Bruce Pennington Posted March 12, 2023 Report Posted March 12, 2023 Well, that sort of says this was a real WWII era, at least, tsuba pattern! Quote
Kiipu Posted March 28, 2023 Report Posted March 28, 2023 @Conway S I ran across another one in a GBF post back in 2014. Need help with a Japanese Sword., Post #9 1 Quote
Conway S Posted March 29, 2023 Author Report Posted March 29, 2023 Thomas, Very interesting find. There are quite a few similarities. Too bad there were no pictures of the blade or nakago. I will keep looking for other examples like these. I saw in the referenced post that late war swords were sometimes machine made. I wonder if this would explain the lack of a temper line on the sword I posted... Conway Quote
Conway S Posted March 29, 2023 Author Report Posted March 29, 2023 I am still not convinced this was not made in a modern day Chinese workshop right next to the Type 95s... Conway Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 1 hour ago, Conway S said: I am still not convinced this was not made in a modern day Chinese workshop right next to the Type 95s... Conway One thing about fakes is that they copy something real (Ok, there are exceptions). So we could be seeing a Chinese copy of a real WWII civil gunto tsuba. For the record, I recently found another while searching for stamped blades. For the life of me, I don't remember which file it went into. If I find it, I'll post it. Quote
mdiddy Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 At worst it is a total post-war reproduction. At best it is a post-war reproduction that someone tarted up with a few real parts (i.e. the fuchi, and maybe only the fuchi). The nakago is clearly not that of a Japanese made sword. Besides the crude manufacturing and lack of care taken in finishing, the placement of the mekugi-ana is way far off where it would need to be to make it a functional weapon. Quote
Conway S Posted March 29, 2023 Author Report Posted March 29, 2023 Found this sword previously for sale on IMA. https://www.ima-usa.com/products/original-wwii-Japanese-army-officer-katana-samurai-sword-late-war?variant=26171058309 And Matt, the poor placement of the tang hole was the first thing I noticed when I had the sword in hand. I learned an important lesson and won't roll the dice again on any possible crude late war/island swords. Conway Quote
mdiddy Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 44 minutes ago, Conway S said: Found this sword previously for sale on IMA. Thanks for sharing. I've never dealt with IMA. I know there are a lot of solid dealers with years on years of experience that can be contacted through the message board. I highly recommend connecting with one. They can be very helpful. Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 10 hours ago, Conway S said: Found this sword previously for sale on IMA. https://www.ima-usa.com/products/original-wwii-Japanese-army-officer-katana-samurai-sword-late-war?variant=26171058309 That's an interesting one, Conway, as the blade still has cosmoline on it. Quote
John C Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 I am sure the criticism will follow...but what if some of these types of swords were not meant to be truly functional weapons? A corporal gets a field promotion to NCO and just needs a symbol of authority to lead his men? Though I suppose he could pick up a sword off of the battlefield, maybe instead he buys the cheapest thing he can find. John C. Quote
paulb Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 Hi John, not specifically aimed at your post but I have generally found the more complex the explanation I make up to make what I am looking at fit my ideas then the less likely it is to be true. 1 1 Quote
John C Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 17 minutes ago, paulb said: I have generally found the more complex the explanation No worries. I knew I was opening myself up. I too believe in Occam's Razor, however. That's why "symbol of authority" rather than "functional weapon." Japanese version of the swagger stick. John C. Quote
Brian Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 The sword was far more than just a symbol to the Japanese though. It was a tradition and something revered even back then. Not sure I can see someone choosing something based purely on looks and not function. Quote
John C Posted March 29, 2023 Report Posted March 29, 2023 3 hours ago, Brian said: Not sure I can see someone choosing something based purely on looks and not function. I tend to agree that a weapon needs to be functional; even if there is some additional symbolic reason to carry it. My purpose in throwing this stuff out there is just to present an alternative. Chinese fake; late war; maybe there is another reason. To prove a theory we have to control for other variables and reject the null hypothesis. I'm just chucking in the control variables so they can be at least considered...then eliminated! John C. Quote
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