Translation of Shin Gunto blade

[Rod Mountford]

Hi I have acquired a Shin Gunto blade and was wondering what the translation meant and if it is the swordmaker etc. There is a very small 46 stamped near the start of the blade as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Rod Sydney

[mywei]

Takehisa

Auspicious day in October (year not shown in photo)

[Brian]

Looks like someone ground the tang to get rid of the rust...so they pretty much killed it.

[Bruce Pennington]

Rod,

Akihisa was a respected smith and made many blades for the Army RJT system.  Could I please get a photo of the 46?  Also, is there more of the date visible?  It would be higher, extending above the hole in your second photo.  There could also be a star stamped near the top of the nakago (tang).  But if it's all under rust, then we won't see it.

 

How about the mounts, and a shot or 2 of the blade showing the hamon?

[uwe]

Matt mentioned “武久” (Takehisa), Bruce!

Possibly a smith from “愛知県” (Aichi-ken)…?!

[Geraint]

4 hours ago, Brian said:

Looks like someone ground the tang to get rid of the rust...

Might just be the chalk/talc Brian?

 

All the best.

[Rod Mountford]

Hi the blade is in pretty bad condition with no hamon visible. I gather it is Takehisa not Akihisa? The 46 is very small. There is a small stamp on the edge of the tang as can be seen below. Thanks Rod

[Kolekt-To]

9 hours ago, mywei said:

Takehisa

Auspicious day in October (year not shown in photo)

"Auspicious" (meaning favorable, of good omen) is commonly seen on gunto tangs. What are some other words (common or uncommon) that can appear on gunto tangs in place of Auspicious? 

[Bruce Pennington]

2 hours ago, uwe said:

“武久” (Takehisa), Bruce!

Ooo..... need more coffee....Thanks Uwe!

 

Rod,

Thanks for the pics!  That stamp on the mune is the "TO" of the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal.  And if so, COULD date the blade to before WWII.  Is there chance of seeing more to the date-side of the blade?  And I REALLY would like to have shot of that 46.  I'm doing a study/survey of blades with stamped numbers on them.  I would really appreciate it!

[Bruce Pennington]

2 hours ago, uwe said:

Possibly a smith from “愛知県” (Aichi-ken)…?!

Uwe,

I have one Takehisa recorded with a "Na" on the blade, which would fit this.  I can't find him in the NihontoClub database.  Do you have anything else on this smith?

[uwe]

Unfortunately not Bruce!

But he should be listed in John Slough's book, as far as I know....

[Bruce Pennington]

Oops, didn’t think of looking there. Yes, you have the right guy. And he’s one of the few smiths with the “W” stamp.

[Rod Mountford]

Hi all, many thanks for helping me out with this blade! Bruce I hope this pic of the 46 is clear enough? Is this a batch number? Thanks Rod

[Bruce Pennington]

8 hours ago, Rod Mountford said:

Is this a batch number?

Your guess is as good as mine.  Predominant theory is they are assembly/fitter numbers put there to keep blade and fittings together during the whole process.  Usually painted numbers are seen, but there are quite a few stamped ones.  Most stamped numbers are found on RJT blades, but I don't see Takehisa on the RJT list.  And there are a few in my survey that are like this one, not RJT, but with stamped numbers.  I don't think they are literally batch numbers, if I understand the term correctly, as there should be duplicate numbers seen on other blades of that batch (of course, as I say that, the idea could still be correct as our sample of stamped blades is so minuscule as a percentage of the 2 million blades produced during the war!).

[Kiipu]

@Rod Mountford What is the year of manufacture?  Is there any M inspection marks on either side of the tang?