British hilted sword with Indian(?) blade

Nick Wardigo · 24th January 2005, 02:10 PM

Is it possible that the bolster is there to tighten the fit of the blade in the scabbard and prevent rattling? This is the function of the Japanese habaki and Chinese tunkou. Ordinarily on a tulwar, the langets serve this same function by hugging either side of the scabbard. Since this weapon does not have langets, perhaps the bolster is there as a substitute.

RSWORD · 25th January 2005, 02:56 AM

Thank you gentleman for your feedback. In regards to questions/comments:

Yes, the grip material is ivory, most probably elephant ivory.

In regards to the plates it is very hard to speculate what the purpose was. As mentioned, Stones is the only example that is similar. Jens is right in that the term Salapa refers to the hilt style and I didn't mean to imply anything with that term just using it as a reference point.

The plates, on each side, do have indentations indicating that the blade might have originally been Tulwar hilted and the langets left deep impressions. The might be suggestive that the blade is somewhat older than the hilt because I am sure it would have taken a bit of time to wear such a groove. Nick makes a good point in regards to its similarity to a habaki or tunkou but I don't think so in this case. I think it was at one time a tulwar hilted blade and the langets would have held it tight in the scabbard. In its current mounting, it is not particularly tight in the scabbard, granted the original scabbard was in very poor condition and what you see here is a restored scabbard utilizing the original mounts.

Andrew the blade is what I would consider medium weight and thickness. Interestingly, it has a fair number of edge nicks from combat much more than any other shamshir in my collection. It was an user!

tom hyle · 25th January 2005, 02:07 PM

Possibly the nicks were acquired in the current hilt; parrying with the sword is more prevalent in Europe.

Andrew · 25th January 2005, 04:03 PM

So, is the concensus that those bolsters are original to the blade, or a later addition?

24th January 2005, 02:10 PM	#1
Nick Wardigo Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 54	Is it possible that the bolster is there to tighten the fit of the blade in the scabbard and prevent rattling? This is the function of the Japanese habaki and Chinese tunkou. Ordinarily on a tulwar, the langets serve this same function by hugging either side of the scabbard. Since this weapon does not have langets, perhaps the bolster is there as a substitute.

25th January 2005, 02:56 AM	#2
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,086	Thank you gentleman for your feedback. In regards to questions/comments: Yes, the grip material is ivory, most probably elephant ivory. In regards to the plates it is very hard to speculate what the purpose was. As mentioned, Stones is the only example that is similar. Jens is right in that the term Salapa refers to the hilt style and I didn't mean to imply anything with that term just using it as a reference point. The plates, on each side, do have indentations indicating that the blade might have originally been Tulwar hilted and the langets left deep impressions. The might be suggestive that the blade is somewhat older than the hilt because I am sure it would have taken a bit of time to wear such a groove. Nick makes a good point in regards to its similarity to a habaki or tunkou but I don't think so in this case. I think it was at one time a tulwar hilted blade and the langets would have held it tight in the scabbard. In its current mounting, it is not particularly tight in the scabbard, granted the original scabbard was in very poor condition and what you see here is a restored scabbard utilizing the original mounts. Andrew the blade is what I would consider medium weight and thickness. Interestingly, it has a fair number of edge nicks from combat much more than any other shamshir in my collection. It was an user!

25th January 2005, 02:07 PM	#3
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Possibly the nicks were acquired in the current hilt; parrying with the sword is more prevalent in Europe.

25th January 2005, 04:03 PM	#4
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	So, is the concensus that those bolsters are original to the blade, or a later addition?