Sword type please .

[john mack]

I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS TYPE of hardware BEFORE , ANY ID WOULD BE APPRECIATED GUYS .

[john mack]

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[john mack]

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[RodneyO]

Kaigunto..IJN. The ashi, ishizuka and shibabiki are navy and the tsuba is missing the ray seppa. The tuska ito looks like it's done in an army style, navy was wrapped differently. The menuki I'm not sure of and not your typical navy one, but might have been a personal piece and when the tsuka ito was redone??
Could have been used by a NLF officer?

[RodneyO]

Hi John, here my kaigunto mounts for comparison.
Ashi, ray seppa and shibabiki:

[RodneyO]

tsuka ito (with typical IJN menuki) & ishizuka:

[gunto]

Its not the standard type. It looks somehow late war , due to the missing sakura and leafs on the kabutogana and dragshoe.
Is the tsuba lose/rattle? Like missing some seppas?
The menuki looks old and the ito was also wrapped this way for navy. I have some kaiguntos with the same ito style.
Also the canvas indicates late war.

[Stu W]

I'm inclined to agree with gunto here in that the presence of dyed canvas in place of shark or ray skin indicates late war manufacture. I've also seen this sort of set-up with nothing more than the main tsuba yet still quite tight and without any evidence that the rayed seppa had ever been present.

Regards,
Stu

[john mack]

s

Yes stu , thats exactly the type you mention , the tsuba is tight without the ray fitting . Since ive never seen this type before I would be curious what these are worth . Blade is in nice condition .

[RodneyO]

Hi gunto,
I didn't notice the missing sakura & leaves missing from the drag. My mistake on the ito, searched and found other kai guntos with the same style wrapping.

Stu, the lining/canvas under the ito looks similar to one of my late war Army shin gunto. If I recall, when I took apart my kai gunto, you could see an outline of the larger ray seppa on the tsuba.

Guess I have to hit the books and study & learn more. Thanks for the lesson on late war kai gunto !

Aloha,
Rodney

[john mack]

Thanks

Thanks for the information guys , Always learning here at the WAF .