Is this aikuchi a fake or WWII vintage?

Battara · 24th March 2018, 06:03 AM

Greetings folks,

I got this aikuchi recently. I am puzzled because I think it is a reproduction, but I have looked at repos out there and they don't match this one. On the other hand, some aspects of this aikuchi make me think it might be a kaiken from WWII, or less likely but still possible, a kamikaze dagger.

In the pictures you will notice that there is an engraved dragon and hints of a hamon. The spine is around 3mm-4mm wide, with a very sharp edge, and the blade from tip to habaki is 4.5 inches.

Unfortunately I cannot get the hilt off (may be glued by a previous owner to keep together the broken/split hilt). Also the white fittings are plastic, which makes me wonder again about a repo, except according to Richard Fuller and Ron Gregory ("Military Swords of Japan: 1868-1945") there are variants of the kamikaze dagger that had celluloid fittings.

I am also aware that the quality of kamikaze knives varied considerably.

BTW - I tried the nihonto forum but after several days, no one has answered.

So is this a repo or vintage?

24th March 2018, 06:03 AM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,221	Is this aikuchi a fake or WWII vintage? Greetings folks, I got this aikuchi recently. I am puzzled because I think it is a reproduction, but I have looked at repos out there and they don't match this one. On the other hand, some aspects of this aikuchi make me think it might be a kaiken from WWII, or less likely but still possible, a kamikaze dagger. In the pictures you will notice that there is an engraved dragon and hints of a hamon. The spine is around 3mm-4mm wide, with a very sharp edge, and the blade from tip to habaki is 4.5 inches. Unfortunately I cannot get the hilt off (may be glued by a previous owner to keep together the broken/split hilt). Also the white fittings are plastic, which makes me wonder again about a repo, except according to Richard Fuller and Ron Gregory ("Military Swords of Japan: 1868-1945") there are variants of the kamikaze dagger that had celluloid fittings. I am also aware that the quality of kamikaze knives varied considerably. BTW - I tried the nihonto forum but after several days, no one has answered. So is this a repo or vintage? Attached Images Last edited by Battara; 24th March 2018 at 06:18 AM.