TULWAR now cleaned up....with a few surprises.

katana · 27th September 2009, 06:15 PM

Bump !!!

please .....no one any ideas or comments at all ?

kisak · 28th September 2009, 01:41 AM

The blade and hilt don't seem to match each other very well, so perhaps some form of emergency construction/repair?

The pattern in the steel might perhaps be from folding? Or at leasts some form of extensive hot working with similar purpose.

katana · 29th September 2009, 11:21 AM

Hi Kisak

,
thank you for replying. Having the sword 'in hand' it feels nicely balanced. I believe that the rivetting was done to re-inforce the 'fixing' of the blade, not, as I had originally thought, as a repair /emergency construction. (as you have pointed out). The patina on the blade around the langet area suggests that the hilt and blade have been together for a very long time.

The tang of the blade was also 'fixed' with resin....much of which has , through age, has 'dried out' and crumbled.

I get the impression that the blade was 'valued' by its owner. The hilt has/had a thick layer of silver ( the deep scoring on the exposed sections of the hilt is original, probably to provide a 'key' to help secure the silver ....and is not due to my 'excessive cleaning'

) The hilt is also larger than the normal Tulwar....It comfortably fits my hand

.

I wondered whether this was a 'captured' blade and was hoping the 'square' shaped stamp (in the picture) would provide clues as to its origins. The inlays may have been added afterwards, but I am not certain.

All the best
David

27th September 2009, 06:15 PM	#1
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Bump !!! please .....no one any ideas or comments at all ?

28th September 2009, 01:41 AM	#2
kisak Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Stockholm Posts: 182	The blade and hilt don't seem to match each other very well, so perhaps some form of emergency construction/repair? The pattern in the steel might perhaps be from folding? Or at leasts some form of extensive hot working with similar purpose.

29th September 2009, 11:21 AM	#3
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Hi Kisak , thank you for replying. Having the sword 'in hand' it feels nicely balanced. I believe that the rivetting was done to re-inforce the 'fixing' of the blade, not, as I had originally thought, as a repair /emergency construction. (as you have pointed out). The patina on the blade around the langet area suggests that the hilt and blade have been together for a very long time. The tang of the blade was also 'fixed' with resin....much of which has , through age, has 'dried out' and crumbled. I get the impression that the blade was 'valued' by its owner. The hilt has/had a thick layer of silver ( the deep scoring on the exposed sections of the hilt is original, probably to provide a 'key' to help secure the silver ....and is not due to my 'excessive cleaning' ) The hilt is also larger than the normal Tulwar....It comfortably fits my hand . I wondered whether this was a 'captured' blade and was hoping the 'square' shaped stamp (in the picture) would provide clues as to its origins. The inlays may have been added afterwards, but I am not certain. All the best David