Please help, I want to know more info on this sword

[MajorAny2769]

[Xander Chia]

I’m not the most knowledgeable in this but from what I can tell, it’s a type 98 shin gunto with a field officer’s tassel and leather combat cover for the saya. In my opinion, blade is signed Kanetsugu, “兼次”.

 

Edit: Just noticed the tsuba is not the regular gunto kind. Can’t really see what it is. The sword also looks quite short. A wakizashi maybe?

[Stephen]

Ethan

 

I'm sure I speak for other military collector I'd like to see pictures of the fittings I can't tell from your photos but it looks like there used to be a button release, that tsuba looks like it's from the Navy so i can't tell if its put together or what, blade is older from before ww2

[Bruce Pennington]

Ethan,

I'd like to see clear shots of the fittings, too, especially the tsuba (handguard) and habaki (brass collar on the blade, under the tsuba).  Might be an older, family, blade re-mounted for the war with a civil tsuba.

Small correction to the tassel - the brown/blue is company-grade (Lts/Capts).  Feild grade are red/brown.

[vajo]

Looks like the Fuchi is missing.

I'm with Stephen, thats an older blade.

 

包次 Kanetsugu

 

[Tensho]

Someone mounted the fuchi under the habaki instead of on the tsuka. And yes, it looks like it has a hole for the Chuso. I'm with everyone else, more pictures of the mounts would be nice. 

[mecox]

Looks like Kanetsugu   兼次  Mino maybe late Koto (Muromachi?) but need to see full blade.  And it does look like fuchi is on under side of tsuba.

[Xander Chia]

3 hours ago, Tensho said:

Someone mounted the fuchi under the habaki instead of on the tsuka. And yes, it looks like it has a hole for the Chuso. I'm with everyone else, more pictures of the mounts would be nice. 

Wow I can’t believe I missed that. Felt something looked off but couldn’t point out what it was exactly.

[ROKUJURO]

Chris,

it is the other KANE: 兼次 

[MajorAny2769]

The plate that protects the hand is made of copper and It looks like it was painted black.

[MajorAny2769]

[MajorAny2769]

[MajorAny2769]

[Geraint]

Dear Eathen.

The sword clearly has a blade older than WWII.  The tsuba looks as though it is made of shakudo, an alloy of copper and small amounts of gold, don't attempt to clean that, the black is the correct patina.  The copper coloured collar, the fuchi, has a hole for the spring catch that would have held the sword in the scabbard but the tsuba does not have the corresponding slot and so is a replacement. (Or maybe the hilt is the replacement?)  The black oval collar around the blade next to the habaki is nothing to do with the sword and probably is there to take up the slack in the fittings caused by the lack of seppa.  There would have been a Gunto tsuba and anything between two and four pairs of seppa.

 

Have a look in the mouth of the scabbard and see if there is a slot that would have accepted the spring catch, if it's not there then perhaps it is the tsuka, the hilt, that has been replaced.  I'll attach a picture of the fittings as they might have looked.  If you can get that black collar off the sword and the habaki next to it then a photograph of the whole blade, point upward and the dimensions would be interesting.

 

Take it slow, don't attempt to clean more than a light oiling of the blade, leave the tang, the nakago, alone.

 

Others will add their thoughts as we go along.

 

All the best.

 

 

[Stephen]

My initial thought was an older blade cobbled together with parts.

Aka Frank n Stine

 

[Geraint]

Dear Stephen.

 

You might well be right especially as the fuchi is fitted for the spring clip but the combat cover has the stud for the leather strap.  Hard to tell quality of fit from pictures unless it's obviously way off.  Habaki looks good and for the sword, apart from that we don't know.

 

Eathen, does the blade fit really well into the saya?  The blade should slide in smoothly resting the back edge on the saya and the habaki should fit nicely at the mouth.  And does the tsuka fit equally well to the nakago?

 

All the best.