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Originally Posted by Pukka Bundook
Ham,
I strongly lean to-wards doing nothing, as this weapon could have gained this defect honestly in combat, and to fix it,( if possible )would detract from its history.
The other side of me likes a challenge, and the thought of retuning this old warrior to its former usefulness is also a strong draw.
Fenris,
I think you summed up the situation extremely well.
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Well, since you're asking for personal opinions....
Given the relatively common nature of this particular type of sword (there are literally thousands of them floating around the market, as evidenced by the fact that there's rarely less than a dozen of them up for bid on ebay at any given time) and the overall rough condition it's in (broken hilt, cracked blade), I'd honestly look at using it as a practice piece for restoration. If there was an actual provenance with it, as in "this sword was damaged while lopping off Major Smythe-Wickenham's head during the Sepoy Mutiny" that would be one thing, but as it stands the damage could have just as easily occured in a practice salle while a couple of recruits were goofing off.
So if you want the practice for when a better quality piece falls into your hands and if the blade is long enough that shortening it a couple of inches won't ruin the profile, I'd say go ahead and see what can be done. It's not as if the smiths of India never repaired a damaged sword. We've all seen examples of some pretty drastic repairs. Does the fact that we ourselves are not from India make our desire to return and old warhorse to service less valid, especially if we can do so without destroying a sword's history?