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 "Last Ditch" 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, and a new design scabbard to match. To further decrease production time, the fuller from the machine made blade was removed, and in the final version, the scabbard material was changed from steel to painted steel fitted wood. This is the first time that we have had one of these extremely rare "last ditch" examples! The blade is 26 1/8 inches long, with an overall length of 36 7/8 inches.

All NCO swords were numbered. This example is marked on the blade with ヘ 二 301637, which is the serial number after two series indicators. There is no serial number marked on the scabbard, which seems to be correct for the last ditch type. 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. 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 bright, but definitely shows the crude level of manufacture seen late in the war. It looks to have seen some past oxidation, now cleaned away. It is still quite sharp, and should definitely handled with care. The wooden grip shows wear and there is some oxidation present on the fittings. The handle is still tight on the blade, while the cross guard and seppa are a bit loose, and the fittings have a lovely aged patina.

The wooden scabbard on these "last ditch" examples is made from two pieces of wood, which have fabric put over the seams, and then the entire body is painted. This example shows traces of gold paint under the olive green paint, so it may have been repurposed from another scabbard. The olive paint is well retained, as is the black paint on the cast iron fittings. We can see some of the original fabric seam covering where the olive paint is worn.

Overall lovely "last ditch" WWII Type 95 NCO "Pineapple" Katana with a final model wooden scabbard that will appreciate in value over the coming years. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 26 1/8"
Blade Style: Katana
Overall length: 36 7/8“
Scabbard Length: 30 1/4"