Kastane for comment

[CourseEight]

I finally cleaned up and photographed the kastane. It's hard to photograph, but I've tried to show that there does appear to be a genuine (wootz like?) pattern to the blade. It's more "angular" than the wootz I've seen on the forum, so I don't know what to call it. But it doesn't appear to be pitting, since its unifom and I can't feel it as a texture. It would be my first wootz piece, if it is wootz, so I don't really know what I'm talking about here, but hopefully someone else will! Still a steal of a piece, I love it.

One other thing that's curious, though. The balance on the sword is a bit odd, since its center of balance seems to be exactly at the point where the blade becomes the ricasso. So its seems this sword at least was not meant for fighting.

Comments once again appreciated!

[josh stout]

The blade pictures aren't really in focus but it looks like it might be pattern welded to me. I see what look like lines.

You lucky dog.
Josh

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by CourseEight

One other thing that's curious, though. The balance on the sword is a bit odd, since its center of balance seems to be exactly at the point where the blade becomes the ricasso. So its seems this sword at least was not meant for fighting.

Comments once again appreciated!

Hi Radleigh. I think you absolutely stole this thing! Congrats.

Personally, I think swords with a COB close to the handle feel "quick". I prefer it, actually.

[CourseEight]

Thanks so much for all the kind words!

Personally, I think swords with a COB close to the handle feel "quick". I prefer it, actually.

To be honest I didn't really have much knowledge about how kastanes were used, except as ranks of office given by the Dutch. I've always been under the impression that, for a slashing or cutting type weapon, the best place to strike with it would be at the COB. Having the balance point close to the hilt does make the sword quicker, as you said, which would be good thing for control when thrusting. Of course, I've only done a night course in foil fencing at the local community college, so I'd love to learn whether all this is actually true!

In searching for information on the fighting styles of the Ceylonese, I found this great article:

http://www.pihakaetta.com/sinhala_weapons_armor_low.pdf

It seems they did have a fencing foil type weapon, so maybe this balance fits their preference. I'm curious as to how other kastanes out there are balanced, especially those with native blades. Does anyone else have one to share?

This is a most unusual kastane, especially if that blade is actually wootz. It is quite atypical to see the forte cover, which seems to favor the 'tunkou' type feature on yataghans. It seems that most kastanes I have seen are typically mounted with 18th century European hanger blades ( naturally many of these now very hard to find, had Dutch VOC markings).

When I bought it I thought it would perhaps be such a European blade, with the decorations added later, but this does not seem to be the case. I'm attaching a couple of other examples I've found through searching that are somewhat similar. The first is from Oriental-Arms, and the second is in Stone (Nos. 4 and 6). Both have the forte decoration, but I haven't been able to find one with the decorations in the fuller. Indeed, most with non-European blades don't seem to have fullers at all, and the Oriental-Arms one below has a blade of not nearly the quality, wootz or no.

Another note about the forte decorations: near the border of where the decorations have been lost there appears to be a hole in the blade with a piece of metal filling it in (the piece is a little loose). It almost looks like a rivit. It's unclear whether the brass was put over the hole, or the hole was made after the brass and then filled in. I've read some discussions about the use and meaning of such holes (testing metal quality for export, 100 kills, etc) and I'm interested how such a hole in this sword adds to the debate, if at all.

I'm attaching another couple of photos trying to capture the pattern on the blade, but I fear this one has failed as well. Not owning any "confirmed" wootz myself I'm still not sure whther it is or it isn't. Can oxidation form a pattern on the blade along the entire length of it, that is pretty much the same everywhere and looks a bit like rayskin?

[Jim McDougall]

Nicely done Radleigh!!!
I very much like the way you have addressed the posts regarding your sword and providing nicely detailed support material. The kastane is not often discussed and extremely limited information available on them, so your sword and data have added to the archived resources here.
Thank you very much!
All the best,
Jim

[Marc]

Corrosion can indeed form a pattern along the blade, which a priori seems to be the case here. Im' afraid that without better focused pictures it's going to be hard to say anything realistic about it...

[CourseEight]

Hi all --

Nicely done Radleigh!!!
I very much like the way you have addressed the posts regarding your sword and providing nicely detailed support material. The kastane is not often discussed and extremely limited information available on them, so your sword and data have added to the archived resources here.
Thank you very much!
All the best,
Jim

I'm quite pleased to contribute. I've only been collecting real stuff for about a year, and I have to thank everyone here for what an incredible resource this site is. I'm glad to give back, even in such a limited way!

Corrosion can indeed form a pattern along the blade, which a priori seems to be the case here. Im' afraid that without better focused pictures it's going to be hard to say anything realistic about it...

Thanks for the information, Marc! Given this, I'd say I'm fairly convinced it is not wootz. I'd love to see pictures of the sort of whole-blade patterns that corrosion can cause, to compare with mine. Reading more about it, unless I'm incorrect it seems that with a vigorous polish one can make a wootz pattern disappear, and require an etching to reappear. I tried further polishing of the kastane, and got... no change whatsoever. This, and the seemingly none-existence of other examples of wootz kastanes, seems conclusive to me.

Still an amazing piece that I'm lucky to have!

(Still on the hunt for my first something made of wootz... )

--Radleigh

[derek]

Hi,

I just want to tell you that you have found a fantastic kastane for the price. I have seen examples in much poorer condition go for three times that. Congrats, it's a keeper.

As noted before, these swords were generally not meant for fighting (like many piha kaettas). They were made for people of rank or importance. They were likely inspired by Dutch naval swords during the Dutch colonial era in Ceylon. These swords, as well as the pihas, were not likely produced after the King of Kandy surrendered authority to the British in 1815. These are old swords.

Somewhere I have seen a pic of a painting of "Bonny Prince Charlie" wearing a kastane. If anyone can still find that pic, please post a link!

I've read several historical comments about the fine iron ore found in Ceylon, but the blades produced there are frequently not of a quality that would reflect this. However, the real art was poured into the other aspects, as you can see, and the styles and patterns were very explicitly defined in Sinhalese terminology. The spirals, swirls, and animal forms were heavily inspired by the surrounding flora, fauna, and spiritual beliefs.

This sword is almost certainly not wootz. If anything it would be pattern welded, and may possibly be differentially hardened "like" a japanese sword.

Again, congrats on the find. Let me know if you get tired of looking at it

-d