The following pictures show some of the components of a sword.
The handle and all of the other components are casted as one piece. The scabbard consists of a wooden insert with a brownish metal cover. These swords were produced and distributed during World War Two. Click here for more information.The Japanese Samurai NCO sword is a machine made sword that was issued to soldiers who did not have their own family swords or for those who did not want to take their sword into combat. RIAC believes that this website is accessible to the widest possible audience pursuant to the guidelines of the Americans with Disability Act. Example 12 Example 13 Example 14 All of the Japanese swords in this group will be available in our May Premiere Firearms Auction and are fine examples of their place and time in history.Ĭlick to find out more about our May Premiere Auction. WWII Japanese Swordfighting Technique DemonstrationĮxamples 3 - 7, top to bottom Not every military man had the advantage of a fine martial lineage and inheritance, but some had the good fortune to get their hands on a Japanese sword freshly made in the traditional manner.
Please reload the page and login again.Įxample 1 Example 2 The rarest and in many ways most desirable solution was the refit of an already extant blade to a new regulation hilt. You have either logged in somewhere else or your session has expired. Swords in particular are always an item of interest, wit Skip To Content Press Enter Catalog Search. These days we see it on the battlefield, displayed on runways during fashion week, and everywhere in between. Example 14 has both the age and the signature for an antique blade, as well as evidence that it may have been shortened or adjusted in its lifespan, a common sight on older blades that were adjusted to match changes in tactics and fashion over the ages.Īll of the Japanese swords in this group will be available in our May Premiere Firearms Auction and are fine examples of their place and time in history.Įach would make an excellent addition to a collection of wartime Japanese swords or wartime artifacts. As an interesting contrast with the first two swords in this story, Example 12 features a stamped and signed Seki Arsenal blade combined with well-aged traditional fittings, while Example 13 is unsigned, but shows the right aging on the tang for an antique blade. Rounding out the grouping are a few more traditionally furnished Japanese swords. Many smiths, especially ones in the direct employ of the military such as the ones at the Seki Arsenal, where Ex. Examples 8 and 9 are also of interest, attributed as showa-era production but lacking both signatures and non-traditional markings, suggesting traditional blades by fully trained but less experienced smiths. One would be forgiven for presuming that the blade inside was equally rushed and compromised, but they would be dead wrong. Though restricted by available supplies of traditional tamahagane steel, these smiths did their best to keep up with demand. Not every military man had the advantage of a fine martial lineage and inheritance, but some had the good fortune to get their hands on a Japanese sword freshly made in the traditional manner. The samurai, while marginalized and suppressed, were far from gone, and many families still had an old, well cared for traditional Japanese sword to send to war with their sons. The rarest and in many ways most desirable solution was the refit of an already extant blade to a new regulation hilt.
With a massive number of regulation swords needed, compromises were required, some as rough as just slamming out a curved stainless steel blade with a machine press, acid etching a false temper line, and sending it to the quartermaster. With time, the classic forms would reassert themselves, but there was a problem with the classic techniques unlike a Western blade, which could be made at a very high rate of speed with machine assistance, traditional Japanese swords were the product of dedicated craftsmen using age-old materials and techniques. After the forced introduction of Japan to Western trade, the market for a traditional Japanese sword took a nose dive as a weapon, it was surpassed by the rifle, and as a cultural symbol it was suppressed by the government.Įmbracing the techniques of foreign military advisors, Western-style swords and sword manufacturing techniques were the order of the day for the early Imperial Japanese Army. Anything above that line was a treasure worthy of preservation language still seen on certification paperwork even todayand anything below was a mistake to be forgotten.