This is a Japanese Officers shin gunto from World War II. It has an overall length of 37", with a blade length of 27 1/4". This is a hand forged blade, signed by a highly sought after sword smith that produced swords from the 1930's through the end of the war. Unfortunately, I can't read Japanese, and I lost the translation of his name. If someone out there can help me out with that I'd really appreciate it! The wooden hilt is covered in marine skin, then wrapped in green lacing (ito). The marine skin and ito are both very tight to the hilt, with the top and bottom areas of the ito showing wear from use. The ornamental decorations (menuki) on each side of the hilt are iron, and appear to be older than the WWII period. The top of the hilt has a brass mount (kabuto gane) with an attractive floral design. The brass collar at the base of the hilt also carries over with the floral design. All the brass pieces, to include the shims, have a matching dark golden patina. The wooden pin (mekugi) that retains the hilt to the tang is a modern replacement. The guard (tsuba) is iron and also appears to be older than the WWII period. It has traces of gold leaf work of a floral design on both sides, but it it hard to see without a lighted magnifier. It would appear that the officer who owned this sword had the iron and brass pieces from an older family sword put on this one. The blade collar (habaki) has a deep copper patina. The hand forged blade has an overall bright appearance, a just a touch of age spots near the tip of the blade. This blade has a temper line (hamon) that can be seen three feet away! The edge is free of nicks or any other damage. The sword is secured to the leather covered, wooden scabbard by a single snap mounted on a piece of leather coming through the guard. The leather is very fragile, and almost broken in half. The single, brass mounted scabbard is made of wood and covered in brown leather. The leather shows wear from handling, but is in very good condition. This Japanese Officer's shin gunto will make a nice addition to your WWII Japanese collection.

Item # AA2812

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