Strawberry 9 Posted February 17, 2023 Share #1 Posted February 17, 2023 I am a WWII collector but this is my first sword. I'm going to be doing some research, but I thought I would reach out to more knowledgeable members here. This sword does have a aluminum grip which if I am correct makes it a NCO sword. The numbers do not match on the blade and the sheath. I'm really curious if the colors of the braiding mean something specific. The person I bought this from has had it for 40yrs. He bought it at a neighborhood garage sale when he was 12yrs old here in Chicago. He remembered that the gentleman he bought it from was a Marine, but couldn't remember his name unfortunately. Evidently, the Marine had stripped the sheath of its paint with the intention of repainting it. He never did. A friend of my wife's can read Japanese so I'm going to ask him to look at the markings. I'm excited to learn more about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shemp h. Posted February 17, 2023 Share #2 Posted February 17, 2023 Strawberry9 it is indeed an NCO sword, I collect Japanese militaria not swords but I beleive the Kanji in the fourth photo, which is upside down, is from left to right Kokura , I beleive the second Kanji is an inspectors mark, and Suya which is the name of the company that manufactured the sword at Kokura arsenal. I'm sure someone will come by and hopefully correct me if I'm wrong. Cheers, Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawberry 9 Posted February 17, 2023 Author Share #3 Posted February 17, 2023 Thanks Bill. I collect Japanese militaria also, but the vast majority of my collection is US and helmets in general. This became available and seemed like a nice "1st sword" given the condition and the price that I paid. Great info and I appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shemp h. Posted February 18, 2023 Share #4 Posted February 18, 2023 15 minutes ago, Strawberry 9 said: Thanks Bill. I collect Japanese militaria also, but the vast majority of my collection is US and helmets in general. This became available and seemed like a nice "1st sword" given the condition and the price that I paid. Great info and I appreciate it. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawberry 9 Posted February 18, 2023 Author Share #5 Posted February 18, 2023 I've looked into the braid and the one on the sword I have doesn't seem to match any of the ones I've found. Someone more knowledgeable than me says that it is not original to the sword also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shemp h. Posted February 18, 2023 Share #6 Posted February 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Strawberry 9 said: I've looked into the braid and the one on the sword I have doesn't seem to match any of the ones I've found. Someone more knowledgeable than me says that it is not original to the sword also. It's not, NCO swords had leather straps and knots. I think it was added post war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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