Type 97 Naval Kai-gunto

Axis Powers > Japanese > Edged Weapons >

Here's a decent Kai gunto that has a nice blade but needs some TLC as it's all a bit loose. Nothing that can't be dealt with and probably would make a good entry level example for a new collector. The 25 inch hand-made blade's got a decent temper line that gradually fades out towards the tip. rates Exc++. There are a few odd surface scratches but no chips or nicks to the cutting edge. The tip looks good. I love the wave pattern temper line on this. The tang is nicely signed. The scabbard is black polished shark skin over wood, with gold plated brass fittings. Each fitting depicts cherry blossoms and leaves over a pebbled background. The scabbard body is in fairly good condition with some minor spots and scuffs throughout. The dent free scabbard is the type with a release latch. The tsuba is a chemically blackened bronze oval with decorative lines surrounding the beautifully detailed seppa's depicting the rising sun. The handle is a hand fitted wooden sleeve wrapped in unpolished black shark skin and wrapped again in a twisted silk tape. Some of the black shark skin under the wrap is missing as you can see from the pics. The two menki's depict three cherry blossoms on three disks each. The fittings are gold plated brass. The ishizuke nicely matches the kabutogane. Included is a nice serviceable tassel.