How common were Type 98 mounts on Wakizashi blades?

[Kolekt-To]

There is a Wakizashi in Type 98 mounts for sale on eBay currently ($5K USD, papered) and it got me thinking about how common this may have been during the war. I've seen plenty of Wakizashi in Type 97 (Kai Gunto) mounts, in fact I have one in my collection. Also, how common would it be for an officer to carry a Wakizashi in regulation military mounts vs a Wak in non-military mounts (from my understanding, Wakizashi in non-military mounts were allowed to be carried - these swords were not required to be in regulation mounts)?

[Dave R]

They turn up in "field mounts" quite a lot, that is the type 98 but with the leather covered wooden scabbard, and the origin of the infamous "Tanker sword". In the formal steel scabbard much more rarely but they are known There is a whole thread (or two) on this forum, and lots of discussion as to why! (I got this pic for my personal files from here or another forum, sorry not to credit properly).

[Ontario_Archaeology]

Wak in type 98 mounts are less common than standard length Katanas, however not horrible uncommon in my experience. I have found that shorter Wak, that measure less than 60cm to be "rare". I think this has to do with the measurement regulations for acceptable lengths. I believe it is discussed in another thread, but I am not sure what one. As for the Waks in non military mounts, but still had a combat saya on them, these were used mostly by non military personal that were contracted to work for the military, and if their contract position was similar to an officer rank, they would be permitted to carry. 

I have found many Waks in full type 98 mounts often are fancier than their full length counterparts, however this might just be due to fewer examples of waks than full length. Here are some pictures of Waks in my collection. 

 

 

 

The general tassel is not original to the sword, I have 2 more Wak gunto, however, they are just mounts, no blades.

 

[Kolekt-To]

Thanks for the info guys! And a very nice example Matthew.

[Bruce Pennington]

There are a number or Army waki posted on NMB over the years.  Here's a thread: Short gunto

[PNSSHOGUN]

Far more ubiquitous in combat mountings, proper ensuite (and genuine) Type 94/98 are certainly more difficult to find.

[Bruce Pennington]

  On 1/4/2022 at 12:07 AM, PNSSHOGUN said:

Far more ubiquitous in combat mountings, proper ensuite (and genuine) Type 94/98 are certainly more difficult to find.

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Dang!  I’m going to have to look up half of these words!

[DRDave]

Once upon a time I had a Tamba no kami Kanemichi with Type 98 mounting.  I think it was about 50cm.  Wish I still had it.  Got a photo of it somewhere.  If I ever run across it, I'll see if I can digitize it.  

[Brian]

Seen a few, own one or 2. I don't think they are rare at all.
Remember all those stories of how dealers sold blades at dept stores etc, to people going off to war, and then would have it mounted to your specifications? And how the govt appealed for cheap swords and wakizashi for the war effort? Most of those would have gone into regular military fittings. The ones I have seen, the saya is regular length but the blade is short.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Yes, shorter blades in full size regulation mounts are far more common to find. 

[tbonesullivan]

Definitely have handled a few, and often they still have a full length scabbard.

[Geraint]

The one Dave.R posted is mine and both it and a similar kaigunto with a wakizashi blade are in the thread that Bruce linked.  Both are early examples from shape and materials so it would seem that they were by choice rather than necessity.

 

Keep 'em coming folks!

All the best.