mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-Five years ago I started a serious search for an early "small ring" Type 14 Nambu pistol. Finally found exactly what I wanted at a small Illinois auction recently. Scored a complete rig with excellent holster and shoulder strap, rare original lanyard, spare magazine, firing pin and cleaning rod.
-This Type 14 was built in April 1929 by the Nagoya Army Arsenal at the Chigusa factory. It came with a early, non-matching Type I magazine. The spare mag is a much later built blued Kokubunji built Type VIII. The rest of the pistol is completely matching and in VG condition with just a tiny bit of corrosion behind the grips and at the rear of the frame. There's a bit of finish wear and a few dings on the grips. Luckily the safety was never dragged over the grips as is seen all too often.
-The marked holster was built between 1939-42 at Nagoya Arsenal and has an early shoulder strap with brass hardware and sporting an interesting field repair. Looks like the strap broke and a 6" section of another strap was spliced in with a tidy bit of sewing. The rare 7mm lanyard is brown in color and a bit dirty but in sound condition. Replacing this item would cost a pretty penny as they rarely come to market.
-Overall I'm so happy that the search is finally over and that I found exactly what I wanted. While the auction price of $1017 (including the vig) seems high at first blush it's dirt cheap when you add up the cost of the complete rig (lanyard and holster would probably fetch around $600 if sold separately).
-This Type 14 was built in April 1929 by the Nagoya Army Arsenal at the Chigusa factory. It came with a early, non-matching Type I magazine. The spare mag is a much later built blued Kokubunji built Type VIII. The rest of the pistol is completely matching and in VG condition with just a tiny bit of corrosion behind the grips and at the rear of the frame. There's a bit of finish wear and a few dings on the grips. Luckily the safety was never dragged over the grips as is seen all too often.
-The marked holster was built between 1939-42 at Nagoya Arsenal and has an early shoulder strap with brass hardware and sporting an interesting field repair. Looks like the strap broke and a 6" section of another strap was spliced in with a tidy bit of sewing. The rare 7mm lanyard is brown in color and a bit dirty but in sound condition. Replacing this item would cost a pretty penny as they rarely come to market.
-Overall I'm so happy that the search is finally over and that I found exactly what I wanted. While the auction price of $1017 (including the vig) seems high at first blush it's dirt cheap when you add up the cost of the complete rig (lanyard and holster would probably fetch around $600 if sold separately).
Awesome looking Nambu rig btw, I'd love to have one half as nice
Just remember, no Mark Ferry Auctions (never again, what a FUBAR auction that was).
