Mismatched Officer's Gunto And Saya Or...?

[kotkinjs1]

Hello all,

First, thanks to all who've helped answer my previous questions and point me in a good direction. Second, I'd like for comments on this gunto I'm looking at. I don't see a saya release button on the fuchi but I do see the leather collar/tab with snap. But the saya is a regular "type 3" and doesn't seem that it would accept that method. Also, does the kashira look odd with that gold paint? Maybe if it's a private purchase it could've been adorned as so? Other than that, no markings on the nakago, it does seem to have yasuri-me file marks, the ito seems to be nice, and a nice active hamon. So, is this a franken-sword, fake, or just a mismatched saya?

[reeder]

Swapped saya.

[Bruce Pennington]

Blade looks nice, but the rest seems to be Franken-gunto. That kabutogane is really icky, like a bad reproduction.

[IJASWORDS]

Heap of junk, don't buy it, wait for some thing better. 

[Mister Gunto]

Saya is a late war model with an earlier war-era handle. The gold paint on the kabuto-gane looks like it was put on using model paint. The seppa are badly fitting, the habaki and the tsuba both look....yeah, as mentioned above, pass on this one. 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Dozens of better examples on ebay right now in the same budget.

[Dave R]

 It's a shotgun job, with a very dodgy tsuba and kabutogane. If it's cheap enough, it just might, but only just might, be worth buying as a project. 

[Stephen]

Check sellers other sales all put together s.

[Yukihiro]

Is the putting back together of a project gunto really worth the trouble? I mean, apart from the aesthetical point of view? Is such a sword considered worth collecting and is one likely not to lose the money that will be invested into it?

 

Regards,

 

Didier

[Bruce Pennington]

Is the putting back together of a project gunto really worth the trouble? I mean, apart from the aesthetical point of view? Is such a sword considered worth collecting and is one likely not to lose the money that will be invested into it?

 

Regards,

 

Didier

About 3 different areas of hobby/enthusiasm involved in your question! Some folks love the craft of restoring a blade to as close to original condition as possible, with fittings. Some of us believe that every war sword deserves respect and is worth collecting/preserving. Some are in it for the buy/sell challenge, or just the chance to earn more "fun money". But many of us just collect, and each of us collect different things for different reasons.

[Dave R]

Is the putting back together of a project gunto really worth the trouble? I mean, apart from the aesthetical point of view? Is such a sword considered worth collecting and is one likely not to lose the money that will be invested into it?

 

Regards,

 

Didier

 

Entirely a matter of personal opinion and wishes, there are a lot of orphan blades and fittings out there..... And you would be surprised at how many shotgun jobs are on Ebay, and dealers tables.

 

 And much better than buying/investing in an outright fake!

[Mister Gunto]

As said above. 

 

Plus, even an Arsenal manufactured "Showato" blade can often still be an solid weapon. It doesn't have the traditional and artistic merits of a Nihonto, but its still a perfectly functional sword that the IJA/IJN sent their troops out to fight the War with. As the number of collectors grows, and the supply remains the same, or lessens due to time and attrition, their value will continue to grow. 

[Yukihiro]

Thank you for your replies. Yes, showato or not, these blades do deserve some attention and care.