swords

C

capacitygear

Joined
Oct 30, 2002
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Does anyone know anything about samurai swords? I rec'd a real war provenence (iwo Jima) 17" bladed sword recently. It does not appear to be junk. Although it has a very simple wooden sheath, it has a copper hilt (very thick w/ simple engraving) and some (minimal) gold inlay of stars over a relief of what looks like a rough ocean scene between the hilt and the rayskin handle. It is extrordinarily sharp and appears never to have been sharpened. Also it is sharp all the way to the brass part at the base (have read this is significant but don't know why). Anyone know anything?
 
Anyone know anything 'bout jap samurai swords? I rec'd one from Iwo Jima, its got a 15" blade (16" w/ brass spacer) and it's sharp it's entire length. Does anyone know why this is important? It's got gold inlay (6 stars over a seascape on one side-- 8 stars over same on the other)its got copper colored silk wrap, and a copper hilt w/ light engraving (leaves, etc) on it. I'd really appreciate some heads up, and I would post digital pics if anyone needs to see it.
Thanks very much!!
 
Hey...

We do have people here who know some things about Japanese swords, however personally I don't know much about wartime blades (which this one appears to be)

But, by all means, please post pictures! Try to get as much detail as you can, since that will allow for the most reliable information to be given.

I suggest you also check out Sword Forum International (http://swordforum.com) and post your inquiry there. You will likely get more exposure there, and if we cannot help you here, you should be able to get some answers on their forums.
 
Well, if it is a r=trophy from WWII, I'd bet it wasn't made in the factories. Most factories turned out Shin Gunto swords, but I don't recall the Japanese making shorter blades like what you've got. If it was a factory made blade, there'd be an arsenal # on it, or a date.

What you have may be a very personal item, perhaps of more importance than the factory blades. Does it have a temper line? Is it rusty, chipped, or otherwise damaged or modified? Are all of the fittings present? You don't have to answer, and pardon me if I assume too little or too much about your level of experience with these blades.

Another thought I had: Most Japanese blades are marked with a makers mark or script on the tang, under the handle. There should be a small wooden (typically) peg that goes thru both sides of the handle and throuugh a hole in the tang. this holds the assembly together. Were you to finnd that you could remove this assembly easily, you may be able to better identify it or have it identified.

Keith
 
Woops, I think I read that wrong...but your description is a little odd, so I still won't try to draw any conclusions.

By "copper hilt" did you mean the hand guard (tsuba)? I didn't give that or the blade length any consideration before Keith posted...

If you could post pictures...closeups of the blade (if there is any visible activity on the blade like grain or anything, try to capture that too) would be useful, along with pictures of the entire handle and scabbard.

And Keith, the peg (mekugi) is normally bamboo :p

I look forward to seeing any pics you can provide :)
 
I'll move this thread to the Sword Forum for you. Sounds like you have a gunto, manufactured by modern mass-production methods so not considered in the same category as the real thing, but some people collect guntos for their own sake; they're interesting swords in their own right.
 
Cougar moved the same thread from another forum, creating a bit of a duplicate. I was going to delete the duplicate thread, except Cougar had some information to offer, so I merged the two. Also, at the top are the 2 variants of capacitygear's post, since they were not 100% identical.

Sorry if this caused any confusion folks!
 
This is one of those software things.... Capacitygear posted in the Gadgets & Gear forum first (I guess he hadn't noticed we have a sword forum -- there are so many forums here it's easy to overlook some of them). Then somebody told him about the sword forum so he started a new thread here, after that I came along and moved the first thread to this forum -- and finally Robert, seeing there were two duplicate threads, thought he'd merge them. Unfortunately the people who designed vBulletin thought the best way to merge two threads would be to put all the posts in chronological order of posting regardless of which thread they were posted in, so the two threads get all jumbled together.

Oh well, at least all the information is here even if the order of posts is a little confusing. Sorry....
 
