WWII NCO sword???

I don't know alot about Japanese military swords, but usually it's in the hundreds of dollars depending on condition.

Some military swords are worth quite a bit, because underneath that military furniture sometimes lie a remounted antique blade. But from the looks of your picture, it is the mass produced variety. Still it's in very good condition and is perfect for personal collection.
 
I would agree with not2sharp's assessment.

Notice how the handle looks to be aluminum? This is pretty much trademark to NCO swords before the end of WW2. The blade is very obviously machine-made, as almost all of them were.

Nice assessment n2s, and nice piece Rob.
 
Thanks, guys.
A few more questions:
1) Are the sword numbers supposed to match the sheath (ideally?)
2) Also, what is the Japanese (?) symbol at the end of the blade numbers signify?
3) Is there an easy way to take the handle off to see if there are any further markings on the tang(?)?
Thanks,
Rob
 
Hello Bobby B. Ideally?? the sheath and handle numbers should match. As they are serial numbers, however it is hard to find a japanese military sword with matching numbers. The symbols at the end of the serial number on the blade and on the fuchi are probably arsenal marks. Meaning which arsenal made the sword. The marks on the fuchi appear to be from the Tokyo arsenal. The first being the arsenal mark and the second and third being inspectors marks. As for pricing I pretty much tend to agree with Mr. Martoz and N2s. $300 - $400. As for taking the handle off, I believe there is a screw or bolt that holds it on, could be wrong though. HOpe this is some help to you. Enjoy the sword.
 
OK,
Last questions, I promise...;)
1) Any idea on steel type?
2) I assume it would, by design, be "useable", it always has some grease on it to protect against corrosion/pitting.
3) How (or who) would I go about sharpening it. It seems to have been deliberately dulled. It doesn't appear damaged, though...:confused:
Thanks for all your help,
Rob:cool:
 
It seems to have been deliberately dulled.
Click to expand...

Most 19th and 20th century swords military sword patterns never had much of a real edge to begin with. My example of the NCO sword seems to be every bit as dull as yours, about as sharp as a good butter knife. The blade is some form of oil tempered tool steel, so you should be able to put an edge on it, but,I haven't tried it, and the edge RC is likely to be a bit low.

n2s
 
Originally posted by not2sharp


Most 19th and 20th century swords military sword patterns never had much of a real edge to begin with. My example of the NCO sword seems to be every bit as dull as yours, about as sharp as a good butter knife. The blade is some form of oil tempered tool steel, so you should be able to put an edge on it, but,I haven't tried it, and the edge RC is likely to be a bit low.

n2s
Click to expand...

Yours is that sharp?!?!:eek:
I think mine would make an effective bludgeon, or training sword... probably similar to yours. That begs the question: what was the intended use?

OK - I lied, there's another question...:footinmou
 
what was the intended use?
Click to expand...

There you go again asking all the hard questions. :D

The official line would probably be that the thing was issued as a weapon; and it may very well have been. It would have otherwise been hard to justify investing the resources to make these. In practice it would have been easy enough for someone to sharpen the thing if they so desired, or to use it as is, as a stabbing weapon - like a bayonet. They were probably used in the same way you and I would use them, were we to suddenly finds ourselves as combat NCO; to get the enlisted mens attention, help dress the lines, and perhaps to draw off some of the fire directed at our sword crazed officer corps. There is nothing like a good wack with one of these to help keep a sentry alert, and dull swords were often issued to 19th century police forces precisely for crowd control.

There was certainly no need to sharpen them for those kinds of uses. They were not knives, nor machetes, so putting an edge on them would have been of limited use, and would have unnecessarily weakened the blade.

n2s
 
N2S,
So bludgeon / training sword wasn't that far off!!:D
It's use was partially as a bludgeon to help with the training of cadets...:rolleyes:

Perhaps a cooking tool as well... you take the raw recruits, and batter them with it...:p

Thanks,
Rob
 
that looks a lot like the officer's sword my friend has and it's sharp despite decades of idle storage. it had a spring latch button on the handle (like the one i see in the pic) to release the balde form the scabard. and both officers and ngo's faught with sharpened swords during the war. beheadings were often carried out.

lastly, there were many accounts of classic face-offs between japanese offices with swords and FMA-trained guerillas in the central philippines during the war.
 
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