Hello gentlemen
I was offered this police dirk. Is there anything I should be aware of?
Thanks in advance.
Japanese police Dirk for discussion
Hello gentlemen
I was offered this police dirk. Is there anything I should be aware of?
Thanks in advance.
That is a very unusual piece would you happen to have any photos of the blade and backstrap? The backstrap appears to have a rising sun motif below the police emblem. It might just be me but it appears to have remnants of black paint in the recesses??? Unusual piece, thank you for sharing!
Regards, Geoff
Agree with Geoff, this is quite unique, and looks completely legit. Fuller & Gregory attempted to include dirks with each category of sword and has few examples, but nothing like this. I suspect this might have been a custom item. Neither F & G nor Dawson shows this exact emblem. Dawson counts the large rays and call the 5-ray pattern Patrolman, sergeants, and lieutenants.
The black paint is also interesting. There is an ongoing discussion of black (and other) painted swords at NMB here:
Type 95 Black Saya - Military Swords of Japan - Nihonto Message Board
It has been seen on NCO, Officer, and kyugunto. Now on a dirk! The general consensus is that it is period paint, done by the owners, not factory. Reasons unknown.
Hello Geoff and Bruce!
Thank you so much for your comments! I was also hoping/thinking that backstrap is some kind of custom job.
I should have this piece on my hands in a couple of weeks, then I will make more photos. I really would like to see the thang.
Here is the one more photo with the blade
Hello goldendrachen,
thank you for presenting this police dirk! I regret not finding and responding to this thread sooner!
Here are some pictures of my piece. I bought it in 1999 or 2000 at a military market in Berlin.
Total length - 44,3cm / without scabbard 42,3cm,
Scabbard, blade and bolt heads chrome plated,
handle with leather cover,
no marks,
The quality of manufacture is good, the condition "unused" with signs of age.
When I passed this dealer again 2 hours after the purchase - SURPRISE - on the same table in the same place between bayonets and hunting knives was the same dagger in the same condition again....
Over the last 20 years I saw this dagger 3x on the web: Ebay US and Egun DE (from a Polish dealer) between 2005 and 2015 and again Ebay US 2018.
I am not 100% sure, but I do not consider my dirk to be of Japanese manufacture. The leather of the handle, the wire winding, the thread of the two screws look like western / European (?) production - maybe from 1970s / 80s.
However, I'm also happy to be convinced that it is a genuine Japanese police dagger - then it would be a legitimate piece of my collection again....
Regards, Michael
Ebay US 2018:
If I remember correctly I think this dirk was discussed before and the consensus was that unfortunately it was a fantasy piece. I will have to dig and see if I can find this information.
Sorry
Yep. I have received it this morning. Doesn't look right to me. Will try to return it.
Michael,
Thanks for sharing your experience with that dealer. After looking over the enlarged shots, it seems the black may not be paint at all, but a coloration worked into all the crevaces to give the appearance of age. Also, on the edge of the backstrap, where it meets the fuchi, there is a chip in the gold coating. So the metal is not brass and has been coated to look brass.
Well, whomever did this, sure did a good job.
The handle is made of brass. The magnet adheres only to the blade and the knob. The stain could
easily removed. Here are a few more pictures of the wood inside the scabbard. The letters ???owr are on a thin piece of paper, probably from a newspaper. With this and the cardboard, the "saya" stuck in the scabbard without rattling.
Similar Threads
Posting Permissions
.
Bookmarks