Early Japanese Navy Dagger

Axis Powers > Japanese > Edged Weapons >

This is a nice early 1883 patterned Imperial Japanese Naval Officer dirk that has taken a bullet. The single fullered 8.25", as measured from the habaki, blade on this one is a real beauty showing no age or damage, Nice! The fit is tight and the tip is perfectly pointed! The blade rates Exc++, just a couple rough spots to the cutting edge. The polished shark-skin saya (scabbard) is wood based and leathered and covered with lacquer. There's a chunk out of the obverse, where, why and who, I don't know! The saya has two brass based scalloped fittings. They show wonderful detail with several leaves and cherry blossoms throughout. The top clip works well! The brass based gilded crossguard looks good and is proofed with a mark I'm not familiar with, if you know what that is pls let me know. The ferrule and pommel cap are also brass based. They are nicely detailed with random pebbling a cherry blossom and leaves. The grip is tightly triple brass wire wrapped, over a white pebbled ray skin and seamed to the reverse. One of the wires is 2/3 missing. It has two cherry blossoms over the mekugi (peg). An example of a Japanese Naval dirk with some personality.