Brian Wolfe

Oops. I did think it was yours, Rob.

Sorry Greg. I had just gotten in from work and my mind was still asleep (government employee).

A great sword.

Cheers

Brian

Hello Vitalik,

Welcome to the forum.

Very nice Imperial Orders.

Thank you for showing them to us.

Cheers

Brian

Hi Rob,

Nice sword. I believe it is an Army Officer's Shin-gunto. The NCO pattern was a mass produced copy of the officer's pattern with the aluminum handle. While I do not profess to be an expert, I have not heard of an NCO with this type of handle.

Blades for the shin-gunto can be hand-made or factory-made with and without a signed tangs.

You keep coming up with these! Don't stop!

Thanks for showing it off.

Cheers

Brian

Is this a post war engraving? I have never seen one engraved before. Could you post a close up of the blade please? A lot of German knives hit the market after WW II in an attempt to generate much needed income. Sometimes the seller added a bit of decoration to help sell it to the soldiers of the occupation.

This particular style was used in both wars but the scabbard of the WW II varieties used a spring catch device so that the knife could be clipped in an easy to reach place on the uniform.

An interesting piece.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Brian

I believe this to be among the various veterans' badges (and medals too), issued quite unofficially after the Soviet withdrawal and, in many cases, after the demise of the USSR.

Thanks Ed,

I'm flying blind in this (USSR) area so I don't spend a lot on items so that when I crash and burn it won't hurt too bad.

Cheers

Brian

Hello everyone,

I have started to add a few medals and badges to my collection from the former Soviet States. An item I purchased a couple of weeks ago was said to be a memorial badge (or pin) granted to participants of the campaign in Afganistan, 1979-1989.

The badge measures 45 mm (1 3/4 inches) from star tip to tip. It has a screw back fastener, that I didn't photograph. The enamel looks good to me and I rather liked it so I purchased it. A fool and his money?

These seem to be rather common but I was wondering if they were real at all or a fantasy item and if they are real were they issued by the government or a veteran's association?

What are your thoughts?

Cheers

Brian

Hi Rob,

You made my day.

Great sword !

The "blood grove" is actually called a "fuller" in western swords and I think it is called the "hi" when speaking about Japanese blades.

Is there any sword that feels better in the hands than the SHIN-GUNTO or the KYU-GUNTO?

Cheers

Brian

Hi Guys,

I agree with Rick that this is probably a WW II era sword. As to the file marks they may not be all that out of place. The file marks on WW II and even very old swords were sometimes left rough. These marks can aid in the identification of different eras and even the individual sword markers. The different patterns of the file marks are also all named. By the way if you find a pre-1877 sword with rust on the "tang" do NOT clean it off. It is very important to the sword and even to the possible dating.

I would be very careful purchasing NCO swords unless you are quite familiar with them as there are some excellent copies coming out of China. Some even have damage you would expect from the real deal. Even the accountability numbers on the sword and scabbard have been reproduced.

If this is a real WW II sword or even a copy it is NOT a Samuri Sword. True Samuri Swords belonged to real Samuri and not those who used the Code of Bushido to plunge their country into a war.

On 1 January 1877 the Haitorei edict of 1876 came into effect, restricting wearing of swords to just the military and police in uniform. No sword made after 1877 can be called "Samuri" as that worrior class had ceased to exist.

I'll bet your sorry you asked.

Cheers

Brian

Awesome! thank you!

Any idea on the two helmets? I know one is a type 90, but what is the one on the left in the photo. It does not have the brim of a T90, and it is sort of rounded rather than oval on the top. I am really not sure what it is

Sorry, I never got into collecting helmets. I'm sure other members can assist you in that area.

Cheer

Brian

Hi Chris,

I was just checking another reference and found that on 18/19 March 1945 an incendary bombing attack by B-29s destroyed 3 square miles of Nagoya which included the arsenal. One B-29 was lost.

Cheers

Brian

Hi Chris,

Your bayonet has the makings of the Nagoya arsenal on the ricasso. The Nagoya arsenal originated in 1923 and produced the Type 30 bayonet, it is not known when they ceased production though I believe they were out of commission (bombing raids?) before the end of the war.

BTW the mark is upside down in your photo.

I hope this is of some help.

Cheers

Brian

Hello Everyone,

For what it's worth.

When I was a youth I was told that AH didn't wear a lot of his awards because he wanted to distance himself from the old Imperial "thinking" but continued to wear the Iron Cross to stay in touch with the military machine. Considering the direction everything was going in the late 1920s and early 1930s it was a good idea to keep on the good side of the miliitary. This I was told by a former German soldier. I'm not sure of the accuracy of this information as the fellow who told me this would have been greatly influenced by the propaganda of the time. It could also have been the product of soldier gossip, so-to-speak.

