Original Late WWII Japanese Army Type 95 Wood "Pineapple" Handle NCO Katana with Matching Scabbard - No. 203306

Original Item: Only One Available. The end of WWII marked the beginning of the sword ownership ban in Japan. By law, Japanese citizens were forbidden to own swords. General McArthur did not want the general population to be able to arm again. Most soldiers and citizens surrendered their swords to the American occupying forces. The Americans destroyed a large number of swords by dumping them into the ocean or by melting them. But a small percentage made its way back to the United States and into the collector market.

This lovely example is a genuine late WWII Japanese Type 95 NCO Samurai Sword or katana, produced during the end of the war around 1945. At this time, to save aluminum, the design switched to a simple wooden hilt grip with incised cross-hatching, often called a "pineapple" grip. The mounts were changed to black painted iron, with the securing spring moved to the side, an a new design steel scabbard to match. To further decrease production time, the fuller from the machine made blade was removed. The blade is 26 3/8 inches long, with an overall length of 37 3/4 inches. NCO Katanas were issued to soldiers who did not want to take their family sword to battle or who came from poor families that did not have swords to pass down through the generations.

All NCO swords were numbered. This example has a matching serial number 203386 on both the blade and the throat of the scabbard. Most swords do not have matching numbers because somewhere along the life of the sword the scabbard was changed. The serial numbers both have a 関 marking to the left, for Seki Arsenal in Japan. Additionally, we can see very faint partial markings on the FUCHI ferrule where the grip meets the crossguard. As best we can tell the first marking starting on the left is the Seki arsenal marking, which looks like a 刀 (Sword) character inside concentric circles, with a partial 名 stamp for Nagoya in the middle, and to the right is symbol of Nagoya Arsenal, which looks like a big an small circle inside a larger one.

The sword is complete with the metal locking spring tab that secures the blade to the scabbard. This prevents the sword from falling when the soldier is running. Traditionally this function is assigned to the Habaki (blade collar). But machine made swords like this one do not have the accuracy of manufacturing that enable the Habaki to perform such a function.

Condition is very good, with a lovely lightly aged patina overall. The blade is still mostly bright, showing overall scuffing from use and cleaning, as well as some signs of past staining, now cleaned away. The blade definitely shows signs of use, and has some nicks and bends on the edge, and even more on the spine of the blade, possibly having been used to block some type of edged weapon. The edge was sharpened for use before this and it is definitely VERY sharp in areas, and should definitely be handled with care. The wood handled grip is in lovely condition, showing some staining around the metal fittings. The handle is still tight on the blade, while the end cap and cross guard are a bit loose, and the fittings have a lovely aged patina.

The scabbard is in very good condition, with most of the original olive brown paint retained, and a few dents near the drag. We can also see some scrapes and areas of missing paint, and it looks like the scabbard was actually repainted during the war after losing a good amount of paint. The fit and finish are definitely below the earlier type of NCO sword, making this a true 'last ditch' example, as all "pineapple grip" examples were.

Overall lovely late WWII Type 95 NCO "Pineapple" Katana that will appreciate in value over the coming years. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 26 3/8"
Blade Style: Katana
Overall length: 37 3/4“
Scabbard Length: 29"