New Purchase Any info would be appreciated.

[TimJ]

This is my first post. I got this today. It's a Navy Officer Sword I believe. I'm not exactly sure what to look for as far as quality. I believe all the parts are correct but I could be wrong. Any comments would be welcome. I noticed the Mekugi is Plastic. Is this normal?

 

Also, what type of care should I use on the blade? Oil? It looks like it might have a few finger marks on it. The maker is MUN297.

 

[TimJ]

[Stephen]

Clean, peg might be buffalo horn, has seki stamp. @Bruce Pennington can tell you more

[mecox]

Tim, you have a kaigunto naval katana.  Looks to be overall  in good condition.  Mekugi:  is it plastic or horn.  Maybe the aluminium seppa are not original (the one next to saya looks small?)

Can you show a pic of the registration paper (Torokusho) as it has info on it. 

The smith is  “Munenaga” (宗命), real name Seibu Takeo (西部 武夫),   (Seibu can also be read as Nishibu). He was from Seki in Gifu Prefecture born Meiji 34 (1901) October 1.   

He registered as a Seki smith Showa 16 (1941) November 19 (age 40).   He was a guntō  smith, probably in an arsenal, and the blade has a Seki stamp. (I guess no date on other side of nakago).

This type of blade is called Showato, so not fully traditionally made, but looks to have a nice hamon.  There is very little info about him.

[John C]

Tim:

Nine find. Solid example of a kai gunto. I would use sewing machine oil if you have it, or food grade mineral oil. Very light coat should do it. Stay clear of oils designed to open pores (i.e., wd40, honing oil, or gun cleaning oil).

 

John C.

[TimJ]

Thanks, I just bought this as it was recommended in another thread: KUROBARA 100% Pure Tsubaki Japanese Cutlery Knife Maintenance Camellia Oil.

Is there any recommended cloth to use or an instruction on how to apply it? I didn't see a thread for that. I'll keep looking.

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Stealing @Dave R's thunder - here is a Guide to Care and Cleaning for Japanese Swords

 

You have a beautiful Navy sword, or kiagunto, there Tim!  I have 4 other Munenaga blades on file with the large Seki stamp, only 1 of them dated (1942).  We've seen the large Seki on blades ranging from 1940 - 1945, but most were dated '41-'43, with the lion's share in 1942.  

 

You can read more about the kaigunto here:

 

Navy commissioned officers Shin-Guntō 1937 (Type Tachi Guntō) (ohmura-study.net)

 

Also here:

https://www.warrelic...w-navy-gunto-678705/

[TimJ]

Here are 3 of the swords I have. I got the other 2 back in the late 80's.

 

[TimJ]

@mecox Here is the paper. Thanks everyone for the information! I don't see any writing on the other side. I can't tell if the Mekugi is plastic or horn. Were any Seppa made from Aluminum? I see a lot of brass ones. 

 

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Tim,

Could you post good pics of that center one, the copper-handled Type 95?  It seems to have a rare transitional drag on the saya.  Do the numbers match? Photos of them please?

@Stegel

[TimJ]

No, the numbers don't match. 5241 on the sword and 1508 on the Saya. The other Gunto numbers both match though.

 

[Stephen]

Correct oil to use nowadays 

[TimJ]

@Bruce Pennington The Patina on the Saya hardware and the Handle hardware look different. Is this normal or could the Saya not be the original one?

[John C]

Tim:

As you might know, the copper handled 95 is the rarest of your collection. The mismatched saya does detract somewhat, though still a really nice find. To answer your other question, some folks use microfiber cloth. Soft and lint free is the key. And only use once unless you intend to wash it.

 

John C.

[TimJ]

@John C Thanks for the information. I did not know that about the copper sword. Unfortunately, the blade on that one has a slight bend. 

[mecox]

Tim, any chance you could post a pic of the seppa and tsuba laid out.  keen to see detail. thanks

mal

[TimJ]

@mecox Here you go.

[PNSSHOGUN]

The Tsuka looks a little strange, looks like it has been replaced and re-wrapped (not the best job either).

[mecox]

Thanks Tim.  BTW where did you buy the sword from, as its unusual to have original torokusho (yours dated 2011).

