Rules for this section - Read before posting or reading

[Brian]

This new section is a trial category for now, and is intended to be a place to identify and get basic info on all non-traditionally made Japanese swords. These include machine-made and partially machine made swords between 1876 through 1945.

If you know the sword to be Gendaito or Shinsakuto (fully traditionally made from tamahagne during or after the war) then those still belong in the Nihonto section.

However if you are unsure, then this section can be of some use. Swords that are found to be Nihonto will be moved to the appropriate section.

Conversely, if you post a sword in the Nihonto section and you can't find the post later, perhaps it was identified as a Showato and moved here.

 

For the purposes of this forum, and in line with modern day convention used by collectors and dealers, the following classifications are used:

 

Showato :-

Military swords that are made from modern steels, or machine made or partly machine made. Illegal to be imported into Japan.

Gendaito :-

Military swords that are fully forged and folded and water tempered/quenched from tamahagane. These are legal to be imported into Japan, and are considered Nihonto

Shinsakuto :-

Modern traditionally made swords by qualified smiths in Japan, produced after the war until today.

Nihonto :-

Although merely meaning "Japanese sword" this is used to denote a Japanese sword that is fully forged by a smith using tamahagane and is legal to be imported into Japan under the relevant laws.

 

Please note that this forum is specifically for Japanese swords. Swords from other countries and modern fakes or copies are beyond the scope of this forum, and posts about them will be deleted.

This section is intended to assist with identification and basic info on the various military swords of Japan such as Kyu-Gunto, Kai-Gunto, Shin-Gunto, Police swords etc etc.

As per the other sections, the main focus of this forum is NOT pricing, and posts dealing solely with price enquiries will be deleted. Members will, if possible, try and assist with vague pricing info if possible, but this will always be as part of a larger request and is not reliable or expected. The focus of this forum will never be prices, and members are advised to search prior sales and places such as eBay for pricing guidelines.

 

Translation requests belong in the section dedicated to that. If the discussion evolves further into specifics of the sword itself, then it may be moved here at the discression of the moderators.

 

Lastly, for those that are dedicated Nihonto enthusiasts and collectors:

This section is best avoided completely, as it is beyond the scope of this collecting theme.

It is intended to make the other sections more specialized and "pure" without these swords appearing there, and as such should improve the focus of those forums.

If there is any doubt as to which category a sword belongs, it will remain the perogative of the moderators as to whether to move it here or not.

 

This section may evolve over time, and is merely a trial for now to see how it functions and whether or not it is successful.

 

- Admin -

[Shamsy]

I'd say it was a reasonable success eleven years on.

[Brian]

Dunno...I'm still evaluating. 🤣