Fake NCO?

[SlasheeMD]

Hello.   This 95NCO was given to my father by the Japanese husband of his first cousin probably around 1960 or so.  Not sure of the provenance otherwise.   Suspect it's a real one but unsure.  Hoping someone can help with value whether real or fake.   Thanks

[SlasheeMD]

[SlasheeMD]

[John C]

First impressions are legitimate. Mismatched scabbard, however. The kokura stamp seems to be over struck with Tokyo 1st stamp, but looks legit. But let others give a definitive answer. 

 

John C.

[Conway S]

I am not sure they were faking these Type 95s back in 1960! The manufacturer's corporate logo is on the left hand side (Iijima). The stamps John C. refers to are on the right side. The center inspection stamp is a "To" as in Tokyo （東) and refers to the arsenal which had oversight of production. It's also the same stamp on the blade following the serial number. Although the mismatched serial numbers are a downside, it is not uncommon. Looks to have retained a good deal of the paint on the handle. 

 

Conway

[Bruce Pennington]

Interesting to see the over stamped Tokyo 1st Arsenal star, like John pointed out!  Makes me think this saya (scabbard) was reassigned to the blade by the Tokyo 1st Arsenal as a replacement.

 

You can read up on the Type 95s here:

Non-commissioned officers Gunto 1935 (Type 95 Guntō)/title> (ohmura-study.net)

[vajo]

Some things look good, some are bad. I dont like the lower part of the tsuka. The upper part is perfect. The seppa looks lower quality. As Bruce notice the over stamp of the fuchi is curious. Overall i think the sword is legit. 

 

[Conway S]

If I am not mistaken, somewhere in the 159,000 range they switched to the iron tsuba which they then continued into the 162,000 range.

 

Conway

[SlasheeMD]

Thanks everyone.  This is very helpful.  Looks like it's an "initial type" as it has the screw on the scabbard. Fits beautifully into the sabbard as if it were the original one.  Value ballpark?

[John C]

  On 3/25/2024 at 5:41 PM, SlasheeMD said:

 Value ballpark?

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We generally do not do valuations on individual swords here. We can say, however, type 95's in general are going for 800-1000 on ebay, based on condition of course.

 

John C.

[tbonesullivan]

This is a fake Type 95 NCO sword:

 

https://www.ima-usa....riant=19314375589957

 

Note the spacing of the hanger bolster from the mouth of the scabbard, the terrible markings, the matching number on the drag of the scabbard. Also we didn't get any pictures of them but the seppa were very crudely made, as is the handle. The blade was also way off from what it should be.