my inherited shin gunto

[Kenpachi316]

my granfather and his friend were in the second world war, his friend was also his commanding officer. they were stationed in Japan.

when the war ended my grandfathers friend and CO brought home a shin gunto (i think this is the correct term)

 

over the years this sword has never seen a drop of oil

lierally zero mainainance

 

it has been passed and inherited between familys and generations

 

untill it (earlier this year) made its way to me

 

someone with a genuine interest for Japanese swords

an iaidoka

and would you believe, a sword collector.

 

i know nothing of its money value, but its sentimental value is very high indeed.

i will never sell this sword.

 

not for thousands upon thousands

 

the first thing i did was slap a coat of oil on it

and this is all i have done with it since.

 

i have not yet taken it apart, as i havent felt the need.

 

any thoughts or opinions, or just knowledgeable things, that anyone has to say, are as always, very very welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks

ric

[hybridfiat]

Are you able to remove the handle and take pics of the tang? There are instructions on line to help.

[Brian]

Ric,

Yep..it is going to be critical to remove the tsuka to tell much about the sword. I think I can see some open forging flaws, which might mean this is an older blade or at least hand forged. That looks promising, although the flaws (if they are that, and not just dirt) look close to the edge.

Couple of nicks too, but the polish doesn't look too bad. You did right in immediately putting oil on it. You can periodically wipe off the oil with a soft and clean cloth, and add more. That will remove some of the dirt and rust.

Check this page for how to remove the tsuka, and if you get stuck, ask here first. http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm

 

Brian

[Guest nickn]

look at the chips in the ha water quenched for sure

[Kenpachi316]

i am looking into the removal of the tsuka.

 

out of interest would using metal glo on this blade be a stupid thing to do?

 

oh and does water quenched mean it is not machine forged please?

 

thanks again

ric

[Stephen]

"Out of interest would using metal glo on this blade be a stupid thing to do?"

 

Not a good idea,

 

In its state, Uchikoing it would be the best to bring out the hada and hamon,

water quenched is not for sure, if it was it could be both hand or machine.

[sencho]

  Kenpachi316 said:

would using metal glo on this blade be a stupid thing to do?

 

YES...

 

Ric... don't do anything with it, until you at least know what you have.... and then ask advice here before you clean, polish, buff or try any kind of cleaning or alterations!! :D

 

Cheers!!

[Stephen]

you have a war relic, not a national treasure, if you want to clean the blade it wont hurt this gunto to uchiko it, don't worry you not going to ruin it.

[sencho]

sorry Obachan... :lol:

 

I didn't realize that we had determined it's "Gunto" status yet.......

 

Would at least be nice to check the nakano, right??

 

cheers

[Stephen]

shinto shinshinto still wont hurt, with all the chips in the ha a little elbow grease not going to hurt a thing. If it was in above avg polish, then you can yell and scream all ya want about cleaning abrasions.

 

Grandma huh...looking for words???

[Brian]

'Tis the season to be jolly...tra la la la la, la la la la!

What we can see from the blade is that there is a chance it is water quenched, and possibly hand forged and maybe even an earlier blade. This is still total guesswork though. Water quenched insteaad of oil quenched would increase the chances this is more than just an arsenal blade. Might just turn out to be a wartime mass produced blade though.

Get that tsuka off and take pics of the nakago. It isn't difficult, and if you get stuck we can assist.

Uchiko would work, but if you are a novice then unlikely you have any. So best just to oil and wipe a few times and keep it oiled. Once we know what you have, we can recommend further.

 

Hope that clears any confusion.

 

Brian

[Guest nickn]

water quenched machine made blades did that happen??? why would they bother?

i am sure this will turn out to be water quenched gendiato once we see the nakago

[Stephen]

machine made as in power hammer.

[John A Stuart]

I had always believed that by machine made, re. gunto, that the sword was rolled from billets then ground to shape with minimal hammering. Most shinsakuto are made using spring hammers, they are in every forge, for most of the preliminary work at least. You wouldn't consider these as machine made. I have limited interest in gunto, but, would like clarification on this just to know. No rumble here Stephen, just checking. John

[Guest nickn]

so did i john

the use of a mechanical hammer in manufacture would not make a gendiato any less of one

gunto unfolded steel rod/stock machined/hammered into a sword shape and oil quenched

[zuiho]

Hello,

This is the kind of thing I get interested in. My impression is that it is great that the fittings were

neither cleaned nor altered since the war (untouched) and a shame that the blade was not cleaned

once in awhile. I would guess the blade is shinto or shinshinto and would not be surprised if the

nakago was ubu and mumei.

I say this because I see the shinogi is straight . It does not waver as can be seen on so many

showa era blades. There is , apparently, fumbari, too. You can see the blade tapers slightly toward

the point but more than I have seen , and only seldom , on modern blades. The hamon, what I

can discern of it, gives me the impression of traditional yaki-ire. It does not look like the artificial smudge

seen on machine-made gunto nor does it seem to have the brittle highlights in the hamon seen on the

better seki-stamped gunto.

Anyway, that is my guess. Now, it is time to carefully remove the tsuka and show how wrong I am.

 

William G.

[Dick Tait]

Ric,

 

These sites may be of interest to you:

 

http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_002.htm

 

http://www.jp-sword.com/files/gunto/ohmura.html

 

Regards,

 

Dick Tait