Apologies for the confusion. Didn't realize swords were their own entity here (used to espousing the merits of mtech ut-6!)Will post photo asap (got to find d-cam). I really appreciate all of your input very sincerely. I didn't do a great job describing the sword. There is a temper line (sort of foggy) and 2 very small rust spots on teh blade, which does appear to have a bit of grain to it. It is very sharp and well made blade. The Tsuba is solid copper w/ t oblong holes on the sides and light floral engraving. The handle has what has to be real ray skin, and there is a relief engraving just below the hilt of a seascape at night (stars are gold inlay) these things make me think that it is not a factory sword, but what do I know. I read somewhere that how far the blade edge goes to the base is very important but didn't explain why. Well, this one is sharp to the brass spacer above the hilt (tsuba...)
btw there are brass (gold plated?) objects in the handle but can't for the life of me figure out what they are... will get photos out.
Thanks again guys- btw ferrous hey no pardon necessary-- I know of the peg but feel that if I mess w/ it I will end up sending it out w/ a tear-stained letter pleading for some blademaster to put it back togother!
 
From your descriptions, it appears that you may not have a wartime mass-produced sword. This is a very optimistic thing, but opens a can of worms all by itself as Nihonto (handmade Japanese swords) range in value tremendously!

Please give us pics soon :)

Also, the little decorations on the handle underneath the silk wrap (ito) are called "menuki" and were originally palm swells, but are now more of a decorative feature.
 
It's difficult to guess based on a description only. If, it's no trouble, please post pics. My guess would be a hand made sword based on the description of the hamon alone. The description of the fitting leads me to believe that it has a civilian fitting. You might want to disamble the sword and inspect the tang to see if there is a signature engraved on it.
 
Okay gentlemen I found the d-cam now I just need to find my flashpath disc. May have pics as early as tommorow. BTW there are two little light rust spots (1mmx1.5mm) Can I remove them or is that a bad thing?
 
You can remove them. I would suggest nothing too abbrasive, so NEVRDULL should be sufficient. I prefer my blades to be clean, rust free, to ease the inspection.
 
i see that a lot of you here have an interest in japanese swords and the lighter swords. is there anyone in here who may have an interest in the heavier swords? i myself prefer the viking long sword. but i can use claymores and other 2 handed swords as well. i also have a lot of info. on the heavier type swords but dont know too much about the light ones. reply if you have an interest in the heavy swords.
 
I think that there are folks that like all sword types here. I actually don't even own a katana anymore. My tastes run more to high medieval swords though rather then dark age weapons. Other resources include www.swordforum.com and www.netsword.com.
 
You need to have the image hosted online somewhere. To have it display you type [img*]http://www.picturesite.com/picturename.jpg[/img*]


Please note that I added the* to stop the syntax from working, you do not type those in.

Any probs e-mail me the images and I will upload them for you as I work for an isp and have plenty of webspace :)

Cheers
C
Ciaran.flanagan@eircom.net
 
I guess that bamboo is more of a reedy grass than a wood. THanks for the catch, Robert.

Vikingswordsman: I like the european blades too, but not ungainly repros. Most viking age and migration afe sword were in the 2-3 pound range. My viking sword weighs in at 2.2 lbs (1 Kg), and is certainly very businesslike in nature. Sure, you can find some 5pound viking swords from certain dealers, but is that really a sword, or kust a sword-shaped object?

A good smith can make a blade with a distal taper, fullers, and good fittings that will give a sword strength, balance, and lightness. If you have to swing a sword all day, would you not prefer one that you could use all day?

Keith
 
you are right ferrous whell. you can get 2-3 pound range of long and broad swords. but i prefer the 6 pound viking long sword and it is a real sword not a replica. you can find it at the site http://www.swords-online.com/ it has a very wide seletion for all those interested. it has oriental, medeival, calvalry, knifes, armour, and more! try it out. if your looking for usable replicas you can go to the site http://5stardeal.com/ they have swords, knives, and other stuff. but its all stainless steel and aint much good in combat.

the reason i like the heavier swords is that ive never been good with light items. things that take a delicate touch ive never been able to do. so with the heavier sword it takes just brute strength and its a lot easier for me to handle!
 
I really would suggest a peek at the other sites I posted. There is a lot of good information there as to what constitutes a good and bad sword.
 
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