My first Japanese NCO "samurai" sword

[coolldad]

thanks guys, i dident show my nambu, but its minty. i regret selling off a bunch of katana's i had years ago for german blades. so now i'm picking up katana's again.

[Brian Wolfe]

Hi Cooldad,

I would really like to see the Nambu, if you have the time please post it. I've always wanted one but the prices and availability of them here in the North kept me without one.

Cheers

Brian

[coolldad]

not exactly on the sword topic. but here is the nambu on request.

coolldad

[coolldad]

other side

[Brian Wolfe]

Hi Coolldad,

Nice Nambu. It is in quite good condition as well. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Cheers

Brian

[pvon]

Some nice swords guys!

Never can get too many!

PVON

[lach470]

You're right! Never can get enough: I'm fighting the urge to try and find another!!!

Cheers!

Rob

[pvon]

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

[lach470]

I, and the others look forward to seeing your collection Paul! Won't be long before you're posting pics!

Cheers!

Rob

[Brian Wolfe]

You're right! Never can get enough: I'm fighting the urge to try and find another!!!

Cheers!

Rob

Hi Rob,

Don't fight the urge, give in to the dark side.

Cheers

Brian

[papasha]

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".

[papasha]

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

[lach470]

Hello Igor! Thanks for that info! So I guess it would be safe to assume that my sword was made in Tokyo? Thanks again!

Rob

[Guest IMHF]

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

[roblenzz]

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

[Bruce Pennington]

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)