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Old 7th January 2020, 07:05 PM   #1
Martin Lubojacky
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Default Sword "made in Japan" in Ethiopia

During Menelik II and Haile Selassie I, (blades of) swords and sabers were delivered to Ethiopia from many, or various at least, countries in Europe (e.g. Germany, France, UK, Italy, ...). It was surprise for me to discover this a little bit damaged Japan blade in Addis Ababa. The blade is ca 50 cms long, straight, relatively thick, nickel plated. The tongue of the handle is relatively long, curved (I did not see any inscription on it).
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Old 7th January 2020, 07:16 PM   #2
G. Mansfield
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Very interesting post Martin. Could it be a product of trade from the prewar era, specifically after the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce in 1930 into the beginning of the alliance of economic and military cooperation in 1931 and thereafter? It would be fascinating to know what kind of hilt was attached to the tang at that time!

-Geoff
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Old 7th January 2020, 08:46 PM   #3
David R
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Very interesting, and watching for more on this one.
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Old 7th January 2020, 10:37 PM   #4
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Interesting, but definitely not Japanese style. Very strange - looking for more discussion.
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Old 8th January 2020, 01:21 AM   #5
Edster
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Here's a link that describes the Japan Sword Company that is said to have made US naval swords before & after WW2. The logo stamp is the same as shown on subject sword.

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/foru...pany-purchase/
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Old 8th January 2020, 07:00 AM   #6
Martin Lubojacky
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Thank you.
So it seems, based on what Edster wrote, that the Japan Sword company delivered some swords to Ethiopia, probably during the Haile Selassie era, since the style of the blade is similar to those custom-designed straight-sword blades delivered from other countries.
This is the only "Japan Sword" blade I saw - in contrast to many German, UK, FR. Maybe the delivery was small or it was some gift... It is really a pity that the whole swor did not hang over.
Martin
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