Need help with blade tang signature on Shin gunto sword

[PeterCollector]

Hello dear friends,

 

few days I bought this poor conditioned officer sword which was not storaged very well. Despite these fact, sword is still nice. Very carefully I removed wooden grip and find markings on both sides of blade tang. I know there is a lot of rust, but I do not decide to clean it, because I don´t want to damage it. Please can anybody help me with translating the markings - I mean blade smith or maybe date, when it was produced. Each part of sword have same number "87" and one seppa is missing - but when I carefully inspect the sword, l think, it was never on sword, or was lost very, very long time ago, because sword fits tight and very well and patination on tsuba is just around other seppas. Mon on pommel is also missing

 

Thank you for your time and help

 

Kind regards

 

Peter, Slovakia

[xiayang]

上野住人龍眠齋兼友作 = Kozuke junin Ryūminsai Kanetomo saku

[Bruce Pennington]

Wow, that tsuka (handle) had a lot of wear!  Date is February 1939.

[PeterCollector]

Hello,

 

thank you for your help with identifiing sword. Like you can see - sword saw a lot of usage during the war and blade have some oil spots and litle scratches - it is nothing serious, there are no hits on blade or any other flaw. But blade is grey and no hamon is visible. Do you think this sword deserve to be polished? I mean if l can invest some money into it? Or it deserve to be papered?

 

Thank you

 

Best regards

 

Peter

[PNSSHOGUN]

It is definitely worth polishing and papering, Kanetomo was one of the better regarded Gendai smiths.

[Stephen]

Take a wooden spoon or like object. Tap nakago untill red bubble rust falls off ...take a old T-shirt and lightly oil it. Wipe down change fold repeat until no more red rust show's on T.

When you have a nice dark patina... you'll know you have saved the nakago from being eaten up.

You can oil the blade the same...diff T....wipe up change fold repeat until you have a light film...no droplets.

Good project ther. 

 

PS put some white paper on table. Tap light the saya. Opening down...see if debris falls out keep doing until it stops you don't want to put a oily blade back in to pick up grit and grime.

[MarcoUdin]

I would be inclined to agree with John, take it to a proper togishi and get an opinion first. But I'm positive it will be good work after

[PeterCollector]

Hello friends,

 

thank you for all your help. It is nice to hear, that you like the sword and you think it deserve some special care. First I have to count all my money and decide if I can afford to polish it - I mean if the sword is really hard to find and it has some value - bigger than the polishing cost I will do that.

 

Stephen, I will try to do my best and clean the blade tang carefully but for sure I have to clean up saya it is a lot of dirt in it. I also try to take better pictures tommorow and share them in gunto section.

 

Again many, many thanks to you all for help.

 

Peter

[Brian]

26 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Take a wooden spoon or like object. Tap nakago untill red bubble rust falls off ...take a old T-shirt and lightly oil it. Wipe down change fold repeat until no more red rust show's on T.

When you have a nice dark patina... you'll know you have saved the nakago from being eaten up.

 

Just did similar on those 2 matchlock guns of mine, on the underneath of the barrel where rust was thick and stood proud. Works well. I used a light brass hammer, and light tapping. Rust flakes off. Go slowly and carefully

[Bruce Pennington]

Sometimes you can slide the saya liners out.  You remove the saya opening cap, and you'll see the liners.  Some are loose enough to pour/slide out.  Others, for some reason are really stuck and can't be removed.  But if yours will come out, you can clean the inside of rust, grime, and other crud.  If not, Stephen's method is better than doing nothing.

[Dave R]

 I have used a .177 air rifle cleaning rod to wipe/scrub inside saya before now. Not ideal but better than nothing if you cannot remove the liners.