Imperial Jap officers sword

[A. F Medic]

Bought at a auction. No scabbard. Chrome steel?

No identifying marks. Piece missing on pommel. I do not know if this can be taken apart without hurting something on the sword.

Still sharp!!






Note MUM of Emperor..

Information

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[Bill Hollinger]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

[Lancebear]

Hey AF,

If your sword has any markings they would be on the tang under the grip.

The Japanese government had swords made by hand by smiths and most for service were forged in one piece. Just a warning so you don't get taken, buying a Japanese sword is a very dangerous proposition unless you have studied books on them and know an expert.

Your blade could be a smith made one but you have to look at markings on the tang to determine what it might be. Wealthy old Samurai families sent their officer sons and fathers off to war with sometimes centuries old priceless family blades put into current service mounts. The tale is on the tang, you could have a pretty wallhanger or a treasure that needs a proper polish and tip repair. Polishing by a professional Japanese bladesman think costs a coupla' hundred an inch. Only worth it if the blade is very valuable. The swords are usually held together by a bamboo peg visable on the grip. If you see this on yours, push it out and the sword will fall apart.

I'm no expert (Have a good book), but as much as I'd like one, I realized a coupla' years ago to get a good one would take many long hours of study and then still taking a big chance. Hope I'm not rainin' on your parade, but would hate to see you get hooked on these and get beat real bad.

Hope you didn't spend a lot on it. It looks cool, but the Chinamen are expert at faking them. There are tons on Epay with shipping addresses in China, every one a fake.

Enjoy your find,

LB

[A. F Medic]

Thanks Lancebear for the information.
I did try briefly to get at the tang by removing the brass nut on the grip but nothing happened. I may have to email again a man who lives in Japan and is a complete expert on Japanese swords.
He has helped me before, but I think I have a parade sword since it has a number of mums on it with more delicate brass work.

In my research, I saw an admiral's sword that had a tortise sheel grip. Beautiful.

Here is link that I went to. Mostly Japanese writing and some translated to English. Lots of pictures of swords, dirks, and even the bayonets.

Military Swords of Imperial Japan (Gunto)

[doncb]

I have a Jap NCO sword with matching scabard serial numbers. Is there anyway to guess the date of manufacture by the serial number? thanks don b in fl

[TrenchCrazy]

I am no expert but I think its a police sword. The five-petal cherry blossom is found on police swords. The ten-petal blossom is found on army swords. Also it has what looks like a sixteen-ray badge on top rear of tang, these can be found on the swords of police lieutenants.

[A. F Medic]

I have a Jap NCO sword with matching scabard serial numbers. Is there anyway to guess the date of manufacture by the serial number? thanks don b in fl

I am sure that there is a way to date swords but it is beyond me you can try this.... Military Swords of Imperial Japan (Gunto)

Also.. The Japanese & East Asian Firearms Forum - General Gun Collecting - ParallaxBill's Curio & Relic and Military Surplus Firearms Forums - Message Board - Yuku You will have to log in and they can tell you more. Google Japanese weapon's forums

You will have to have a good image of the tang (grip removed) to see if there is writing there. Most better swords were signed by their maker and or the school the sword maker came from. Also our year does not match up with the Japanese as they work from the year of the emperor.

[Arisaka99]

There are several good reference books on Japanese swords. The most recent and comprehensive is Jim Dawson's Swords of Imperial Japan 1868-1945. This is a police sword for mid-level officials. There will be no marks on the blade because it is a chrome plated parade sword blade made in a factory.

[A. F Medic]

The expert in Japan got back with me and the sword is a Police dress sword. Machine made so there should not be any markings on the tang.

[Arisaka99]

What do US collectors (who own most WWII Japanese swords since anything NOT hand-forged with historical and artistic merit is illegal in Japan) and reference authors know? Glad you found a true expert to clarify.