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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2009 16:02:02 GMT
I need to go back and double check, but I thought I recalled seeing guntos going for quite a bit at some reputable antique sword auctions and shops. I will have to look for that when I get home tonight. It wouldn't surprise me, though, that authentic ones do not hold all that much value right now, and I'm not sure that being machine made means a lot. The simple fact is is that they are what, at most 75 years old? I'd like to think that, if properly cared for, they will increase in value as there is some actual history that can be tied to them. IIRC they were given to Japanese officers, though I don't know if one got a gunto by virtue of being an officer or if there were other requirements. Lets face it - there are a lot of officers in an army, so there are probably a ton of these out there. Here's an interesting link. Looks like there were hand-forged and machined guntos. swordforum.com/swords/nihonto/cleaninggunto.html
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Post by sicheah on Oct 9, 2009 16:53:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2009 18:06:21 GMT
That last one looks a lot like the knock-off I got on eBay a few years back....but I bought mine for a penny and paid $100 for shipping. LOL
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2009 18:58:57 GMT
You can see the difference in the hilt between the two ebay ones and the one initially posted. The ebay hilts looks a lot more like the ones on mine.
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Post by Dan Davis on Oct 12, 2009 12:18:59 GMT
The first one is authentic; second is fake. Giveaway on the fake sword is the blade geometry.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2009 22:57:46 GMT
I don't understand. What in the blade geometry is giving it away as fake?
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Post by Dan Davis on Oct 13, 2009 12:05:47 GMT
So, how to explain a lifetime of studying nihonto in a sentence or two...
There are a myriad of little things about this blade that don't add up, or rather, they add up to the conclusion that this is a fake. I will try to cover the most basic of them.
The age, patina and corrosion on the nakago indicate that this is a fairly new sword.
In fact, that alone indicates that this blade is less than 10 years old and has been artificially aged rather than accreting it's patina naturally, but this is beside the point.
Shin gunto were produced to a pattern, and even those that were hand forged complied with those rules. I have a hand-forged Nobu-mitsu showato from that period and it still complies with the governmental rules as to shape and geometry.
The only exceptions to those rules were family blades remounted in military furniture; such blades would of necessity be at least shin-shinto period blades if not older.
This blade does not conform to shin-gunto standards, therefore to be authentic it would have to pre-date the Meiji restoration and it clearly does not.
ERGO, fake.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2009 1:54:26 GMT
So, how to explain a lifetime of studying nihonto in a sentence or two... There are a myriad of little things about this blade that don't add up, or rather, they add up to the conclusion that this is a fake. I will try to cover the most basic of them. The age, patina and corrosion on the nakago indicate that this is a fairly new sword. In fact, that alone indicates that this blade is less than 10 years old and has been artificially aged rather than accreting it's patina naturally, but this is beside the point. Shin gunto were produced to a pattern, and even those that were hand forged complied with those rules. I have a hand-forged Nobu-mitsu showato from that period and it still complies with the governmental rules as to shape and geometry. The only exceptions to those rules were family blades remounted in military furniture; such blades would of necessity be at least shin-shinto period blades if not older. This blade does not conform to shin-gunto standards, therefore to be authentic it would have to pre-date the Meiji restoration and it clearly does not. ERGO, fake. Now that's an explanation I can go with . I don't mean to question your expertise and knowledge with questions like that, but I don't learn anything otherwise. I have two of them that I am sure are authentic, but I wouldn't mind having someone take a look at some pictures and get their opinion. What's the best way to take snaps to give the most information, keeping in mind that my camera is a phone?
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