Corry Posted September 19, 2021 Report Posted September 19, 2021 (edited) All, One of my WW2 guntos has all matching seppa marked, "1". I think i am missing one of the 4 tabbed seppa (only one present)..fittings a just a bit loose. Any idea what the, "1" means? Is it 1mm? Here are pics of front and back. Most have what looks like a kanji charachter (Batallion Daitai?) on them as well. Thanks in advance. Best Regards, Corry Edited September 19, 2021 by Corry added Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted September 19, 2021 Report Posted September 19, 2021 Hi Durrel, If you only have 1 of the 4-tab seppa, you are definitely missing one. The stamped "1" is predominantly believed to be put there by the fittings shop. You will often see matching numbers on all the metal parts and that number ususally matches a painted number on the nakago. The fact that you have a missing seppa, and that all the seppa that you do have aren't similarly marked, likely means that pieces have been re-fitted at some point along the way. Can we see the rest of the gunto? The black-painted tsuba is a unique class of its own, being discussed and followed on the Type 95 Black Saya thread. Officer black-painted gunto are piggy-backed on the thread. One of the Japanese speakers will have to comment on the kanji. 2 Quote
Corry Posted September 19, 2021 Author Report Posted September 19, 2021 Thats just the thing. they are all marked "1." I just took pics of both sides in the orig post.: Quote
Corry Posted September 19, 2021 Author Report Posted September 19, 2021 Sorry for the poor pics..Me thinks I need a new camera..or learn how to take better pics Rgds, Corry Quote
Corry Posted September 19, 2021 Author Report Posted September 19, 2021 On 9/19/2021 at 1:46 PM, Bruce Pennington said: Hi Durrel, If you only have 1 of the 4-tab seppa, you are definitely missing one. The stamped "1" is predominantly believed to be put there by the fittings shop. You will often see matching numbers on all the metal parts and that number ususally matches a painted number on the nakago. The fact that you have a missing seppa, and that all the seppa that you do have aren't similarly marked, likely means that pieces have been re-fitted at some point along the way. Can we see the rest of the gunto? The black-painted tsuba is a unique class of its own, being discussed and followed on the Type 95 Black Saya thread. Officer black-painted gunto are piggy-backed on the thread. One of the Japanese speakers will have to comment on the kanji. Expand Bruce, they are all marked 1, pics above. THX!!! Quote
Corry Posted September 19, 2021 Author Report Posted September 19, 2021 Also, What is the liklihood of finding a 4 tabbed seppa marked "1?" I am guessing VERY low. I H8 anything loose on my swords, but dont want a frankensword. Other suggestions are welcome. THX! Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted September 20, 2021 Report Posted September 20, 2021 Durrell, Thanks for the added pics! Exactly what I expected - all black coloration. I'll add these to the Type 95 Black Saya thread. When we first started noticing these, we assumed it was post-war Bubba paint-job. But after examining several 95s and 98s, it's clear (to me anyway) it is original and/or theater applied during the war. You've got a really cool one, congrats! As to replacing the seppa, you'll not fit the original with the "1" stamp. So, it's a quality-of-life decision for you to make. Either leave the gunto as-is, with loose fit; or find a replacement and tighten it up. I personally like to tighten the fit of all my gunto. I will be keeping my collection until I depart this life, so I'm not concerned about it. In the life of these gunto, many of them had replacement parts put on during the war. There is an article by one of the field repair teams on a few NMB threads, that says they had repaired 15,000 swords, most of the damage being on the handles. So it's not a detractor to your gunto if you add one. 1 Quote
Corry Posted September 20, 2021 Author Report Posted September 20, 2021 Thanks Bruce. I'll try to find an orig 4 tab with the correct location for the locking mechanism. Hate to use fleabay..but probably where i'll find one. Are the 4 tab all the same width? I would like the lock to still work and am afraid if too thick, it won't. Does this look legit? https://www.ebay.com/itm/265234826502?hash=item3dc13a4506:g:NIQAAOSwIDdcvJYC Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted September 20, 2021 Report Posted September 20, 2021 That's a legit set. @PNSSHOGUN could probably give you a better idea about standard thicknesses. 1 Quote
Corry Posted September 23, 2021 Author Report Posted September 23, 2021 More pics under a scope: Quote
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