Help please. Japanese Gunto (Genuine ? ) with battlefield scabbard.

laEspadaAncha · 5th June 2011, 07:35 PM

Hi David,

Re: drawing blood, you and I both! Sliced my thumb deep a couple days ago on a tanto I was remounting in koshirae after photographing it. I always look at such acts of carelessness as a sign that I am supposed to keep the blade that draws my blood... a blood sacrifice, if you will.

I've cut- tested several contemporary and vintage hunting knives I've sharpened - more as a test of the blade steel and my weak sharpening skills - but never an antique blade or a blade of considerable value. I have however needlessly destroyed more than my share of 2-liter bottles with things that go 'bang.'

Anyway, regarding the sword... I am looking forward to seeing photos of the nakago. The patina seems to indicate some real age, as does the presence of three mekugi ana... a puzzle as of yet unsolved, IMO.

Have you reached out to Rich yet? He indicates on his website the late-war, a.k.a., "desparation" swords were invariably of poor quality. Scroll down to "End-of-War" Hilts for his description of the type I believe your sword to be.

However, as has been said, the nakago seems to indicate otherwise.

I did photograph the shinogi on my koto waki, and found that the play of light can result in a photograph in which the shinogi looses a little of that "crispness" of definition so apparent with the naked eye. However, in most of the photos, it looked laser-straight. Here's two photos:

The first is of the shinogi on the aforementioned tanto that nearly took my thumb in tribute. The second is of my koto waki (ignore the idiot marks left by a previous owner's attempt to polish the sword). See how crisp the shinogi appears? Anyway, I look forward to seeing pics of the nakago.

BTW, Rick is right - you guys do pay a metric f#@&-ton for Coca-Cola!

Please tell me at least that's a 3-liter bottle!

5th June 2011, 07:35 PM	#20
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Hi David, Re: drawing blood, you and I both! Sliced my thumb deep a couple days ago on a tanto I was remounting in koshirae after photographing it. I always look at such acts of carelessness as a sign that I am supposed to keep the blade that draws my blood... a blood sacrifice, if you will. I've cut- tested several contemporary and vintage hunting knives I've sharpened - more as a test of the blade steel and my weak sharpening skills - but never an antique blade or a blade of considerable value. I have however needlessly destroyed more than my share of 2-liter bottles with things that go 'bang.' Anyway, regarding the sword... I am looking forward to seeing photos of the nakago. The patina seems to indicate some real age, as does the presence of three mekugi ana... a puzzle as of yet unsolved, IMO. Have you reached out to Rich yet? He indicates on his website the late-war, a.k.a., "desparation" swords were invariably of poor quality. Scroll down to "End-of-War" Hilts for his description of the type I believe your sword to be. However, as has been said, the nakago seems to indicate otherwise. I did photograph the shinogi on my koto waki, and found that the play of light can result in a photograph in which the shinogi looses a little of that "crispness" of definition so apparent with the naked eye. However, in most of the photos, it looked laser-straight. Here's two photos: The first is of the shinogi on the aforementioned tanto that nearly took my thumb in tribute. The second is of my koto waki (ignore the idiot marks left by a previous owner's attempt to polish the sword). See how crisp the shinogi appears? Anyway, I look forward to seeing pics of the nakago. BTW, Rick is right - you guys do pay a metric f#@&-ton for Coca-Cola! Please tell me at least that's a 3-liter bottle!