Tulwar with some unusual modifications

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.

spiral · 5th June 2014, 10:28 PM

The "door knob" pommel is welded on with modern equipment... So Id guess an amalgamation of bits... {Or "associated" , as the poshest auction houses say, knowing most buyers don't understand the reality of that expression. { lots of random different age pieces stuck together with, glue,Weld & even bolts & screws to make a few extra quid out of the junk bin = "associated" I London,Paris & New York..

}

Spiral

blue lander · 5th June 2014, 10:58 PM

If I may ask, if it was up to you would you leave this frankenstein as it is or would you free the blade and pair it with at $50 hilt from ebay. I am madly in love with this skull crushing blade but the hilt doesn't do anything for me if it isn't historically interesting.

2nd June 2014, 04:21 PM	#2
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	#3
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

1st June 2014, 10:37 PM	#1
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	#4
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	#5
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.

5th June 2014, 10:28 PM	#6
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	The "door knob" pommel is welded on with modern equipment... So Id guess an amalgamation of bits... {Or "associated" , as the poshest auction houses say, knowing most buyers don't understand the reality of that expression. { lots of random different age pieces stuck together with, glue,Weld & even bolts & screws to make a few extra quid out of the junk bin = "associated" I London,Paris & New York.. } Spiral

5th June 2014, 10:58 PM	#7
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	If I may ask, if it was up to you would you leave this frankenstein as it is or would you free the blade and pair it with at $50 hilt from ebay. I am madly in love with this skull crushing blade but the hilt doesn't do anything for me if it isn't historically interesting.