Another Tulwar

Jim McDougall · 9th August 2012, 06:37 PM

Entirely agree with Ibrahiim, light cleaning is perfectly acceptable, especially to stabilize the condition and check any active corrosion. This must be done prudently and every effort made to avoid compromising the patination.

I think sometimes so much effort to look for wootz in some of these blades ends up with excessive cleaning on blades which are better left patinated (in my opinion). The blade on this example seems of form often seen with many Rajasthan produced blades which do not typically reveal wootz, but more standard forged material. There does seem to be some irregular areas in the overall patination which reveal some more recent rust and light corrosion.

The shape of the pommel on this seems to be a somewhat altered type similar to those on Afghan paluoars, and looks like some kind of sheeting added over the construction. These things all concur with AJs observations noting incongruities in the components, and I would think this could well be in place with arms which were refurbished for various levies and units during the Raj and the Anglo-Afghan wars especially the 1919 campaign.

Best regards,
Jim

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9th August 2012, 06:37 PM	#8
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,295	Entirely agree with Ibrahiim, light cleaning is perfectly acceptable, especially to stabilize the condition and check any active corrosion. This must be done prudently and every effort made to avoid compromising the patination. I think sometimes so much effort to look for wootz in some of these blades ends up with excessive cleaning on blades which are better left patinated (in my opinion). The blade on this example seems of form often seen with many Rajasthan produced blades which do not typically reveal wootz, but more standard forged material. There does seem to be some irregular areas in the overall patination which reveal some more recent rust and light corrosion. The shape of the pommel on this seems to be a somewhat altered type similar to those on Afghan paluoars, and looks like some kind of sheeting added over the construction. These things all concur with AJs observations noting incongruities in the components, and I would think this could well be in place with arms which were refurbished for various levies and units during the Raj and the Anglo-Afghan wars especially the 1919 campaign. Best regards, Jim