Is This Japanese Made?

[drb 1643]

I picked this up several years ago and still have not been able to find out exactly what this is. It looks like it could be made by a Japanese dress sword company but the only markings are the serial numbers that match on the drag and the handle. Does anyone know what this is?

Thank you very much,

Tom Foster

[angus]

What you have is a Thai Royal Navy Sword,,

I would do an image search using this as the search subject..

[Bruce Pennington]

Tom,

 

 

 

I see someone knowledgeable posted on this as I was typing

 

That is one very unusual sword!!! It would be nice to see better pics of the blade.

[vajo]

Royal Thai or SIAMESE Naval officer s sword

[brannow]

I have one of these and will post photos for comparison.  Mine is Japanese made.

[Bruce Pennington]

I don't know Thai weapons at all, but could the emblem on the handle and be the "Manchurian Sorghum badge (item vii) Fuller page 186?

[Beater]

The general style of this sword is like that used by the Royal Navy with obvious changes to the hilt ornament - an elephant rather than lion and the cipher on the guard. Swords of this type were made both by Wilkinson Swords in England and in Germany by Eichorn, for the Siam and Thai navy.

 

A similar sword is discussed here:

 

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?103665-Elephant-pommel-sword

 

It shows pattern drawings supplied by Mr Wilkinson-Latham, a direct relative of the famous sword-making firm.

[drb 1643]

Thank you all very much for the information. Bruce as requested here are pictures of the blade. It is a parade chrome plated unsharpened blade. There are no manufacturers marks anywhere and I also thought that was a sorghum emblem hence why I was thinking Japanese manufacturer. I see no way of removing the hilt as the nut seems peened and polished.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Tom

[Alban L]

Hi all,

 

Replying to an old discussion, here is also my Siam navy sword.

 

 

 

Indeed, scabbard looks closely the Japanese 1883 one but I don’t know if number of these swords were made in Japan.

At least they had the same origins : Wilkinson produced the very first Japanese navy sword patterns in the early 1870s and inspired the following patterns, so did they for Siam navy around 1877/1878. Siamese swords were first produced in UK and France, later blades don't show any stamp but I didn't know some were Japanese-made. I would be really interested in seeing Brannow sword if produced in Japan !

 

Last, I don't think there is necessarly signification to the symbol on the handle. It is direclty inspired by the gothic hilt of british Royal Navy swords, at a smaller scale. This particular place is usually dedicated to british crown over an anchor. For early Siam swords it was replaced by Siamese coat of arms, then just a plain pattern.