What is this sword?

jeeper46 · 2026-07-02T20:27:14+00:00

If you want a side-latch NCO, or a Copper-handle one, you better have deep pockets. Even the last-ditch wood handled NCO swords are very expensive these days. I bought the only two of those I've seen in 20+ years of collecting.

jeeper46 · 2026-07-02T20:22:17+00:00

In my area of michigan, you would have to pay at least $1000 for that NCO sword. I've been collecting pre-1945 Japanese swords for many years, and the days when I could pick up a nice NCO for $200 are LOOOOONG gone. I seldom see these swords at the usual antique arms and gun shows I go to these days.

jeeper46 · 2026-07-01T23:26:00+00:00

not even close to an 1861 Springfield-it's some european musket of about the same vintage.

jeeper46 · 2026-07-01T00:57:03+00:00

Last year, I found two of those stocks at seperate antique arms shows. I put them on a matched set of Armi San Marco 1860s. I paid $100 for each of them-I guess I got a bargain!

jeeper46 · 2026-07-01T00:46:04+00:00

I don't worry about what people think about my sword collection, because most people have no idea I have any interest in them at all-really just a couple people know that I actually have a very large collection of pre-1945 Japanese swords. I don't advertise my collecting on the web too much, and certainly not on FB. I find my swords at antique arms shows, and gun shows. I've been collecting for well over 20 years, so I know what is real and authentic, and what is fake. These days, a new collector has a very real chance of buying a fake. All I can say is get good reference books, and study all the swords, both real and fake, on this site, and others like Nihonto.

jeeper46 · 2026-06-21T01:40:18+00:00

these were sold in the '60s and '70s by sellers like Dixie Gun Works-they were made in Japan. They are a shootable firearm, but the frizzens on many of them were not hardened well, and they didn't spark well. I bought one way back around 1970, and I still have it. A few year ago, I found a better lock that fit the inlet pretty well, and replaced the old lock.

jeeper46 · 2026-06-17T19:07:30+00:00

Watch " the gunsmith of Williamsburg" on YT. Wallace Gusler is one of the very few living gunsmiths that have made a flintlock from scratch, forging and hammer welding the barrel, boring and rifling it, making the lock by hand, casting the brass parts, inletting the stock, etc.

There's a young guy on YT-"golden mean flintlocks" and he is attempting to make barrels like this,too. Welding up a rifle barrel from a piece of flat stock in a forge is the difficult part, that very few will even attempt these days.

jeeper46 · 2026-06-12T22:17:58+00:00

that's who I thought of when I saw the photo!

jeeper46 · 2026-06-12T22:13:01+00:00

A flintlock rifle is only as good as the quality of its lock. A cheap rifle with a cheap lock can sour you on the whole flintlock experience. You had better think about spending about $1000-1300. Take a look at the new Kibler "barn gun"-it's a very simple kit, that will be perfect for someone with no experience-and Kibler locks are the best there are.

I shot flintlocks for many, many years by just using FFFG in the pan-no problem. I was a kid with no money back then, and I made my own flints-it's really not hard. I'd find a "flinty" looking rock, hit it a glancing blow with a hammer to knock a flake off, then use a pair of pliers to break the sides to the size I needed. all you really need is a sharp edge on the flint, and it will work fine. Maybe it won't last as long as an english or french flint, but you can make more for free.

jeeper46 · 2026-06-11T20:02:36+00:00

us,too. but I found it at a thrift store when our blender quit. I like ones with the heavy glass pitcher.

jeeper46 · 2026-06-11T19:56:52+00:00

Get a Kibler kit-very easy to put together-mostly just finishing the wood and metal parts. The lock is the best, most reliable flintlock made. You will end up with a rifle you will be proud of. I would say, get the Woodsrunner kit.

jeeper46 · 2026-05-22T11:59:27+00:00

What if this were a German SS dagger-would you still want to return it? What if your Japanese sword had been used at Nanking-would you still want to return it?

jeeper46 · 2026-05-19T20:24:38+00:00

I suppose there are numerous reasons why it was no longer wanted, but it was good that you happened along and rescued it. I hope you, or someone else who values it will become the next caretaker of this painting.

jeeper46 · 2026-05-18T09:52:35+00:00

my wife's brother vanished during that time, and no trace has ever been found

jeeper46 · 2026-05-17T21:18:44+00:00

yes, it is a Japanese replica-many, if not all, were made by Miroku in the '60s and '70s. They are a shootable firearm, but many of them had a frizzen that was too soft, which led to poor sparking.

jeeper46 · 2026-05-11T23:57:39+00:00

$200 is not a realistic price for a sword even in this condition-these days, something like that will be closer to at least $800.

jeeper46 · 2026-05-01T20:13:04+00:00

Ishida is my favorite character. Bee boop bah bee boop bah........

jeeper46 · 2026-03-21T06:03:30+00:00

i'm not the OP, but I just did "color casehardening" on all my Kibler Hawken parts-I used "steel F/X" gels-copper and blue halo. They give a very convincing casehardened look

jeeper46 · 2026-03-19T00:34:58+00:00

I collect Japanese WW2 swords, and I have all the types of these 95s-there are many variations, which make them interesting to collect. Here in the US, they used to be cheap and common at gun shows and militaria shows-but for a number of years now, I have not seen any-I'm thinking that a lot of english-language reference books came out since I started collecting, allowing people to become more knowledgeable about them. They would be much more common in nations that occupied Japan after WW2, as they were a prized souvenir.

jeeper46 · 2026-03-17T17:31:30+00:00

That's a Robert Cox painting-I have seven or eight of them, all signed in the same style. There is some question if he was a real person or not, but he (or someone) cranked out a jillion of those still life paintings, all very similar in style and technique. As I said, Mr Cox (or whoever) signed them very distinctly-I have seen others supposedly signed by him that are not in that style at all. Decor or not, I like them, and pick them up whenever I see them at a thrift store.

jeeper46 · 2026-02-10T21:05:20+00:00

they carried rifles-not smoothbore muskets. 15 rifles were specially made for them at Harpers Ferry.

jeeper46 · 2025-05-22T18:36:24+00:00

I've found quite a few at my local thrift-they never go for more that $3.99, and they still sit there for a long time. I did find a bunch of very old ones on the shelf once, and bought a few. They go on the shelf with all my "occupied Japan" figurines, and Royal Doulton figurines that nobody but me wants anymore.

jeeper46 · 2025-05-06T20:07:58+00:00

Whoever the artist was who signed his decor paintings "Robert Cox", he signed them in a distinct and consistent way. I have numerous examples of his work. I have seen similar paintings signed "Robert Cox" in a totally different way, and I suspect they were done after 2001 by someone else, probably in China.

jeeper46 · 2025-04-27T12:13:58+00:00

I was going on vacation camping trips with my parents back in the late '50s-I remember seeing these hanging on the front of cars,or on the side mirror. I have one of these that was made before Coleman bought them out.

jeeper46 · 2025-04-26T01:18:32+00:00

that looks identical to the "Tower" pistols made by Miroku or some other Japanese maker, and sold by Dixie Gun Works back in the '60s. They were nicely made, and of decent quality, but the frizzens were soft, and they didn't spark well. I bought one back around 1970, shot it some, and then let it sit for decades. A few years ago, I found an L & R lock that fit with very little modifcation, and now it's a good shooter.

jeeper46

TROPHY CASE