3Jean Posted January 26 Report Posted January 26 Good afternoon, I recently acquired a Type 95 NCO sword and I have a couple of questions. It has the painted tsuba and seppas, but the fuchi looks copper. The matching serial number is 150848. Is this some kind of transitional piece? I'd like to get a repro tassel for it, but it looks the ones on fleaBay are for tsubas with the cutout. Did they use the same tassels, with the buckle, on solid tsuba pieces? Any input would be most appreciated. Thanks! John 2 Quote
Conway S Posted January 26 Report Posted January 26 John, I saw this one when it was listed for sale. It's a very nice example and deserves a real knot IMHO. The brown leather knots with the slider are correct for this variant. See the link below - "Middle Type" http://ohmura-study.net/957.html Conway 1 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted January 27 Report Posted January 27 I have see 95s with both steel and copper fuchi, bearing the steel tsuba. I don't study them in depth, so cannot say whether that was a function of particular serial number groups, or something that changed over time. Quote
GeorgeLuucas Posted January 27 Report Posted January 27 Hi John, Very nice looking NCO Type 95! According to the records that I've collected; this stamp configuration, Patter 3 type, and Copper Fuchi seems to be the standard for Suya production swords around these serial numbers. So not a transitional style I would say; Just the Suya Shoten Co. continuing the use of copper fuchi. I hope this helps, Cheers, -Sam EDIT: Interestingly, some blades with these stamps, and around this serial number are without a fuller. Can we see a photo of the blade? 1 Quote
3Jean Posted January 27 Author Report Posted January 27 Hey guys, thanks for responding! I've attached a pic of the blade. It's really in quite good shape, just some light scratches and a bit of pitting. Any idea when it was made? Conway, the tassel they offer on ebay for a Type 32 looks similar, but a bit shorter, to the 'Middle Type' in the link you posted. All of the other Type 95 tassels they offer have the buckled strap used on the cut-out tsuba. Which one do you all think would be more authentic? Thanks again all! John 1 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 27 Report Posted January 27 Definitely not my forte but this is on Yahoo now. Think it may be the incorrect, buckled type. 😳 Yahoo!オークション - 軍刀 九五式軍刀 刀緒 革製... Quote
Stephen Posted January 27 Report Posted January 27 1 hour ago, KungFooey said: Definitely not my forte but this is on Yahoo now. Think it may be the incorrect, buckled type. 😳 Yahoo!オークション - 軍刀 九五式軍刀 刀緒 革製... I think the cow was alive last year on that one. JMPPOV 1 1 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 9 hours ago, Stephen said: I think the cow was alive last year on that one. JMPPOV Fakeroo, huh? Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 On 1/26/2025 at 10:39 AM, 3Jean said: I'd like to get a repro tassel for it, but it looks the ones on fleaBay are for tsubas with the cutout. Did they use the same tassels, with the buckle, on solid tsuba pieces? John, This will be a personal preference kind of thing. I have a mixture of buckled and no-buckle tassels. I have not read an official uniform reg that specifies, but I suspect you are correct, that and original issue 95 had buckled tassels on brass tusba and no-buckle tassels on steel tsuba gunto. But those tassels seem to come in waves. When I was in the market for some, all I could find were the no-buckle tassels, both long and short. It was hard to find one with a buckle. Now you face the opposite problem. If it were me, I'd rather have a real tassel with buckle than a new imitation. With it in hand, you may find, later, that you want to buy a 95 with the brass tsuba, and viola, you already have a tassel for it. Quote
GeorgeLuucas Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 On 1/27/2025 at 7:23 AM, 3Jean said: Any idea when it was made? Good question. I've been working on wrapping my head around the timeline of manufacture on these. Believe me, it's no easy task! It's still not entirely clear to me, but I'm getting there. The Tōkyō First Army Arsenal trademark stamp (Star with a bullseye inside), began use in 1940 and was used until 1945, presumably when Tokyo was heavily air raided. Your sword and serial number is near the tail end of my "Tokyo Star stamps" recorded. So, I presume your sword was made between 1940 and 1945, and likely toward the latter. That's about as precise as I can comfortably get, and others might know more. Best of luck, -Sam 1 Quote
3Jean Posted January 29 Author Report Posted January 29 All, thank you very much for your kind assistance! Sam, thanks for looking into the S/N for me! Bruce, I did a few quick searches for authentic tassels, but nothing came up for NCO's. You said that you have long and short buckle-less tassels, do you think your short ones are similar to a Type 32? There are a couple of those (repros) on fleabay. Best john 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 Well, you got me there. I didn't know there was a difference. I just needed a tassel and the short one was the only one on the market at the time. Did they put shorter tassels on the 32s? Quote
3Jean Posted January 30 Author Report Posted January 30 I saw the one on Ohmura-san's site and that one looks a lot longer than the Type 32 repro's on fleabay. I think I'll just wait and see if any authentic Type 95's pop up anywhere. Thanks again Bruce! 1 Quote
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