Indian? sword for ID

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Joe,

Whether the blade was made in India or in Nepal, it is what the Indians would call a Pattisa blade, although the hilt is quite different.

We have a problem here, part of a never-ending discussion, is a sword classified after the blade or after the hilt? A tulwar is a tulwar, be course of the hilt, although the blade can differ a lot. You could call a sword a tulwar with a shamshir blade, or a tulwar with an Indian blade. This would however indicate that the shamshir blades were made outside India, but shamshir blades were also made in India. It really is very complex, so I think the best would be to describe a sword, not using one word only, if it is not a prototype, but to give a short description.

Here is a picture of a Nepalese bronze from 15th/16th century, it is clear to see that the blade is nor fastened with rivets, but with two bands around the blade reinforcement. The hilt is quite different, and would have been held in a different way, but the blade type is the same.