Military sword , Older blade?

[phil reid]

Hi guys , can anyone enlighten me on this blade (total length 77cm blade) , no markings i can see , actual blade number of nicks and field sharpened which has obscured what looks like a cloudlike hamon varying .5cm to 1cm over area - last photo (6 cm visible section -lights bad this morning ill try better photo later )

cheers

 Phil

[phil reid]

think the attempted hamons shots actually loaded as first shot

[PNSSHOGUN]

Yes, an older blade in interesting mounts. Looks like this was carried by an NCO as it has the NCO grade leather tassel attached.

[Dave R]

 I wouldn't give too much weight to the NCO tassel, it's been fastened to the suspension loop rather than the sarute. Otherwise it looks like a typical older blade in Shin-Gunto field mounts for a commissioned officer. Nice sword!

[PNSSHOGUN]

Plenty of original swords with tassels originally attached to the Ashi from the war have been documented.

[Dave R]

Plenty of original swords with tassels originally attached to the Ashi from the war have been documented.

 

 That might be how they arrive with the returning Vet'. Regulations are for a グルメット gurumetto from the haikan to the sword belt, and the rank tassel on the sarute. A lot can happen in the field, and even more to a post battle pick up. Officers carrying an NCO sword is a fairly well known happenstance, and NCO's carrying a sword in Buke Zukuri, but I would be very interested to see hard evidence for an NCO with a type 98 in field or formal koshirae. Nick Komiya has a fair bit to say on the subject.

 

http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/master-index-reference-articles-written-nick-komiya-691796/

[Mister Gunto]

Cool older blade. I like the leather handle protective wrap. 

[Bruce Pennington]

After re-reading Nick's post, #66 on this thread: http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/short-development-history-type-95-gunto-676112-7/it sounds to me like this could have been carried by an NCO. The order allowing NCO's to carry family swords states the rig must "be suitably converted to resemble regulation specs." We have all seen numberous variations on the tsukas of converted blades, but having an aluminum handle doesn't appear to be one of them, so I assume conversion kits only used officer-stlyed tsuka. Of course many of them used the original tsuka and simply replaced things like menugi, tsuba, seppe, etc; but some of them have full IJA tsuka.

 

I would say this one falls into the "it could be any option of many" on how the NCO tassel got there.

[Dave R]

 If the leather sword knot was on the sarute, I would go with the NCO theory, but it ain't. That's all.