I note Johns comment re tsuka.  It does look a bit odd, wrapping is not tight, rear knot odd, and the same skin not a good fit and is white.  Nearly all kaigunto have black lacquer same.

In the full length pic of the sword the tsuba is siting at an angle, as if loose.  That caught my eye.

Thanks for extra pics.  From them I wonder if the dai-seppa are cast repros.  Also the aluminium seppa are not original.

Apologies Tim,  not trying to dump on your sword, but these aspects are always of interest.

And John I see you had a nice Munenaga kaigunto and sold it on NMB in April, 2019.  

[PNSSHOGUN]

An additional Munenaga Mei for OP's reference:

 

[TimJ]

Do these fittings look original?

 

 

[mecox]

These look OK to me

[Bruce Pennington]

Ok, Tim, I've got a little more time on my hands!

 

The mekugi - It is a higher quality mekugi than standard, and can be either buffalo horn, or bamboo with a thick black lacquer coating.   You'd have to test it with a careful prick of a pin or knife to find out.

 

Seppa - The standard kaigunto has a brass colored seppa there, but I got curious and checked Ohmura's site.  He shows a custom set of fittings with the aluminum color in-line after the brass.  Seeing as how yours looks a little loose (are the tsuba/seppa loose?), it is possible this was your configuration before something happened and the brass seppa are simply missing:

 

This would fit perfectly with the appearance that your tsuka has had a re-wrap.  Supporting the idea is the placement of the menugi.  Correct placement has the sakura in each circle showing, where your wrap covers the center of each.

  

 

Also, as noted, the same', or eel skin, should be lacquered black.  However, I've seen many WWII photos where Navy officers are holding kaigunto and the same' looks white.  This could be because their lacquer has greatly worn off (like one I own), or maybe they are holding custom kaigunto where the same' wasn't lacquered in the standard way.  Yours is darkened, but not nearly enough to match "standard" navy black.  So, who knows when your tsuka was re-wrapped, and did the re-wrap include new same'?

 

All the other parts are legit (the saya is quite beautiful), which fits the idea that either during the war, or sometime after the war, this kiagunto saw serious deterioration, or damage, to the tsuka and a 'fix' happened.  Whether you want to keep it in the current condition (life of the sword) or return it to mil spec order is up to you.  

[TimJ]

Thank you! @mecox and @Bruce Pennington Yes, the Tsuba is slightly loose. This could explain the missing brass Seppa. 

 

Does the blade look authentic? If so, the only issue would be the re-wrap? I tested the Tsuba with a magnet and it's not magnetic. I was told the original material wasn't either.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the help! Does anyone know who can do a re=wrap of the re-wrap or would it be better to buy an original Koshirae?

[Bruce Pennington]

The blade is fabulous and legit.

 

Re-wrap vs buying replacement - again, person choice.  Tough to find just a kaigunto tsuka on the market (could be totally wrong on that!) and would it fit properly?  If it were mine, and wanted a restoration, I'd simply pay for a re-wrap.  It will cost aroung $300 USD for just the wrap, assuming you keep the same'.  There are many discussions on NMB looking for references.  Here's one:

But there are 2 or 3 others if you do a search.

[Bruce Pennington]

On 11/27/2023 at 4:06 PM, TimJ said:

No, the numbers don't match. 5241 on the sword and 1508 on the Saya. The other Gunto numbers both match though.

 

 

Tim,

Finally getting to this one.  What I'm really interested in, especially if the saya # is 1508, is a clear photo of the saya drag.

[TimJ]

@Bruce Pennington

 

I'll take a pic. I thought it didn't have a drag.

[TimJ]

@Bruce Pennington Here are the close up pics.

 

 

 

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Ah, excellent!  That's normal for a copper 95.  Your first photos gave the impression that it had a drag.

 

Don't know how much of a bend yours has, but from reading many sword stories, it was an unfortunate thing that happened after whacking someone with a blade.  They were supposed to be designed and tested to show unbendability (not a word, I know!), but they still bent.  Read a confession of a war criminal who beheaded many civil victims in China.  He had a sword by a particular smith (don't remember who) that he preferred because his other sword bent on the first beheading.  

[PNSSHOGUN]

That is a from a book called "Japan at War: An Oral History", the officer was Uno Shintaro.

 

http://www.zzwave.co...t/confess/spies.html