Type 98 Shin Gunto Japanese WWII Katana 1060

Geisha’s Blade 1060 version of an almost exact replica of a Type 98 Shin Gunto Japanese WWII Katana used by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII.

Even though this is just a replica and doesn’t have the history behind it, we can honestly say that this is better than the real ones being sold in antique shops here in the Philippines with a price tag ranging from PHP 50,000 – PHP 100,000, but the condition is very poor: the blade is heavily rusted, some of the fittings are missing, the tsukamaki (handle wrapping) and saya are destroyed, etc. Not to mention that most of these swords have a machine made blade.

To fully restore a sword in such condition would cost you more. If the sword has a believable provenance, that’s the only time a WWII memorabilia collector would pay for such amount for a badly damaged sword. For a sword collector, it’s not worth the price. However with our version, not only are the fittings are an almost exact copy of an original Type 98 Shin Gunto, the blade is truly hand forged and in perfect condition.

The habaki on this sword features a “neko-gaki” or cat scratch pattern (also called falling rain) which is uncommon to see on Type 98 Shin Gunto or even on modern production swords, but usually seen on nihonto with high quality koshirae (sword fittings).

SPECIFICATIONS
• Blade Material: 1060 carbon steel (mono-steel)
• Edge: Fully-sharpened
• Treatment: Hand Forged, Through Hardened, Heat Treated & Tempered, Water Quenched
• Blade Length: 28 inches
• Tsuka: 10.5 inches wood
• Saya: 30 inches wood matte black lacquered finish
• Tsuba / Fuchi / Kabutogane / Menuki / Habaki / Seppa / Kuchigane / Haikan / Semegane / Ishizuki: Solid brass
• Tsukaito: Brown synthetic silk
• Tassel: Blue-Brown (captain rank)
• Mekugi: 2 bamboo pegs
• Samegawa: Real ray skin panels
• Nakago: Full tang
• Hamon: Wirebrushed notare (wave) pattern

NOTES
• Specs may vary slightly from sword to sword
• Can be disassembled
• Includes cloth bag
• Packaging: carton box