Help identifying ww2 blade.

[dave23]

Hi all-

I wonder if anyone has any info on a ww2 sword that I found in a junk shop.Having searched the net for a while I still haven't found a matching description.The saya is aluminium,painted green with brass fittings.The blade is machine made,of fairly poor quality.The tsuka is what's confusing-

relatively short,with very deteriorated leather twisted wrap, over black painted wood.It is attached with a bolt under the end cap.

The blade bears a serial number that runs across the width,and has some kanji engraved just above.

Any help would be gratefully received.

 

regards,

D.Marshall

[drbvac]

any pictures?

[Brian]

Hi D.

 

I assume you are talking about a shin-gunto type of sword, and not one of the police, cavalry or parade blades. If so, and without seeing pics, I am 90% sure what you have is a Chinese fake. I know it is early to say, but only the NCO shin gunto had a serial number on the blade, and that was vertical. One of the signs of a fake is any kanji etched or stamped on the blade, and the mounting of the blade to the tsuka with a nut underneath the kashira sounds very suspicious. Combined with a short handle, badly made blade and the wrapping you describe doesn't give me much confidence.

Post a pic, and hopefully I am proven wrong.

 

Brian

[dave23]

Thanks for the replies guys-I will try and post a photo today.This thing really is a piece of junk-it's just intriguing as it appears to be a fake of yesteryear....The blade has suffered an amateur sharpening attempt (in a garden shed by the looks of it)but the etching is still visible just in front of the tsuba.This means it is certainly not Japanese-but it IS old-the signs of age are real i think.Very curious......

 

D.M.

[dave23]

Here are a few pics(sorry for the quality!).Whatever it is,it's fairly aged-the rust on the metal parts,and the condition of the leather

are real.Given that faking ww2 blades is a fairly recent thing,it makes me wonder who would have bothered?...

Thank you all for your opinions on this.

 

Regards, Dave.M.

[Stephen]

This thing really is a piece of junk

 

you got that right, not even a good fake Japanese sword, just a real piece of junk.

[Guido]

...,it makes me wonder who would have bothered?

A few people in my neighborhood. :lol:

[Brian]

Sorry Dave,

Chinese fakes go back probably to the 50's and 60's..or earlier. As said, this one isn't even a good fake.

The crudeness and finish usually makes them look like they have a lot of age to them, but either way they are crude and nasty.

Check out the links pages above the forum for a lot if useful info on the basics. Hope it was cheap, and don't feel bad...a lot of collectors start out this way. No excuse next time

 

Regards,

Brian

[Brian]

A few people in my neighborhood. :lol:

Hope you haven't been approached yet to run a lecture on "how to perfect your fake Japanese sword" for your local workshop

For a country that has strict laws regarding sword ownership..they certainly churn them out, don't they?

 

Brian

[dave23]

Hey thanks for the input guys-

i paid next to nothing,so no big deal-it was more the curiosity factor.I didn't know that the chinese were faking shin-gunto as far back as the 50's-I thought their value to collectors was a relatively recent developement..that's what had me puzzled.I did feel a bit bashful about coming on here and asking you guys about such an obviously worthless piece of junk,so I thank you all for your kind replies!

Dave.

[Brian]

Dave,

Never feel bad about asking. We prefer the guys to ask before buying, but if we can save someone from the next purchase....

These seem to have become assimilated into numerous collections by guys who never ask, and there seem to be hundreds of second hand and junk shops that don't know better (We hope so. Better to think that they are unaware, than think they are deliberately conning people)

From eBay to a store or collection near you. :lol:

 

Brian