This weekend's gun show: Japanese gold mine

[GHP]

昭和廿年一月
Shōwa nijūnen ichigatsu
Shōwa 20th Year, 1st Month
January 1945

兼清
kanekiyo

--Guy

[Stu W]

Thank you Stu for the help. I guess my friend mixed up the math for 43 and 45 (oh well). Anyway I'm glad the sword is still in decent shape but the blade is a little dirty. Is there any kind of oil that I can use to try and clean it up a bit? That and one chip out of the tip of the blade are the only drawbacks to this piece. Other than that it is in great shape.

There are different ways to write the date for 20 so he may yet be correct. I've sent a PM to Guy to confirm or correct me. He will respond ASAP. He can read this ... I have to use flashcards and occasionally am incorrect.

As to cleaning. Various schools of thought here. Some say leave it as is. Others will buff it to a high shine. As it's not a treasure of any sort I'd start by wiping it down with alcohol to clean off whatever comes easily. Once that was done I'd re-assess the situation. If most of the dirt/soil is oil and loose dust/dirt then it should be good to go at that point. You could then apply a very, very (did I mention very?) light coat of oil on it. Sewing machine oil works well. Just a few drops spread over the surface is fine. Any more and you run the risk of it attracting dust and then gumming up the interior of the saya.

Regards,
Stu

[Stu W]

昭和廿年一月
Shōwa nijūnen ichigatsu
Shōwa 20th Year, 1st Month
January 1945

兼清
kanekiyo

--Guy

Wow! That was fast. Thanks Guy.

Regards,
Stu

[burb1989]

Thank you all so much for the help. I guess being made in 45 makes it a "last ditch" sword then? Anyway I'll put a small dab of sewing machine oil on it and see how it cleans up. This makes my second sword and so far I've been two for two on originals. Here's hoping I don't end up buying a fake in the future .

[GHP]

Japanese numbers can be "challenging" (i.e., so confusing and frustrating that you want to tear out your hair).

10 is normally 十 [but can be 壱拾 or just 拾]

20 is normally 二十 but can be two 十十 put together: 廿 [or 弐拾]

30 is normally 三十 but can be three 十十十 put together: 丗 [or 三〇 or 参拾].




Our next lesson [NOT!] will be zodiac years!


--Guy

[Stu W]

More great info Guy. Thanks. I'll be adding those to my flash cards.

Regards,
Stu

[Stu W]

... I guess being made in 45 makes it a "last ditch" sword then? ...

Not in my view. I consider your Type 3 to be a late war but not last ditch sword. There were versions that came later with inferior end of war fittings. Those I'd consider to be the last ditch stage.

You also mentioned;

"Here's hoping I don't end up buying a fake in the future."

You can avoid that by both studying the information found at these two linked sites as well as by posting photographs for opinion before paying for an item. Gunto are not rare. Don't rush into something that you have not checked out.

http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/

http://ohmura-study.net/900.html

Regards,
Stu