Show Us Your High Class Gunto

[IJASWORDS]

Tim, I wouldn't call that humble, more like a museum display! What swordsmiths are in the collection? 

[gun addict]

Ive got a Gendaito Yasuhiro. A Bizen Osafune Norimitsu, a Koto Sukehiro, and the rest are unsigned Koto. Shinto or Shinshinto pieces. The kai Gunto on the far right has some traits of a Shinto Osaka school and has a perfect polish, I’m hoping to get it papered if sword shows are back by next year 

 

wish I could afford more but military pay is what it is, i have to be pretty selective on what I buy. Just picked up this Koto Bizen in a Kai Gunto from Mike Yamasaki which I’m very happy with.

 

On that display,  I am putting to full use to all the bucks I’ve shot over the years !

 

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

@gun addict Did you have that display wall made specifically? It's absolutely fantastic.

 

Few more shots of the Type 94's:

 

[IJASWORDS]

If the bride allowed it, my whole house would look like Tim's. I make do with shop fittings display cases, and PERSPEX stands I designed and had LASER cut and fabricated. 

[george trotter]

I have to say that you guys sure have some classy gunto. In 50 years I have not had a Type 34 in hand and some of you have lots of them...maybe Neil's collection explains why...almost none of them in Australia?

 

Well speaking of 50 years...here is something that is trivial / of no importance, but is mildly interesting to us gunto nerds (hope this is OK here)

...here is the only gunto sword mount I have seen with this shape hanger top ('dome' head instead of 'ball' head). No big deal, but are there any more out there?

It is on the saya of a gendaito blade by SHIGEKUNI...unknown smith, 2 character signature, no date. Good blade with silver habaki, and mon (now missing).Maybe this hanger is from a particular private mounting shop and if a couple more turn up on signed blades I will get an idea of where my SHIGEKUNI was made/mounted?

Regards

edit to add another trivial question...the sword was owned by 2/lt. KUME of the 32 Div. 2nd Army in Halmahera DEI. There is only 2 ways to write the name KUME...I can't find  mon for these two KUME in my books...does anyone know?...might be 2 of them?

,

[PNSSHOGUN]

Have noticed and wondered about that hanger before, I've seen it on Type 94 and 98 with no consistency or identifying features beyond this unusual variation. Any others I spot I'll make sure to note and see if we can figure out any meaning to them.

 

Swords with provenance like that are pretty special now considering most vets have passed away or swords have been sold without the story told over the years. I'm sure every one of our swords had a story attached to it at one point. It's pretty sad most of them have been lost to time...

[IJASWORDS]

Answering George's question on the dome headed hanger, they show up occasionally. This is on a KANESANE.

[b.hennick]

You guys are amazing. I look at a WWII koshirae and do not see what you see. It reminds me of the time I was on a field trip and the prof kept on pointing out things that I never saw until he pointed them out. I was amazed then and I'm amazed now. Keep up the good work. You could make of book from the information that all of you have provided. Get together and do it. I'll be happy to buy a copy - seriously do it.

[Bryce]

G'day Guys,

I have never noticed before, but I have one that is in between the normal ball and the dome head. It is on a mumei, shinto blade in later war mounts.

Cheers,

Bryce

 

[gun addict]

John 

 

I did not have the wall made. The previous house owner is apparently really big into baseball memorabilia and when I saw the display in the basement I knew it would make a great sword wall!

[dwmc]

Well, I must say, I've been curious as to when this Type 94 Shin-gunto show down was going to eventually occur. You guys should all feel ashamed by this overt and flagrant braggartry of beautiful swords in 94 korshirae, making many of the rest of us with a mere 15 or 20 non Type 94 swords feel badly...☹️

 

Though, very much kidding Gentlemen, all seriously beautiful swords. I'm beginning to think Mr. Neal (IJASWORDS) is absolute king of Australian Gunto . What, 25-30 in that one display case...

 

All very nice indeed !

 

Just envious,

 

Dave M.

[IJASWORDS]

Bryce, some other suspension mounts. With variations. Gunto nerds really love this stuff. 

