale on the nakago??? BaZZa. 1 Quote
Peter Bleed Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 Its just you, SAS. To me this looks like a completely "normal" utility grade, "old" sword mounted up for War service early in WWII. The Officer's name was Hayashi, and in 1941, he, or his family, ordered up a nice rig. In 1989, this would have beena piece of merch, but then the bubble burst. . . . Peter 2 Quote
raaay Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 Steve It would be a good idea to clean the fingerprints of the blade, which I can see just above the Habaki , before they come a permanent fixture. 1 Quote
cplnorton Posted April 2, 2015 Author Report Posted April 2, 2015 Yeah I figured I would get caught on the fingerpring when I posted the pic. I tried not to touch the blade and wiped it down a dozen times, but my wife looked it while taking pics, and Im going to blame it on her. Thank you so much guys for answering back to me. While not as neat as the 1300's, I guess I should be happy with a blade from the 1500's. I'm not a Sword collector per say, but I collect WWII Marine Corps items so I run across a few along the way and still find them very Beautiful. Now on the officer's name, Hayashi. There is probably no way to trace the officer and see where he was during the war? I did a google search and it sounds like the name is very common over there. It sounds like it's like a name, like Smith or Johnson over here. I would imagine he or his family might have had some money. The fit and finish of the mounts is really high quality. So I imagine he might have had some rank or at least wealth? Thanks so much for your help Gentlemen. With everyone sword and your help, I learn a little bit more. Steve Quote
Geraint Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 Dear Steve. Forgive me if I am stating the obvious but this is a nice package. Pierced tsuba with a company mark, the full set of seppa, family mon on the kabuto gane and what seems to be a sword remounted in a combat saya. While this may not be the most fabulous sword in terms of Nihonto it is a very attractive package as an example of the sort of history you are interested in. All the best. 1 Quote
Ted Tenold Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 I was wondering if anyone would notice, but the two stamps on the face of the fuchi dai read "Tsuka Hei Maki". This is the mark of a highly respected tsukamakishi named Shukichi Yamaguchi. He died in 1966 iirc. The stamp may have remnant of red ink also. Unusual that it is stamped twice on your tsuka. Usually only one stamp on the few I've seen. You should try to protect and conserve it as best as possible because his work is rare and getting even more so with time. I think these mounts, while not top tier, are better than average quality gunto mountings. I'm not familiar with the corporate mark on the tsuba, which is similar to Suya Company, but definitely not the same one. The officer certainly had enough money and pride to have an old blade mounted in respectable mounts to carry into the fray. There's an article by Bob Benson out in the ethernet somewhere about Tsukahei. It used to be on his site, but looks like its been removed. 5 Quote
SAS Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 I think for me it was the shiny appearance of the blade in some photos and the heavy rust and faintness of the men on the nakago that had me wondering…..thanks for the insight. Quote
Ray Singer Posted April 2, 2015 Report Posted April 2, 2015 Amazing, I've wanted to see an example of tsuka hei's work but never personally encountered one. Benson's article is here. https://web.archive.org/web/20060606185421/http://www.togishi.com/did_you_know.htm - Ray Quote
cplnorton Posted April 3, 2015 Author Report Posted April 3, 2015 Here are some better pics of the Tsuka. It feels almost like leather. It's really beautiful work. Also on the Saya. It was Red. Any significane to the color? And is there anything I can put on there to make it look nicer? It's really the only part on the sword that looks bad. Thanks Gentlemen. Steve Quote
Grey Doffin Posted April 7, 2015 Report Posted April 7, 2015 I wouldn't try to alter the leather on the saya. As is it is original; anything you add will make it less so. Grey Quote
Kiipu Posted October 15, 2021 Report Posted October 15, 2021 (edited) @BANGBANGSAN Tsuka markings. @Bruce Pennington 山本 company logo. Edit: Turn the pictures upside down to see the characters properly. Edited October 15, 2021 by Kiipu 1 Quote
BANGBANGSAN Posted October 15, 2021 Report Posted October 15, 2021 31 minutes ago, Kiipu said: @BANGBANGSAN Tsuka markings. @Bruce Pennington 山本 company logo, turn the pictures upside down to see the characters properly. Below is a 1921 advertisement from the company. Tsuka marking is 柄平卷 The company logo it's very similar to 山本軍刀店，but a little different. It look like 幸 rather than 山本, maybe another logo for 神户軍刀店？Since the owner‘s name 神户一幸。We know 合名會社 神戶商店 make Type 95 NCO sword using K or 一 inside the Cherry blossom mark, perhaps not many people know it also called 神戶軍刀店（hence they both use the same phone number)？ 1 Quote
Kiipu Posted October 15, 2021 Report Posted October 15, 2021 Sorry Trystan, I edited the post after the fact. The pictures posted by @cplnorton above are upside down and need to be rotated 180 degrees so as to see the company logo correctly. Thank you for transcribing the kanji characters on the tsuka. Quote
Stephen Posted October 15, 2021 Report Posted October 15, 2021 Caught me again....read the date Stephen read the date first🤬!!! 💩 🔥 save matches! 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted October 16, 2021 Report Posted October 16, 2021 Great examples of the Yamamoto Gunto Shop logo. Very nice fittings they made apparently. Quote
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