WW2 Officer Katana

[jwburchell]

Gentlemen:

I politely ask for assistance and feedback from those on this Forum who know about WW2 Katana, an example of which I have just acquired.

From what I have been able to determine by reviewing threads here, I believe that what I have is an Imperial era army officer (gunto) sword with a fully machine-made blade.

There is no edge or temper line on this otherwise beautiful blade.

There are markings on both sides of the tang which I assume are arsenal assembly or manufacturing stamps that will perhaps indicate where, when and hopefully who had a hand in making this katana.

I hope that the pictures which I am posting will enable those in the know to verify and determine the origin details of this blade. I would be grateful to have this information and to know the model and type of pattern of this sword.

Thanks and regards,

John

[jwburchell]

More

[jwburchell]

Blade areas close to the hilt & tip:

[Steve Flanagan]

Sword

Nice Japanese Shingunto sword, if it doesnt have an edge it was probably ground off by the vet to keep his kids safe, that happened every now and then. Any photos of the tang?

[jwburchell]

Tang markings/stampings:

[jwburchell]

More:

[jwburchell]

Spine and tip of tang:

[jwburchell]

The decorative and functional part fitted onto the sword at the hilt:

[jwburchell]

Thank you, Steve. Yes, upon close examination under magnification I see exactly what you mean - this blade has apparently very carefully had the fine edge removed and been dulled. Unfortunate, perhaps, but nonetheless done for a good reason...and the first thing I have learned about this sword!

[Budo45]

Hiromitsu, dated 1943
http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/hiromit2.jpg

it does have a hamon, just hard to see as its out of polish.

[jwburchell]

Thank you very much for your feedback, "Budo45". This is encouraging to know that the blade does have a hamon.

In your opinion, would it be desirable to have an edge put back on the blade of this sword and/or have it put back into proper polish, such that the details of the hamon are clearly visible?...all work being done by a properly-qualified person, of course.

I assume that such work would be expensive, perhaps prohibitively so given that this is a machine-forged blade versus a traditionally-forged one.

If such an undertaking would improve the desirability and value of the sword, I may proceed to have that done.

John

[Stu W]

Hi John,

Having a qualified polisher such as Moses Becerra or Bob Benson restore the blade would run you at the very minimum over 100 USD per inch of blade. Not worth doing to restore a gunto in my view. Unless I've missed something special about your piece the retail value in today's market would be about 1400 USD if the edge had not been blunted. Less now that it has been. I'd suggest you enjoy it just as it is.

Regards,
Stu

[Budo45]

Stu is spot on about cost and if its worth it, id get a maintenance kit and uchiko the heck out of it and you'll see results, do it twice a week or so and after a few months you'll see rewards for your hard work, plus its very relaxing and some what meditative if done with some ceremony and quite time.
http://www.japanese-swords.com/pages/maint.htm

[jwburchell]

My thanks to both Stu and Budo45 for their helpful feedback and advice.

[pdawg1911]

Stu is spot on about cost and if its worth it, id get a maintenance kit and uchiko the heck out of it and you'll see results, do it twice a week or so and after a few months you'll see rewards for your hard work, plus its very relaxing and some what meditative if done with some ceremony and quite time.
http://www.japanese-swords.com/pages/maint.htm

Thanks for link. Very useful information.

Regards,
Pat