Interesting thread, I am most happy that I was not the only one to find the hilts interesting in their own right. And in some ways easier to display, forming quiet an aesthetically pleasing display.
On the whole I find the hilts and blades to be untouched, I think some with a freshly cut short blade are where they have shortened them to sell/ship, as its easier to sell/ship the stub of a blade, then sell/ship a rusty old broken 2/3 length blade.
Sadly they are making new tulwar hilts, they also sometimes heavily restore old hilts or make them up from parts of several donor hilts. As with any collecting its always buyer beware.
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