Opinions and value of a type 95 nco sword

[Gunner1171]

I found this sword at an antique shop. The owner said he found it in a barn and the guy he bought it from said his dad brought it home from the war. 
 

It’s a matching number sword and saya. The blade is mostly clean but does have some patina. No cracks or chips. The saya has some missing paint and surface rust but it’s pretty solid. The paint on the aluminum tsuka is mostly intact. 
 

only think I can see that is missing is the screw/ mekugi. 
 

I have never found one of these in the wild and am not sure what this particular one would be worth. 
 

just making sure there is nothing wrong with this and I make an educated offer before I make a mistake. I know condition is everything. 
 

also I apologize for not having awesome pictures. This was on the fly with my phone with the person over my shoulder…

[Bruce Pennington]

Nice one Shawn!  The maker is officially a mystery, but we're pretty sure the "Ichi in Sakura" stamp is of the Kobe factory for the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal.  The stacked cannon balls are the supervising Kokura Army Arsenal and tells us the sword was made prior to 1942.

 

Current fleabay prices are ranging from $875 - 1,400 USD.  Couple of dealers putting them at $2,000 +.  Anywhere from $900 to $1,200 should be fair, depending upon what he is asking.

[Gunner1171]

8 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Nice one Shawn!  The maker is officially a mystery, but we're pretty sure the "Ichi in Sakura" stamp is of the Kobe factory for the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal.  The stacked cannon balls are the supervising Kokura Army Arsenal and tells us the sword was made prior to 1942.

 

Current fleabay prices are ranging from $875 - 1,400 USD.  Couple of dealers putting them at $2,000 +.  Anywhere from $900 to $1,200 should be fair, depending upon what he is asking.

Thank you Bruce! I got him down to $900 and I can pick it up tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure that wasn’t too much for this sword in this condition. 
 

is the missing screw a big concern? I see they possible make reproduction ones. I’ve read on the forum that they are hard to find originals 

[Bruce Pennington]

7 minutes ago, Gunner1171 said:

is the missing screw a big concern?

The blade is still being held in place with the barrel screw at the end of the tsuka (where the sarute is), so it's not a safety issue.  They are not impossible to find, and if you want one made Don Schlickman does a great job.  Send me a PM if you want his contact info.

[Guest Simon R]

I am no expert whatsoever on NCO gunto but I believe this may be the screw you are looking for.

 

https://page.auction.../auction/u1120511765

[Stephen]

Nicely spotted,  I've shown new screws before only to be told they were looking for org. What bloody difference it makes is beyond me.

[Gunner1171]

11 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

The blade is still being held in place with the barrel screw at the end of the tsuka (where the sarute is), so it's not a safety issue.  They are not impossible to find, and if you want one made Don Schlickman does a great job.  Send me a PM if you want his contact info.

I think you’re right! 
 

I think it’s going to be challenging ordering from that page tho! Haha I need a translator 🤣

 

thank you very much! 

[Gunner1171]

3 hours ago, Stephen said:

Nicely spotted,  I've shown new screws before only to be told they were looking for org. What bloody difference it makes is beyond me.

Haha in the end it doesn’t really matter as I’m the end “user” but it’s just nice if you can keep artifacts of militaria original when possible. Thats all 

[Stephen]

Well we all know military collectors have a screw loose 🙄 

[Kiipu]

23 hours ago, Gunner1171 said:

It’s a matching number sword and saya.

 

The sword was made by Kōbe under Kokura Arsenal supervision.  There is a slight mismatch in the numbers though.  I have seen this type of mismatch before and think it could have happened while still at the factory.

Blade: 141089.

Scabbard: 141039.

[Gunner1171]

On 1/19/2024 at 3:31 PM, Kiipu said:

 

The sword was made by Kōbe under Kokura Arsenal supervision.  There is a slight mismatch in the numbers though.  I have seen this type of mismatch before and think it could have happened while still at the factory.

Blade: 141089.

Scabbard: 141039.

Wow! That’s a good catch. My brain didn’t even register that!

 

were these sets serialized by hand or at least by a person on a machine? Was this a human error like maybe the end of a long day and they were cruising along and thought the 3 was an 8 or visa versa? 
 

its just funny how close the two numbers look. 
 

im interested in this. What are your thoughts? 

[vajo]

On 1/19/2024 at 3:05 AM, Gunner1171 said:

 

is the missing screw a big concern? I see they possible make reproduction ones. I’ve read on the forum that they are hard to find originals 

 

Not that screw. The tiny little screws on a Type 98 saya are hard to find

[Bruce Pennington]

On 1/20/2024 at 4:42 PM, Gunner1171 said:

were these sets serialized by hand or at least by a person on a machine?

I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that question.