A thought on Indian weapons

Pukka Bundook · 25th January 2009, 02:10 PM

Good morning Jens,

I think if a hilt has koftgari in good condition and a worn blade, there is a strong likelihood of the blade being rehilted....but for a blade with a munitions grade hilt it would be rather hard to say.

Apart from the old tulwar I have that had been attacked with an angle-grinder, I have never seen a tulwar with severe grind-marks to the edge. Could this mean that a worn blade was sharpened many many times, by removing the least possible amount of metal, and not just a few times by someone removing a lot of 'beef' all at once?
I would think so, as these were often heirlooms as well as weapons, and I would imagine that they were preserved as well as possible and not sharpened away needlessly.

I have a rather old tulwar, with the blade worn down by maybe 25%, but the hilt in this case has most of the koftgari worn away, so the two parts may be original to each other.
I have often wondered when a tulwar blade was considered to be past being useful.
The worn one mentioned above, has the sometimes seen rather thick spine, but the blade is now rather narrow.
I wonder; It has been kept sharp, so was it considered a viable sword to take to a fight?......a secondry weapon?

Re. hilt size;
Most are tight for westerners as we know, but the more one handles them, the better they feel! (Just my opinion!....maybe my hand shrunk)
I know that in parts of India, people have very small hands compared to Europeans.
Sometimes there is talk of the first finger being placed over the cross, but I think not, and don't want to open that discussion again.
When looking at some katars a while ago, I found I could not fit my hand into any of them, ....and with a katar there is nowhere to place the 'extra' fingers!.....so must deduct that the tulwar hilts fit the inended users well enough. I
I will try and take a picture of my worn-away blade, and show here.

Best wishes,

Richard.

25th January 2009, 02:10 PM	#6
Pukka Bundook Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 803	Good morning Jens, I think if a hilt has koftgari in good condition and a worn blade, there is a strong likelihood of the blade being rehilted....but for a blade with a munitions grade hilt it would be rather hard to say. Apart from the old tulwar I have that had been attacked with an angle-grinder, I have never seen a tulwar with severe grind-marks to the edge. Could this mean that a worn blade was sharpened many many times, by removing the least possible amount of metal, and not just a few times by someone removing a lot of 'beef' all at once? I would think so, as these were often heirlooms as well as weapons, and I would imagine that they were preserved as well as possible and not sharpened away needlessly. I have a rather old tulwar, with the blade worn down by maybe 25%, but the hilt in this case has most of the koftgari worn away, so the two parts may be original to each other. I have often wondered when a tulwar blade was considered to be past being useful. The worn one mentioned above, has the sometimes seen rather thick spine, but the blade is now rather narrow. I wonder; It has been kept sharp, so was it considered a viable sword to take to a fight?......a secondry weapon? Re. hilt size; Most are tight for westerners as we know, but the more one handles them, the better they feel! (Just my opinion!....maybe my hand shrunk) I know that in parts of India, people have very small hands compared to Europeans. Sometimes there is talk of the first finger being placed over the cross, but I think not, and don't want to open that discussion again. When looking at some katars a while ago, I found I could not fit my hand into any of them, ....and with a katar there is nowhere to place the 'extra' fingers!.....so must deduct that the tulwar hilts fit the inended users well enough. I I will try and take a picture of my worn-away blade, and show here. Best wishes, Richard.