Type 32 sword in cosmoline....

[26Intrepid]

Hello all,

Ive been collecting for a while now and I’ve never made a purchase of a firearm or blade that still had cosmoline... until now.

Question is... leave it or clean it? This type 32 appears to have been sitting for several years and seems mainly untouched. I’m in uncharted waters with this one... the collector side of me says leave it... but the OCD in me wants to clean the blade of the junk... thoughts?

[Alex W]

Im assuming its a machine made blade. If it were mine, I'd wipe the cosmoline off and apply a coating of renwax to the whole thing.

Alex

[christek]

I'd wipe it too but take care you don't wipe any grit that may be in the oil over the blade as this could scratch it up.

[Bruce Pennington]

I would remove the cosmoline. It has no historical significance, unless you have family history to the G.I. that coated it and want to preserve his story.

Most threads I've read used denatured alcohol, acetone, and other products like "Oops" on a cloth. They said it takes some work if it has already hardened into a varnish-like substance.

I clean all dirt and grime off mine as well. Be careful to just use an oiled rag, and not cleaning solvents (once you've gotten the cosmoline off) as they can remove original paint and patina.

Nice 32 you have. The serial is fairly low.

[Type4]

This sword was make in 2 type one with more long blade, 32¾-inches (832mm), cavalry (三十二年式軍刀甲 Version 甲 - KŌ ) and one with more short blade, 305/18-inches (772mm), for NCO (三十二年式軍刀乙 Version 乙 - OTSU , the second type was sobstituted from the type 95 NCO sword. The 35043 can be a very early production of a OTSU variant, please measure the blade thanks.

[26Intrepid]

Thanks everyone for your comments. The cosmoline will be removed... i just wanted to be sure that taking it off wouldn’t hurt the value.

This sword doesn’t have any family value, it was an auction purchase.

The blade measures right at 32 3/4” (Overall 39 1/4”). I believe this to be the 1st pattern (KO)

Thanks again,
D

[rbminis]

Thanks everyone for your comments. The cosmoline will be removed... i just wanted to be sure that taking it off wouldn’t hurt the value.

I agree, remove the cosmoline, and apply Ren Wax to protect it..
Ralph.

[26Intrepid]

Well,

I wasn’t lookng to score another type 32... but for some reason, an offer of $195.00 was presented to me for this sword just a few minutes ago. I, of course, jumped on it! This is the “OTSU” pattern with a 30.5” blade. The type 32 gods have been very good to me the past couple days... grin

Low serial “18956” is an added bonus.... a little rust around the drag but I believe they’re matching numbers. Blade looks very nice... should receive it next week.

[Bruce Pennington]

Sooo,
I hate to put a downer on this, but it looks like the same kind of questionable sword as we've been discussing at NMB:

Type 32 Ko, strange number and lack of markings. Is it a fake? - Military Swords of Japan - Nihonto Message Board

While the debate is still on as to whether these are Chinese reproductions (fakes), or something made by the Japanese for foreign militaries, they have characteristics that aren't inline with proper Type 32s.
- Curved lip on handguard too small
- Saya latch tip pointed vs squared & thick
- Saya throat latch hole squared vs rounded
- Numbers typed in different 'font'
- Ricasso different as to how deeply the cutting edge starts out
- Bo-hi starts too far down the blade
- Belt hanger not in right position
- drag shape

I noticed on this one the saya throat seems to be made of brass, colored to look like steel with a brass insert (you can see where the coloring has rubbed off and the brass shows underneath. Actual Type 32s have steel throat with actual brass insert.

It would be interesting, when it arrives, to see what the nakago looks like with the handle removed. It's easy to do, with only the nut at the end of the handle and the screw through the side of the handle, to remove.

I'm adding a couple of pics of my 32 to show the differences.

I'm not saying it's a fake, as the guys at NMB aren't 100% sure either, but it's not normal.

[Bruce Pennington]

Here's mine with the handle removed.