I was thinking while reading the earlier posts that AH would have presented quite the picture for riducle if he had decided to wear all of the awards he could have worn. He would have looked a lot like some of the North Korean generals pictured elsewhere on the GMIC.

Cheers

Brian

Very impressive collection.

Thank you for sharing it.

Cheers

Brian

Hi Msgt_mode,

It has been many years since I did any model work but I do have a suggestion.

First perhaps it would have been better if you could have posted a photo or two of the model so that members could see the damaged area. That would allow them (and me) to make more informed suggestions.

My suggestion comes from a tank model from Tamiya that suffered some damage while still in the package (my fault). I don't recall which tank it was but I do remember it being German, perhaps the Tiger. I kept the damaged part, added to it and made it look like battle field damage. Would it be possble to create a small diarama showing the crew attempting a field repair? It's one way to turn a disaster into a unique piece of model making.

Cheers

Brian

Hi Snoopy,

Now that's talent.

Cheers and a tip of the hat to you.

Brian

It's kinda rare....the Yugo Army weren't that big..... Plus, they don't make 'em like that any more. Plus, they gotta be hard to find in the GWN (Great White North). They don't command a big price tag; $5 is an average price, and you didn't have to pay 5 to 10 for shipping so you're ahead there.

IMHO these 'Elite Troops' badges, and the normal ones (w/o S&H) make great additions to Yugo ODM displays. They're nice and heavy, not thin, stamped metal like their Soviet bretheren.

Thanks Eric,

Actually this caught my wife's eye while I was looking at an Austrian medal. I'm glad she noticed it and since the price was right I'm glad I bought it. Now I'll have to add some JNA medals and start yet another thread to my collection, so in the long run it will probably cost me enough.

Cheers

Brian

Hi Christian,

Nice General Service Medal, and with a bar I'm still looking for.

Cheers

Brian

I just think the screwnut is not original to the badge...

Cheers.

Ch.

Hi Christophe,

It would appear that you may very well be correct as I have located three more badges in Russia and purchased them late last night.

I will check the screwnut on the three I have just ordered as soon as they arrive. The dealer says these are Russian from the 1970's (see my post just before this one).

Cheers

Brian

Hello fellows,

In doing some more research I found a dealer in Russia who had some of thses badges. He didn't have the #1 badge but has #s 2 and 3 as well as one with an "M" on it. I have purchased these three badges and they are on their way to me, I'll post the lot as soon as they arrive.

The dealer says that they are Russian Army classification badges from the 1970s and that the one with the "M" on it stands for "Master" which I would think would be the higest qualification level. Now I need to find out what the blue background signifies. One other one I saw with a red background was advertised by another dealer as Internal Affairs Ministry (MVD).

Could it be that the blue simply stands for the army and not a specific trade in the armed forces?

Cheers

Brian

It is a cap badge for elite troops of JNA (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija / Yugoslav People's Army).

Many thanks for the information,SasaYU.

Cheers

Brian

Hello Everyone,

I like to do as much research as possible before asking for help from my fellow forum members as I believe that is what the internet and this forum in particular are for. I had searched through several Soviet badge sources regarding the hat badge I was asking about before posting it here. Thanks to Rick moving it to this thread I started to look for it and low and behold I found it.

I was looking under the wrong thread! Oh well that all part of learning.

Thanks again for the information and the nudge in the right direction, Rick.

You know what they say about teaching a man to fish for himself.

Cheers

Brian

That certainly seems like a 1960s pattern Soviet "Best" qualification badge for enlisted ranks, but much nicer than the usual quality for those. Given the Yugoslav maker, it may well be from there-- though I cannot imagine the independent Tito government aping Moscow's model in ANYTHING.

Will shift it over to Yugoslav to see if they can help you.

Thanks again Rick.

Cheers

Brian

Well, it's Yugoslav, so I'll move it over there.

Many thanks Rick, I have a lot to learn.

Cheers

Brian

Here is the reverse side showing the screw device.

Thanks again for your help.

Cheers

Brian

Hello Everyone,

As well as the blue enameled badge I posted earlier I also picked up a tiny "hat badge" (also marked "RARE" , this guy kills me). It seems too small for a hat badge, measuring 1 inch (25mm). For its size it seems to be fairly heavy though I doubt it is anything expensive like silver. There is a very small chip above the sickle but other than that the enamel is in good condition.

The screw device has IKOM and ZAGREB written on it.

Oh yes, the cost of this "RARE" badge was $5.00. It makes me wonder what he would have charged for something he would consider as common?

My questions are, is this a hat badge or a collar badge and is it an older style badge?

Any help you can give me is, as always, appreciated.

Cheers

Brian