Original WWII Japanese Army Officer P-1944 Shin-Gunto Katana Sword by KATSUNORI with Capture Tag - Dated 1945 Martini-Henry Parts as expected for an item

as expected for an item of this age and how much use it must have seen

It is however missing a chunk torn off in storage somehow

The grip is a very nice ivory colored celluloid over a wood base

we can tell it was once marked:-  BIRMINGHAM SMALL ARMS TRADE in a circle around a Crown over the B

The Wendl saw extensive service even after it was declared obsolete in the 1880s as it was issued to reserve regiments during the First World War and only finally becoming fully retired in 1918

Original WWII Japanese Army Officer P-1944 Shin-Gunto Katana Sword by KATSUNORI with Capture Tag - Dated 1945 Martini-Henry Parts as expected for an itemOriginal Item: Only One Available. Purchased recently at a large military auction, this is a very nice late war style mid grade Japanese officer Katana, with an arsenal made blade. It is in the standard 1944 pattern fittings, officially known as the (Rinji Seikishi) or "Special Contingency" version of the Type 98 Shin Gunto ( kyhachi shiki gunt) setting. These fittings, while often called the P 1944, were in fact designed in 1938, but didn't really