[A. G. Maisey]

Taking a trip back to Birmingham, England between about 1958 and 1970, a major, very well known UK antique weapons dealer was using the mechanical damascus and wootz blades from Indian tulwars to create blades for well made but very fake Indian daggers.

At that time there was no internet and no international exchange of information, these daggers appeared in auction houses all over the world, they appeared in the catalogues of reputable dealers, they now rest in old collections.

When the Indian craftsmen caught on to what those Evil Englishmen were doing --- well, goodness, gracious me, they short-circuited the process and began turning out even better daggers than the Englishmen did. These Indian productions are still floating around and occasionally will be seen in most unexpected places.

I wonder what happened to all the hilts from those tulwars that were cut up to make daggers?

People tend to forget just how cheap tulwars were in the 1970's and 1980's. In the early 1980's I could buy Indian tulwars from dealers in Australia for prices varying from $5 to $25. Not masterpieces to be sure, but good, solid weapons with well made functional blades.