Jump to content
News Ticker
  • I am now accepting the following payment methods: Card Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal
  • Latest News

    My first Japanese NCO "samurai" sword


    lach470

    Recommended Posts

    • 2 months later...

    Well when they let me post pics I will share many pics of Japanese swords

    I have had!

    I just sold a couple officers on ebay 1 week ago and they don't last long!

    NCO's used to be cheap but the demand for them has caused them to sell fast!

    PVON

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    • 3 months later...

    It seems to be an NCO gunto type 95 (middle type with plain blackened iron guard (tsuba),

    blackened iron ferrule (fichi) and blackened washers).

    Character on the blade - Tokyo First Army Arsenal inspection mark. This character (To) is the first character of Tokyo. It means "east". Tokyo means "east capital city".

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Regarding marks.

    Photo is not very clear.

    It seems to be an NCO gunto type 95 (initial type with painted aluminium hilt and brass aoi-shaped guard).

    Marks from right to left:

    - star - Tokyo First Army Arsenal trademark (April 1940-1945)

    - character "To" - Tokyo First Army Arsenal inspection mark. The stamp is not of good quality. The same character must be on the blade on the right sider of a number.

    -Suya Shoten Co., Ltd. - private sector company trademark (mark is not so clear on the photo).

    Best regards,

    Igor

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Hi Rob,

    I don't know what the mark stands for, it's not in any of my reference books. I'll post a photo of the markings on my sword.

    I have a few photos on my collection that I will post first.

    Cheers

    Brian

    You have a very beautiful display there: Thank you for showing your collection

    God Bless

    SSG Luna, Lorenzo

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    • 4 years later...

    I'm sorry to rekindle this old topic but I too just aquired my first Japanese NCO sword and it seems to have similar markings and was wondering if anyone can tell me about the first stamp on my fuchi. I see the Koishikawa Arsenal in the middle and on my blade and the Osaka Arsenal mark at the end but can't find the first mark. Any help? Thank you

    DSC05155.jpg

    DSC05156.jpg

    DSC05160.jpg

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    • 12 years later...
    On 04/07/2007 at 17:44, lach470 said:

    I know one is an arsenal stamp but if you have more info - I'd love to hear about it!

     

    Cheers gang!

    OLD THREAD UPDATE

     

    Rob,

    The stamp on your original sword, page 1, is the "TO" of the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal inspector.  Tokyo 1st didn't make any effort to stamp the steel fuchi on swords.  Nagoya Arsenal tried, but being steel, they resisted taking a good stamping.

     

    With a 5-digit serial number, your blade was more likely made around 1938-1940.  The 95s started with copper handles which were made for around 10 months of 1937-1938.  So, your aluminum handle had to be later than that.

    On 12/05/2012 at 16:09, roblenzz said:

    I'm sorry to rekindle this old topic but I too just aquired my first Japanese NCO sword and it seems to have similar markings and was wondering if anyone can tell me about the first stamp on my fuchi. I see the Koishikawa Arsenal in the middle and on my blade and the Osaka Arsenal mark at the end but can't find the first mark. Any help? Thank you

    Your stamps are of the Iijima Token factory (left), TO inspector mark, Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal (center), and Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal stamp (right).  The presence of the star tells us this gunto was made at or after 1942 as that is when the Kokura Army Arsenal stopped supervisory duty.  Prior to that you would have seen the stacked cannonballs of Kokura.

    You can read all about these on Ohmura's site here: 造兵廠の標識 An Arsenal trademark and inspection mark (ohmura-study.net)

     

     

    1473954643029.jpg

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...

    Important Information

    We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.