The problem is tampering. This blade is from somewhere else. Its tang has two holes. This is a bad thing for a younger blade like this one, which was made in 1942. It should have only one hole. Another problem is this sword has no seppa at all. That's a clear sign of tampering. If the blade is 200 years old or older, I would overlook the extra number of holes. Or if the smith was a good swordsmith, people may remount his blades several times. But, that's not the case we have here.by Type4
Good catch on the missing seppa! But while we are well aware that there are sellers out there piecing together parts, this gunto's condition has possible other explainations. When my dad was in the Marines, he kept his Mantetsu in a locker. Someone broke in and stole several parts off it (probably thought they were real gold), like the tsuba, seppa, and 2 saya parts. The second hole, if there is plenty of rust in it, could simply mean the original set of fittings were damaged during the war and the owner had the blades refitted. If this were the case, the condition actually says to me "I've got a story", and might add to it's interest!
As long as the parts are legit Japanese, then the gunto deserves preservation as history. The matter is simply whether it fits into the buyer's collecting tastes.
The story of this sword is anyone's guess, therefor it only serves detraction to this sword. I agree gunto deserves preservation as history. That's why a tampered gunto is not as desirable as an all original gunto, because the history is distorted in various degrees.
A new sword buyer simply has not developed a collecting taste. Avoid buying a first sword with issues at all cost.
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