What Are These Markings

[Kmad]

Hi 

I have seen at auction the following NCO sword

what do the markings on the sword indicate please and what should I look out for on closer inspection 

Thanks 

Ken 

[DRDave]

Ken,  I think they indicate a replica; most likely Chinese.

 

Edit:  Have a look at this thread.

[Kmad]

The ones in the picture i put up look more engraved than etched

but I know next to nothing about these swords

I am thinking of driving 120 KM to look at the sword so I am wondering if it is worth the journey 

Thanks for the reply 

Ken 

[Brian]

Don't bother. Looks fake, and even if real (which I don't think it has a chance of) it is not worth a 120km trip

[paul griff]

Hello Ken,

As above...100% fake and not worth the journey....

Regards,

Paul..

[Kmad]

Cheers for the advice Brian 

Ken 

[Shamsy]

I don't know why the Chinese add stupid looking carvings like that to what is supposed to be a 95, when the 95s so obviously never possessed such a feature.

[Peter Bleed]

The inscription says

Showa 17 year,

I wouldn't drive 120 klicks to see this sword

P

[Dave R]

 I see so many odd little faults in the Chinese replicas, that sometimes, just sometimes I wonder if they are deliberate. 

[Kmad]

Maybe the chinese are being nice and rather than saying REPRO they are marking them in this way 

PS I think Not!!

Thanks 

ken 

[Guest]

One, similar, with the Showa date and no habaki came up in a local West Country Chattels auction earlier on this year.

 

From my recollection, the Tsuka was scaled down slightly from what you would expect of a type 95 and it had a kind of matt black patination in the low lying areas, also the saya was super heavy.

 

The Auctioneer told me that the vendor had told him that it was captured by his great grandfather, from a genuine Samurai General in Singapore.........

 

Despite this vital anecdotal provenance, it was still offered without reserve and I believe it made all of £22 on the hammer.

[vajo]

Every Sword that is not genuine was once captured from genuine Samurai General. Most ww2 hero story starts with a veteran bring back closet found...

[Peter Bleed]

One of the great adventures of my life was a trip to northeast Tibet, ending up in the temple at Ladrang. This was in the early 1990s so it was "late". The community seemed very authentic and featured the full range of "Chinese" and "Tibetan" folks. The point I want to make here is that this part of the world was awash in cutlery that was 1) being worn, and 2) copied (to my eye) from Japanese styles. I saw no "non-com swords" but there were LOTS of new bayonets and cavalry swords. Since there were NO other foreigners, I have to assume that all of this stuff was made for and being used by locals.

My point is that we should not assume that all of the "fakes" we see today were made for "Western markets".

Peter

[Bruce Pennington]

One of the great adventures of my life was a trip to northeast Tibet, ending up in the temple at Ladrang. This was in the early 1990s so it was "late". The community seemed very authentic and featured the full range of "Chinese" and "Tibetan" folks. The point I want to make here is that this part of the world was awash in cutlery that was 1) being worn, and 2) copied (to my eye) from Japanese styles. I saw no "non-com swords" but there were LOTS of new bayonets and cavalry swords. Since there were NO other foreigners, I have to assume that all of this stuff was made for and being used by locals.

My point is that we should not assume that all of the "fakes" we see today were made for "Western markets..

Peter

Interesting point Peter. Even from this standpoint, though, it is the scammers of the world that latch onto these, regardless of their reason to exit, and market them as something other than what they are in order to make a quick buck. Heck, from a pessimistic point of view, even Tibet has scammers in their midst (if there are humans present, there are crooks among them) and who knows what the innocent buyers are being told about those product! Maybe they are being sold as "WWII Japanese ....".

[Dave R]

Maybe the chinese are being nice and rather than saying REPRO they are marking them in this way 

PS I think Not!!

Thanks 

ken 

 

 I don't think they are being nice..... I think they might be dodging some point of their own laws about either forgery, or even promoting the Japanese Empire.

[DRDave]

 I don't think they are being nice..... I think they might be dodging some point of their own laws about either forgery, or even promoting the Japanese Empire.

 

And it's just gunto blades that are affected, right?  Haven't we seen non-gunto blades that don't have the additional marking; or am I mistaken?

[Peter Bleed]

 I think they might be dodging some point of their own laws about either forgery, or even promoting the Japanese Empire.

..

 

Are there Chinese laws against forgery? From my experience it seems much more like a national sport than a potentially criminal act.

Peter