[george trotter]

9 hours ago, IJASWORDS said:

Answering George's question on the dome headed hanger, they show up occasionally. This is on a KANESANE.

Wow guys...great feedback...Yes that's it Neil...I looked carefully at mine and I would say the width of bands and number/spacing of flowers/leaves impression marks match yours pretty well exactly...I know it is only two samples but I already get the feeling these were made by a small local manufacturer for a local town/maybe city mounting shop. Of course we need to find some more (Bruce?) but this appears to be a local supplier "quirky feature".

So Neil, I have to ask...where is Kanesane from? Is he the Seki guy?...if so, I can say definitely that my sword is not Seki in style, blade or tang.

 

Regards all...

(and don't forget about KUME mon (or maybe he was one of those kanji-mei mon guys?).

[PNSSHOGUN]

Looking through my swords and this hanger is unique among all of them, note the wear from the suspension ring.

[BANGBANGSAN]

John

Maybe that's not wear but mod?

[Mark C]

Here is my Dome head hanger George.

 

[vajo]

This is mine.

[Stephen]

Johns an Marks both look to have same recessed notch. Made to aid in carry?

Love yours Chris.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Never considered that, it would make the sword sit more vertical when carried in the usual position. Time to check how the wear has occurred on other swords. 

 

Edit: the reason for so much wear is some hangers are brass and some are iron.

Type 94, very worn - brass hanger

 

Koa Isshin & large Gendaito, both showing signs of long use in the field - iron hangers

 

 

 

 

[george trotter]

Hi Mark and Chris....can you (and Neil) tell me your blade maker's name and location please...it might lead to a source area for these 'dome-head' hangers.

Thanks,

[Mark C]

Hi George,

 

Unsure at this time who made mine as it is mumei. Was discussed here: 

 

All the best

[vajo]

2 hours ago, george trotter said:

Hi Mark and Chris....can you (and Neil) tell me your blade maker's name and location please...it might lead to a source area for these 'dome-head' hangers.

Thanks,

 

Hi George what you mean with location?

Maker is Akihisa.

 

 

[Jim Manley]

This is an interesting blade. It is signed Takenori which is the name used by Yasukuni Shrine smith Yasunori when he worked away from the shrine on special order projects.  The nekago is exceptional and if I didn't know the previous owner, who' acquired it in the 90's I'd think it was recently made. 

[george trotter]

10 hours ago, vajo said:

 

Hi George what you mean with location?

Maker is Akihisa.

Quote

 

HI Chris...you have already answered my question ...AKIHISA was working in Niigata (His RJT swords mounted in Tokyo?).

So, to try to see if those 'dome-head' hangers were made/used in a specific area of Japan,  we have got:

  my Shigekuni...unknown smith/location unknown

  Chris' Akihisa in Niigata

  Mark's mumei..maker/location unknown

  Neil's Kanesane..don't know who he is or where he worked (Seki Asano Kanezane?)...Neil?

So...If Seki swords and Niigata swords are turning up with these hangers, I'd say it was a more central mounting company who made/used them?

[PNSSHOGUN]

Those dome hangers on a Type 94: https://origami-token.ru/catalog/arkhiv-mechi/katana_fudzivara_masayuki_v_oprave_armeyskogo_mecha_obraztsa_1934_goda/

 

[vajo]

I thought i bought a Type 98 Koshirae.

 

But it is a nice Type 94 Koshirae  with removable Ashi.

 

 

Unfortunatly none of my Gendai Swords without Koshirae fits. Its for a more slender and shorter sword. I think for a ~62 cm blade.

[IJASWORDS]

A recent acquisition.... All the fittings have a Japanese number 9, even the locking clip.  

[francois2605]

Oh Neil, this is gorgeous 😍  

 

Can you share the translation of the kinpun-mei (if you have it) ?

[Brian]

I can hear 1000 Nihonto collectors' thoughts in my head... "You military Japanese sword collectors!....Stick with the wartime stuff and leave the good older swords to us!!"

[IJASWORDS]

Even a number 9 hidden here.