(UK) Aylesbury man caught with samurai sword stash

[Dial H For Hero]

https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/19989858.aylesbury-man-caught-samurai-sword-stash/

A Bucks man has been caught with a private stash of samurai swords.

Lee Hanson, 34, of Petronel Road, Aylesbury, has been ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service after he was caught with the two swords in Eaton End, Aylesbury.

The weapons were discovered on January 26.

At a hearing at Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on February 25, Hanson pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place.

(Excerpt)

Apparently a “stash” is now any number of items greater than 1.

It is comforting to know that Aylesbury is now free of the scourge of katana and wakizashi attacks.

[yagotme]

1. "Stash".

Heaven forbid they see my edged collection. They'd wet their twisted up panties. I wonder if they were the real deal, or the "hollow" ones they sell overseas.

[Dial H For Hero]

2. I would presume that they were modern reproductions, as are 99% of such swords in private hands.

Mind you, the one Wakizaki in my collection has been certified to have been manufactured in the 15th century.

[yagotme]

3. Very nice!!

I would like to find a ww2 era NCO or officer sword for my display. I do weapon/equipment displays at reenactments, and the Pacific theater is usually not represented very well at the ones I normally attend. Nothing fancy, as my buddy and I do hands-on demonstrations with the public. A lot of folk hear about some of these weapons, maybe have seen one or two, but have never held one. The kids get a kick out of it, as a lot of them know them from games.

I asked about the swords being hollow, as when I was in Okinawa, you could have the hollow swords, but not a solid one. If you were to sharpen a hollow one, it falls apart (supposedly).

[Dial H For Hero]

4. I recently purchased my wakizashi from International Military Antiques. Highly recommended.

Genuine WW2 era military issue katanas start at around $1,000 for really rough ones. A decent one will likely set you back at least $2,000. You may wish to consider getting a Japanese M1899 cavalry saber instead. Still military issue in WW2, and a lot less expensive. A nice one can be had for $400 to $500.



As for hollow blades, that's the first I've heard of them.

[yagotme]

5. Thanks for the info!

Yes, the hollow blades were dull, and were designed that if you tried to put an edge on one, the blade would fail. That way, you could have a sword display set up, and still be "legal". Like a non-firing replica machine gun for a display.

Hmm, did a search, didn't find any quick answers to the hollow blade swords. Probably a Japan-only deal, (cheap, legal display swords to sell to Americans), but a lot of places had them back in the day (80's, 90's).