Gold-painted WWII Shin-gunto Mystery

BruceWP · 9 Dec 2014

I've recently bought 2 WWII NCO guntos, one early war and the the other late war, from two different sellers, but both painted gold! I was tempted to strip the paint and repaint in original colors, but I recently saw two more guntos on the web (one an NCO, one an officer) painted in the same gold! My original idea was that some US GI got home with a sword and decided to "make it look better" and painted it gold, but now after seeing 4 of them, all in different hands, I'm beginning to wonder! Does anyone know about a possible practice among the WWII Japanese of painting their swords gold? Any idea who or where I could research this issue?

Majestic · 9 Dec 2014

Hello BruceWP, I've never heard of anyone painting their swords gold. It so unusual it would make me run in the opposite direction. In addition to the practical aspects of a soldier securing gold paint 70 years ago, it would be counter-intuitive to have a sword scabbard that would stand out, both for aesthetic reasons and camouflage reasons. Seems very odd indeed.

The two swords in the right of the picture seem to be Type-95 swords. But the gold and silver paint makes me think they are either fake, or they were victim to someone thinking that a bit of gold paint would enhance their value. Mind you I'm judging them just by the outward appearance of the furnishings, so take my comments for what they are worth.

You may also try your luck at the Nihonto Message Board, which sees a lot of bizarre things in its forums. But the gents there probably will not think too highly of gunto that has been decorated with gold paint.

Guntō - Wikipedia
昭和10年制定陸軍九五式軍刀 Non-commissioned officers Gunto 1935/title>

BruceWP · 10 Dec 2014

Majestic said:
Hello BruceWP, I've never heard of anyone painting their swords gold. It so unusual it would make me run in the opposite direction. In addition to the practical aspects of a soldier securing gold paint 70 years ago, it would be counter-intuitive to have a sword scabbard that would stand out, both for aesthetic reasons and camouflage reasons. Seems very odd indeed.

The two swords in the right of the picture seem to be Type-95 swords. But the gold and silver paint makes me think they are either fake, or they were victim to someone thinking that a bit of gold paint would enhance their value. Mind you I'm judging them just by the outward appearance of the furnishings, so take my comments for what they are worth.

You may also try your luck at the Nihonto Message Board, which sees a lot of bizarre things in its forums. But the gents there probably will not think too highly of gunto that has been decorated with gold paint.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guntō
昭和10年制定陸軍九五式軍刀 Non-commissioned officers Gunto 1935/title>

Thanks for your thoughts on it! I'meaning toward the GI thinking it would look cool, idea too. The guntos are legit though. Fabulous blades. The early war blade is #92605, with a

BruceWP · 10 Dec 2014

BruceWP said:
Thanks for your thoughts on it! I'meaning toward the GI thinking it would look cool, idea too. The guntos are legit though. Fabulous blades. The early war blade is #92605, with a

(Sorry, text got cut off!) Ijima private factory and Kokura inspection stamps. The late war is #211894, Nagoya factory, great blades with only a small tip nick on the Kokura blade.

Gold-painted WWII Shin-gunto Mystery

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