Tulwar with some unusual modifications

Jens Nordlunde · 30th May 2014, 09:48 PM

The pin was also used by the Indians, but it was mostly hidden by the hilt decoration.
Jens

blue lander · 30th May 2014, 11:01 PM

Thanks both. So that explains the pin and the pommel. Still a mystery is the welding or solder in the middle of the hilt. And it looks like the steel's split in two by the cross guard. Maybe they were field repairs.

Edit: almost forgot to mention the seller's in France, probably the only one I've seen for sale out of that country.

spiral · 1st June 2014, 10:37 PM

The solder/whatever in the middle of the hilt is just to fill a casting flaw.

spiral

blue lander · 2nd June 2014, 04:21 PM

I see. Are Tulwar hilts typically made out of a single piece of cast metal? I've being going through pictures on the forum and I've noticed that some of the plainer hilts have what looks like a weld near the cross guard. It appears to be only on one side. I've attached some pictures of what I'm talking about with the weld circled.

blue lander · 5th June 2014, 06:37 PM

It arrived today, and boy is that hilt weird. First the dimensions...

It's 7mm thick at the base. After the ricasso it tapers to 5mm and stays that way until the false edge at the tip.

The blade's 35mm wide at the base, tapers to 32mm after the ricasso, then towards the tip it widens back to 35mm again.

There's eyelash marks struck by the hilt, but that's the only mark I can see.

The hilt is filled with some shiny metal, maybe zinc. It looks like the hilt was dismantled, filled with zinc, and then put back together again. I don't know what you call it, but the bit of the hilt that's supposed to slide over the scabbard has been pounded down, so it would have never fit in an Indian style scabbard again. Even in this condition the hilt's quite solid and sturdy.

The blade's a very heavy, thick, nice piece of steel. It's in pretty good condition except towards the tip where it's pitted. there's a few tiny failed laminations but otherwise it's a very well built blade. It's very slightly hollow on both sides and the edge is still pretty sharp.

Is there a snowball's chance in hell the blade is wootz? Should I bother trying to etch it?

Jens Nordlunde · 5th June 2014, 09:42 PM

If you look at your pictures you will se that they are not too good, would it be possible to get better pictures?
You are asking questions, but when the picturtes are bad, it is hard to answer your questions.
Jens

blue lander · 5th June 2014, 10:03 PM

I took these pictures with a pretty good camera but they came out blurry for some reason. I think my hand was shaking. I'll try again tomorrow.

30th May 2014, 11:01 PM	#2
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	Thanks both. So that explains the pin and the pommel. Still a mystery is the welding or solder in the middle of the hilt. And it looks like the steel's split in two by the cross guard. Maybe they were field repairs. Edit: almost forgot to mention the seller's in France, probably the only one I've seen for sale out of that country. Last edited by blue lander; 31st May 2014 at 01:19 AM.

2nd June 2014, 04:21 PM	#4
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	I see. Are Tulwar hilts typically made out of a single piece of cast metal? I've being going through pictures on the forum and I've noticed that some of the plainer hilts have what looks like a weld near the cross guard. It appears to be only on one side. I've attached some pictures of what I'm talking about with the weld circled. Attached Images

5th June 2014, 06:37 PM	#5
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	It arrived today, and boy is that hilt weird. First the dimensions... It's 7mm thick at the base. After the ricasso it tapers to 5mm and stays that way until the false edge at the tip. The blade's 35mm wide at the base, tapers to 32mm after the ricasso, then towards the tip it widens back to 35mm again. There's eyelash marks struck by the hilt, but that's the only mark I can see. The hilt is filled with some shiny metal, maybe zinc. It looks like the hilt was dismantled, filled with zinc, and then put back together again. I don't know what you call it, but the bit of the hilt that's supposed to slide over the scabbard has been pounded down, so it would have never fit in an Indian style scabbard again. Even in this condition the hilt's quite solid and sturdy. The blade's a very heavy, thick, nice piece of steel. It's in pretty good condition except towards the tip where it's pitted. there's a few tiny failed laminations but otherwise it's a very well built blade. It's very slightly hollow on both sides and the edge is still pretty sharp. Is there a snowball's chance in hell the blade is wootz? Should I bother trying to etch it? Attached Images

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30th May 2014, 09:48 PM	#1
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	The pin was also used by the Indians, but it was mostly hidden by the hilt decoration. Jens

1st June 2014, 10:37 PM	#3
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	The solder/whatever in the middle of the hilt is just to fill a casting flaw. spiral

5th June 2014, 09:42 PM	#6
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	If you look at your pictures you will se that they are not too good, would it be possible to get better pictures? You are asking questions, but when the picturtes are bad, it is hard to answer your questions. Jens

5th June 2014, 10:03 PM	#7
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	I took these pictures with a pretty good camera but they came out blurry for some reason. I think my hand was shaking. I'll try again tomorrow.