Type 98 Gunto with just a name- Legit or repro?

[Casual_Collector]

Hey all, first-time poster here.

Recently, I found a WW2-era Japanese officer sword in an antiques shop. Thinking it was cool, I wanted to get some information on it, and the shop owner let me take a look and snap a few pictures. Long story short, in doing a bit of looking into it, the information I was given by the shop owner doesn't line up. I was originally told that the sword was marked 'Kanemori', however someone on a less specialized forum told me that the kanji actually says 'Kanemoto'. Not to mention, the name is the literal only mark on the tang. No arsenal stamps that I can tell, and no other marks.

I would just like to know about this sword, mostly asking if it's an actual antique officer sword or a reproduction, and maybe a bit about the sword's history if there's any to be spoken for.
Note: I'm guessing that it's a Type 98 based on pictures I've seen online. 
Pics below- Let me know what you folks think. 
Thanks in advance for any info. - J.S.

[Conway S]

Joey, 

 

Kanemoto is correct. Looks to be Showa period as opposed to an earlier sword based on the nakago. More pictures of the blade would need to be posted to determine the quality and condition of the blade itself.  The Type 98 fittings look to be higher quality based on the extended drag on the saya - scabbard. But it's in poor condition and missing most of the paint. The habaki is also silver or silver plated, which is normally a feature of nicer blades. @mecox

 

Conway

[Casual_Collector]

Good to know. I'll see if I can get some better pictures of the blade- any specific part of the blade I should photograph, or just try and get the whole thing as best as I can?

Always eager to learn more.

Joey

[Navy]

As Conway stated, legit Japanese blade in WW2 army mount.

The fittings looks of better quality than the average, so she could be an interesting blade.

Try to take some pics of the whole blade, with close up of nakago (tang) without habaki, hamon (cutting edge) and kissaki (the tip area).

Just a tip: when handling the sword, avoid to touch the blade with bare hands, as you can see it can hurt the steel.

 

[Michaelr]

Joey, looks like a real nice sword. DO NOT TRY CLEANING IT UP until you have read the information here on the forum about how to do it. Also yes it looks like the Saya/ scabbard is missing most of the paint BUT as stated above it has the desirable/ not so common patt. applied for drag and appears to me that the Saya is the light weight aluminum also not too common. Don’t know what you paid for it but a nice find, and if you are just getting started nice first sword. Hang around here as this is a great forum with Great People. Thank you for sharing   

  MikeR

[Kiipu]

兼元 = Kanemoto.

versus

兼則 = Kanenori.

兼式 = Kanenori.

[Bruce Pennington]

Here's a useful care guide: Japanese Sword Care Guide - Japaneseswordindex.com

 

You can check your saya (scabbard) with a magnet, but I agree, it looks aluminum.  Not rare, but not common either.  What is common with them, though, is the missing paint.  They gave up on the aluminum saya as the paint wouldn't hold.

[John C]

39 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said:

They gave up on the aluminum saya as the paint wouldn't hold.

I wonder why? They painted aluminum aircraft so you would think they had the process or chemical composition of the paint down pat. 

 

John C.

[Bruce Pennington]

9 minutes ago, John C said:

I wonder why?

Yeah, good question.  

[David Flynn]

If you see any photos of Japanese warplanes that have seen extensive service, you'll notice most of the paint work is gone.

[Casual_Collector]

Hey all, sorry for the horrendously late response time.
Thanks for all of the feedback, I appreciate all the input. As for observations, yes, the saya is made from aluminum. I've also read up on how to clean it, though already the sword looks like it was well-kept and cared for.
As for the pictures I said I'd take, I did disassemble the sword to get a few good shots of it, though only this one's really post-able with the whole file size limit on this board. It's all put back together now, but I do have a few other pictures on hand.

Note- While the sword looks like it has no hamon, at certain angles it's pretty clear, the blade's just polished fully. Also, picture quality I know isn't the best- Just working off an Iphone SE camera.

I'll definitely stick around on the forum, though. Seems like a cool place to learn about the history of these blades, and learning these kinds of things is definitely a hobby I enjoy.
Thanks again, folks.
- Joey S.

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks for the update, Joey!

 

Hey, it looks like the saya has the patented, Wakase-made, extended drag.  Can you give us a shot of that?  You can see a couple variations on this thread:

 

[Casual_Collector]

I do have pictures of the drag from the original batch of pictures. And from what I can see from the post you linked, it does have the '213917' mark.

I am curious, does the other text on the drag say anything special, or is it just the name of the shop?

As always, thanks for the input.
- Joey S.

[Conway S]

The link Bruce included in his post explains the meaning on the text on the drag. Do you have any additional photos of the blade itself? Maybe some better close ups? 
 

Conway 

[vajo]

The patination is gone. Sad.

[Casual_Collector]

Here are some more pictures of the blade, hopefully a bit better quality.

 

Unfortunately my phone camera isn't great, and most pictures I take with it are anywhere from 1.4 to 4+mb.
As far as the pictures themselves, the blade does have some slight rusty spots (the mild marks on the length of it), and the hamon doesn't show up great on camera. I think the best picture of the blade is actually the original that I started the thread with, as the harsh lighting of the workshop (which is a buddy's shop, not my own unfortunately) makes it stand out a bit better.
Let me know if any closer-closer shots are needed, I'd be more than willing to provide.
Thanks again.
- Joey S.