bought type 95 NCO sword 20 years ago. is it real?

[kwa1966]

I got this 20 years ago found these forums and others. I think its real but have some slight doubts. Namely the blade is not sharp. It might have been at one time. The blade seems rather shiney for a carbon steel as well.

Here are the photos:















There is some staining and a fingerprint etcth on the blade. They were there when I bought it. And the scabbarde had pencil crayon or crayon on it. I removed much of that with an erasor. Any opinions or comments or evaluation about my sword would be appreciated.

Thanks
KIM

[stegel]

Hi Kim,
It is genuine. What made you doubt it being original?
There is a good intro guide pinned to the top of the forum to check out for more info. here's the link:

IJA Type 95 NCO Sword Info

I would guess it being made about 1939, it is good that the blade and scabbard are matching as it more desirable for collectors, incase you feel like selling in the future.
You should be able to clean/polish the blade up some more, without any fear of causing harm- (as opposed to traditionally made blades where the best you can do is avoid touching with hands and only wipe them down with some oil like sewing machine oil.)

I'm sure you'll get some more input from others soon.
Ern

[kwa1966]

The lack of a sharp edge gave me most of my doubt. The lack of pitting and such led me to think it might be stainless steel not carbon steel. I think there is a hamon line on the blade but its faint or staining maybe from sheath? And the scsbbard lock underneath seam to be a rough casting. Not smooth like the pictures I have seen on other posts.

I have looked at the guide and it was useful. But still had doubts.

[kwa1966]

Thank you very much for the information. I'll be keeping this to pass on to my grandson when he grows up. I am unsure about polishing the blade. As long as the blade doesn't rust I'll probably keep it as is. I could be tempted to have the edge restored but I expect he cost would be prohibitive compared to the value of the sword.

Thanks again
Kim

[stegel]

These are all machine made and oil quenched when hardened, no hamon is present on any of these as they are not traditionally made.
They all have a standard edge when issued, some edges were honed to be sharper in the field, and some post war by allied troops. The standard edge is not very sharp compared to the Officers Type 94 and 98's .
I'm not sure about the lock casting you mention, it appears normal to me, however, out of the numerous subcontractors used to provide parts, the quality did vary some what, some were neater than others.
I think you have a reasonably nice sword here, in good original and honest wear, apart from the issues with the blade which you could try and polish up a bit more if it really bothered you.
Ern

BTW- i have seen some 10yrs ago, a traditionally made blade with an Arsenal 'Star' stamp mounted in Type 95 mounts, this appears to have been a customised order by a higher ranking NCO.
Out of 40yrs of collecting, i had never before or since seen one like it.

[BOB COLEMAN]

20 years ago, the Chinese were not making fakes. I also have seen one hand forged blade in NCO mounts. It was not of great quality and likely made by an amateur swordsmith.

[ghp95134]

BTW- i have seen some 10yrs ago, a traditionally made blade with an Arsenal 'Star' stamp mounted in Type 95 mounts, this appears to have been a customised order by a higher ranking NCO.
Out of 40yrs of collecting, i had never before or since seen one like it.

My swordsmanship teacher was an army sword/bayonet/dagger instructor for much of his IJA career.



Right


squatting far right, front

He writes that he carried a named blade or a koto blade (but I'd have to go back and re-read that again -- I forgot what he actually wrote). Of course, his was a special situation; perhaps the owner of the blade you saw was also skilled in kenjutsu.


--Guy

[stegel]

While looking foe some pics to post, i actually found another example of a hand forged blade in type95 mounts from another forum, perhaps this is the same one you saw Bob? It also had a customised scabbard, which i had never seen before.
Here's the pics of the 'star' stamped one i mentioned -sorry about the size and quality:



Here's the other one:



Thanks for sharing the photo's of your teacher Guy, great stuff!!
I have seen over the years, maybe two type 94's with double pins in the mounts and remember a blade signed as a special order for a certain 'instuctor'- much like your friend i would guess! You certainly don't see them very often.
Hey Guy, do you have larger photo's of the ones you posted? i would really like to see his face at least!

Oh and Kim, you wouldn't get this polished by a professional Japanese sword polisher in my opinion, as you said... a bit over the top and pricey aswell.
Most likely a can of Brasso and a foam buff pad of 2000/3000 grit. I think you'll get some good results.
Cheers
Ern

[ghp95134]

...Hey Guy, do you have larger photo's of the ones you posted? i would really like to see his face at least!

Hi Ern,

Follow the link in my post. In the meantime I'm attaching a few. He was also the Regimental sumo champion ... he stood about 5'2" in his late 80s; he was 5'4.5" (164cm) in his prime. He served in the Yamagata 32nd Infantry Regiment in 1933 as a machine-gunner deployed at the Great Wall where he was wounded. In 1941 he was recalled to the same regiment, renamed the 18th North Yamagata Regiment, and was on the USSR-Manchurian border; 1942 appointed special swordsmanship instructor; 1943 assigned to the 山下兵団南方切込隊 2nd Yamashita Army Group South Special Attack Force as a swordsmanship instructor.

Ah! Found the quote about his sword:

...Using a 2 shaku, 3 sun, and 5 bu [71.2cm, 28" cutting edge] shin shinto
period sword (a nameless blade) from my personal possessions, I
took up a wide stance and raised the blade to a high guard before
bringing it down with full commitment and coordination of sword,
body, and spirit.

The blade cut through the spine and down to the aorta, cleaving
through three-quarters of the neck....

The Spirit of the Sword, pp. 256~258 [in English from Amazon].

Oh, by the way ... he was describing killing 3 head of cattle at war's end to feed the troops and villagers.

[harryamb2]

or anything handy.