Bronze Tsuba Type 95 NCO Sword - Information Requested

[Mosin25]

I got my Type 95 NCO sword from my buddy I got it from today and although it has a few known issues - it was cheaper than the last one I bought and sold, I do really like the sword. I believe it to be a Nagoya sword due to how the SN is stamped, but I would love more insight to the stamps on it. I think it looks great on the wall rack! I'll hang my T99 bayonet above it to keep it company. I really do love the brass tsuba, my previous one was a later iron one. I would love more information on this particular sword.
The good:
Early WWII with Brass Tsuba
Matching numbers
No knicks in the blade or tip
No corrosion
A good coat of original green paint on the sheath
Legitimate, non-fake/copy
The price was reasonable, given the few issues it has
Nice, tight lockup

The bad:
Blade polished/buffed, but not worse than others I've seen.
Scabbard fitting painted gold (not really sure why)
No sature (hanger) on the handle - Original on order.

[Mosin25]

Additional Pictures:

[reneblacky]

The original hanger ring on the handle was probably originally leather.

[reneblacky]

Here's a fella on Boob tube that has good info on these -
The Samurai Monkey 42 - YouTube

[Mosin25]

Thanks, I actually bought my hanger from him. It isn't leather but will look great on it.

[RussM]

Here's a fella on Boob tube that has good info on these -
The Samurai Monkey 42 - YouTube

Be careful - see from post 45 Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums

[reneblacky]

Be careful - see from post 45 Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums

Cheers Russ,
Just like his sword vids

[Bruce Pennington]

Excellent Nagoya Type 95! The contractor stamp is the 'Gifu' stamp, believed to the the early logo of the Seki Shoten Co. You can find a brief discussion of this on page 20 of the Stamps of the Japanese Sword -
Stamps of the Japanese Sword

The yellowish coating is Almite, used in the couple years of the 95 aluminum handle. From Nick Komiya:

"This aluminium tsuka is often observed with a distinct brass/brown colouration, which is often and incorrectly mistaken for staining or patina. This is a thin layer of Almite, which was used to protect the aluminium from degradation. Once again, Nick has kindly provided an answer to the research community. Nick observes that:

"Since 1923, the Japanese had been using Almite instead of aluminum, as aluminum corroded too quickly... Unless aluminum was in this color, it was not accepted as decent quality in the 1930s.""

[Mosin25]

Excellent Nagoya Type 95! The contractor stamp is the 'Gifu' stamp, believed to the the early logo of the Seki Shoten Co. You can find a brief discussion of this on page 20 of the Stamps of the Japanese Sword -
Stamps of the Japanese Sword

The yellowish coating is Almite, used in the couple years of the 95 aluminum handle. From Nick Komiya:

"This aluminium tsuka is often observed with a distinct brass/brown colouration, which is often and incorrectly mistaken for staining or patina. This is a thin layer of Almite, which was used to protect the aluminium from degradation. Once again, Nick has kindly provided an answer to the research community. Nick observes that:

"Since 1923, the Japanese had been using Almite instead of aluminum, as aluminum corroded too quickly... Unless aluminum was in this color, it was not accepted as decent quality in the 1930s.""

That's great! I'm glad that it wasn't something someone added to "Improve" the appearance. Do you think that the gold on the sheath was added, since from what I remember, the fitting would have likely been iron and not aluminum? Thank you for the ID on the stamps, I wasn't exactly sure on that since it was different than my Kokura Type 95 that I used to own. Any thoughts to what year this might have been made?

[Bruce Pennington]

Yes, I think the gold on the haikan (belt hanger) was added by the soldier during the war too.

This is a very early number. The coppers stopped around late '38, and if memory serves, they were making about 9,000/yr in the first couple years (went up to 20,000/yr in the last half of the war!). So, my guess would be early 1940'ish.