Woodwork fresh wwii officer's shin gunto

[Milton]

Hello forum. Fresh from a local house call yesterday, a very nice WWII Officer's Shin Gunto w/ painted aluminum scabbard. If anyone can take a stab (no pun intended), at translating the hilt I'd sure appreciate it. All of the washers / components (including the tsuba) have the same two-digit serial number, and the blade is very clean, w/ a nice temper line. This is the first of these I've come across w/ an aluminum scabbard. Are they any tougher to find than the standard steel / wood & leather combat covered types? Some pix below for your perusal. Thanks in advance for any help w/ the translation, etc.

[Milton]

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[Milton]

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[Milton]

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[Budo45]

Kunimoto, crudly cut mei, and i dont find one on JSI...will take some leg work to find out more about smith.

[Milton]

Thanks Budo. Please explain re. the "crudely" cut mei? Are you referring to the tang itself? Thx again, Milto.

[Der Texaner]

Can't help you with the sword, but congratulations, great find.

[Milton]

Thank You!

[Stu W]

Thanks Budo. Please explain re. the "crudely" cut mei? Are you referring to the tang itself? Thx again, Milto.

Hi Milto,

I believe he's referring only to the mei (signature) and the way it's been placed onto the tang. Some are delicately chiseled with an artistic flair, others not so much.

Regards,
Stu

[Milton]

OK Stu. Thank you for clearing that up for me. The "signature" looks pretty well incised, however I've not really had too many other frames of reference. As for the sword itself, it "seems" to be (imho), a well made piece. Thx again for your reply!

[Milton]

After showing this around today, the concencus from a few folks is that the blade is hand made and perhaps older than WWII. If anyone else can offer any additional insight on this sword, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Thanks!

[NLF]

It looks like it's dated 1945 or the fittings are stamped 20

[Milton]

Hello. No, the fittings all have a matching two digit number, but it's not a "20". If it IS a late war sword, it's extremely well made. Thx for your reply.

[Budo45]

more pix are needed, close ups of the hamune and hamon, id be great if you could show the hada as well, ask your self why the yellow stocking number is cut thru with the mei, one really cant tell from the pix what you have, I suspect the mei was added by a amateur, for sure needs a closer look.

[Milton]

Hello again Budo. I'd be glad to take more pix if need be. As for the painted characters over the incised Kanji, can't rightly say but I certainly have no concerns about it having been messed with at all (considering how and where I acquired it). I'll try and upload some more pix at my next opportunity. Thx again for the help!