Kai Gunto by Kanemune

[Alban L]

Good evening all,

 

I just received from Japan my very first Kai Gunto, and I'm very enthusiast sharing it with you.

 

I had some trouble removing the blade from the saya since the habaki slipped towards the nakago and got stucked there. As a result the blade entered too far into the saya. Hopefully I managed to gently unblock it using techniques suggested on this forum. But I will have now to find a way to reposition the habaki and then replace the mekugi as the previous one was broken. For now tsuka is not firmly held as you may see on photos.

 

Blade is signed Kōzuke-jū Kanemune kore saku, made by Kiribuchi Kanemune, identified here thanks to @SteveM :

 

This swordsmith is known having worked on Gunsuito project, swords made of Gunsuihagane, steel produced from sand iron by hydro-electrical power company Gunma Suiden Kabushiki Kaisha. I can't tell if this precise sword is made using this still as it is not precised on Mei, but it is still a possibility.

You'll find more about this project here :

http://www.nihontocraft.com/Kanetomo.html

 

Blade is not stamped. It has a lovely Hamon, as I don't know much about hamon types you may qualify it better than I could do !

 

Coming with its beautiful lacquered sharkskin saya. Saya and all fittings are stamped with same production number.

 

Here are photos :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alban L]

I received this sword along with other treasures, first a beautiful shima-kokutan (asian ebony) bokuto. A recent one most probably but still a beautiful object :

 

 

And also a good luck flag with stamp from Tōkei Jinja, shrine from Wakayama prefecture, and signed by chief of Tanabe police station, also in Wakayama prefecture. Not possible to say if it was dedicated to a soldier or sailor, I only have a name, but as it is from a coastal city who knows, it was perhaps for a navy guy. Anyway, a good opportunity for a photo with this Kai Gunto :

 

 

 

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Gorgeous!  Are you able to display them like that?

[Alban L]

Thanks Bruce,

I certainly would like to, sadly I won't have enough space to display them like that. 

 

Just gently removed the habaki, again following indications I found here. I'll now have to find new Mekugi and learn how to take care of this blade. 
I also noticed there was a small deposit of wood dust, which must be coming from inside the saya. It might be worth keeping the blade separately in a shirasaya, even if it's not the most valuable blade.

 

 

[Kaz S]

Fantastic blade.

[Alban L]

Thanks Kaz

 

I put the habaki back on its original position and re-mounted the sword, looks better now !

The Habaki could perhaps be cleaned later.

I also add corresponding tassel, I just have now to replace missing Mekugi

 

 

 

All fittings are stamped with number 5(7)7

 

[Michaelr]

Nice sword. I would be proud to own it. Please replace the Mekugi sooner than later as in my opinion it is unsafe to have a sword with the Mekugi removed except when disassembling. The pegs are normally made from bamboo. You can use a golf tee, or a chop stick until you find one that suits your taste. Many are replaced with chop sticks that can usually be worked down to do a really nice job. Thank you for sharing and happy collecting.    MikeR