My grandfather brought this sword back from Japan after his tour in WWII. I know he was part of the occupying force stationed somewhere near Mt Fuji.
I am pretty sure its a Type-95 NCO Sword, although for years we had been calling a Japanese Samurai Officers Sword. Which leads me to my first question, is calling it a samurai sword a misnomer, or is along the lines of calling a M-16 a assault rifle?
I found one site (Military Swords of Imperial Japan (Gunto)) which was fascinating for the parts I could read, and I learned the specific name was gunto---however again I refer back to my earlier question as whether 'samurai' is a class of swords.
There are some other things about this blade I don't understand, for example the yellow cord. Does the signify anything special or did grandpa just tie something on to make it look more Japanese (he was only 19 at the time).
I am really curious about the stamp of the three interlocking rings, is that a smith make or what?
Here is one side of the hilt, yes my grandfather did engrave his own initials. While I know that does detract from the 'collectors price' I believe it adds more value as a family artifact.
The other side
The full blade with scabbard and yellow cord
Blade detail, I believe that grease is original
Serial Number 141809, yes the thumb print was removed prior to returning the sword to storage
Not that I am planing to let this piece out of my hands, but I was also wondering what is the value of a piece like this? I looked through ebay and I found a bunch a fakes. I also found a site with officer swords from the period start at $1,100, just kinda curious
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