Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto

[Nick Komiya]

Scabbard Protective Cover


Earlier in post 292, I mentioned that the Type 95 Sword was initially proposed to be introduced with a rain-proof cotton protective scabbard cover for the paint finish that somehow disappeared later.

Now, I know part of the story of what happened to that spec. as minutes from the conference discussing that item exists.

That meeting was held on 8th May 1935 from 8:00 AM and ran till 10:45, held at the Army Science Institute 陸軍科学研究所. The purpose was to discuss adoption of 10 new weapons as Provisional Standards, of which the Type 95 Sword was the 8th item on the agenda. Vice Minister of the Army, Toranosuke Hashimoto 橋本虎之助 served as chairman and the meeting was attended by 25 other members.

On the Type 95 Sword, the following exchange took place.

Chairman:” Next on our agenda is the introduction of the Type 95 Sword as a Provisional Standard. I will have our Secretary-General explain the plan.”

Secretary-General Heitaro Kimura 木村兵太郎, Control Section Manager of the Ministry of the Army:” Nothing to add, Sir.”

Chairman: “Any questions or opinions? I recall that the Procurement Bureau Chief had something to say.”

Procurement Bureau Chief, Shigeatsu Yamaoka 山岡重厚: “I understand that the concern I raised will be addressed and fixed. Another issue is the scabbard cover. This, however, is merely an application of an existing item, so it is not something that should become an integral spec of the provisional type.”

Chairman:” Is the scabbard cover part of the provisional standard type description?”

Secretary-General: “Yes, Sir, it is.”

Lt. General Nakajima, Saburo Nakajima 中島三郎 ( Army Tech HQ Chief of Dept 1) : “Frankly I don’t really think we’ll need them, but it is nonetheless better to have approved specs for it, just in case.”

Secretary-General: As the cover is merely an accessory, why not leave it to the discretion of those in charge whether or not to adopt it as a provisional type?　

Chairman: Then the cover shall be considered for adoption as a separate provisional type and we will exclude it from today’s discussion. Any objections?

(No objections voiced)

As there seem to be no other opinions, I will regard this as a unanimous decision, thank you.

[Nick Komiya]

I cannot remember anymore whether I had posted this already, but just in case.

[bangbangsan]

Yes, that is a possibility, but i think it may have happened the other way -from brass to iron tsuba.
These are from August 2018 (#7241) amd May 2014 (#9117).
Do you remember when you got your pictures? That will shed a little light on these two at least.

Hey Ernie
I think I saw #9117 around 2016 ish? But this sword is in China. Note, the collectors in China like Brass tsuba 95 a lot more than Iron tsuba, and they don't care if it's a "rare" Iron tsuba version.

[Kiipu]

Procurement Bureau Chief, Shigeatsu Yamaoka 山岡重厚: “I understand that the concern I raised will be addressed and fixed. Another issue is the scabbard cover. This, however, is merely an application of an existing item, so it is not something that should become an integral spec of the provisional type.”

This seems to imply that the scabbard cover was already in use in a related item. I know that bayonets are sometimes encountered that have a canvas cover. If not this, possibly a cover developed for the Type 32 or some other sword? What are the kanji characters for this scabbard cover?

[Nick Komiya]

The Saya cover is called 鞘嚢 (Saya-Noh).

[stegel]

bangbangsan

Quote by stegel View Post
Yes, that is a possibility, but i think it may have happened the other way -from brass to iron tsuba.
These are from August 2018 (#7241) amd May 2014 (#9117).
Do you remember when you got your pictures? That will shed a little light on these two at least.

Hey Ernie
I think I saw #9117 around 2016 ish? But this sword is in China. Note, the collectors in China like Brass tsuba 95 a lot more than Iron tsuba, and they don't care if it's a "rare" Iron tsuba version.

It's interesting that the sword is in China, but unless you can confirm the date you had seen it, we would just be speculating on its original form. As it stands with the above dates, it appears that it was originally a Brass tsuba which had been swapped out.

[stegel]

Interesting Saya-Noh info Nick !!, many thanks for your updates.

I have had a Pattern 1 Copper handled Type 95 with a Saya cover for some time now, other examples that i have with covers are either patent leather, or suede, but this one is Canvas (water proof- cotton?).

I haven't seen any other like it on an NCO sword before or after and it had me wondering about it's authenticity.
Now i'm thinking it could be original to the sword, and as it is from early in the production run - then maybe.

It is more of a sleeve type cover than an actual shaped fit that the other leather examples are, i suppose it would be harder to achieve this with canvas.
It also could be

merely an application of an existing item

as mentioned in the minutes.
I've included a photo for you to see, any thoughts?

[bangbangsan]

Yes, that is a possibility, but i think it may have happened the other way -from brass to iron tsuba.
These are from August 2018 (#7241) amd May 2014 (#9117).
Do you remember when you got your pictures? That will shed a little light on these two at least.

It's interesting that the sword is in China, but unless you can confirm the date you had seen it, we would just be speculating on its original form. As it stands with the above dates, it appears that it was originally a Brass tsuba which had been swapped out.

Yes, seems it originally has Brass tsuba. But the reason could be swapped Brass tsuba to another better condition blade for sale higher price instead of trying to be rare type.

[bangbangsan]

I have a brass tsuba Type 95 with the Canvas cover.

[Nick Komiya]

Stegel, I think you've got the scabbard sack of legend. It is definitely the right color and paraffined cotton is the material description. The only other clue I have is the weight. The document below states the weight of accessories as 530 g. I assume that to be the sack and tassel together, but that is awfully heavy for a cloth sack, so the leather belt might be included in that weight as well.