Firangi, or basket-hilted tulwar

Lee · 18th August 2010, 12:40 PM

I have seen blades of similar form with this fuller pattern mounted in a variety of ways (and as diverse as a North African nimcha and a colonial American saber) and so I am led to expect that this is a trade blade of European origin, later 18th to early 19th century - so I'd opine that you have a nice firangi.

A caveat: the blade does look a bit crudely formed in some of the photos, but this may also reflect wear and resharpening. It could be a local copy of such a blade; greater flexibility would favor European versus greater rigidity expected in a local copy.

18th August 2010, 12:40 PM	#4
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 932	firangi I have seen blades of similar form with this fuller pattern mounted in a variety of ways (and as diverse as a North African nimcha and a colonial American saber) and so I am led to expect that this is a trade blade of European origin, later 18th to early 19th century - so I'd opine that you have a nice firangi. A caveat: the blade does look a bit crudely formed in some of the photos, but this may also reflect wear and resharpening. It could be a local copy of such a blade; greater flexibility would favor European versus greater rigidity expected in a local copy.